Special to The TIMES
LITTLE ROCK -- Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs Coach Tommy Shoemaker walked through the mud and heavy rain near his team's bench at the end of regulation and spoke over his headset to an assistant in the press box.
Class 4A
First round
Friday, Nov. 13
W3 Pocahontas, W8 Warren (9-1) have byes
3rd-8 Star City 35, 4th-2 Heber Springs 12
W1 Prairie Grove 45, 5th-3 Jonesboro Westside 14
3rd-7 Ashdown 26, 3rd-2 Stuttgart 25
W4 Dardanelle 42, 5th-7 Lincoln 0
2nd-8 Hamburg 35, 5th-4 Baptist Prep 7
2nd-7 Fountain Lake 42, 4th-8 Pine Bluff Dollarway 6
4th-7 Arkadelphia 51, 2nd-2 Helena-West Helena Central 19
4th-4 Pottsville 42, 3rd-3 Highland 20
W7 Nashville 56, 5th-8 Crossett 13
3rd-1 Shiloh Christian 23, 3rd-4 Dover 8
W2 Central Arkansas Christian 42, 5th-7 Malvern 39
2nd-3 Gosnell 54, 5th-2 Lonoke 31
2nd-1 Pea Ridge 42, 4th-3 Trumann 6
2nd-4 Pulaski Robinson 58, 4th-1 Gravette 18
Second round
Friday, Nov. 20
Star City 33, W3 Pocahontas 28
Prairie Grove 34, Ashdown 24
Dardanelle 45, Hamburg 7
Arkadelphia 19, Fountain Lake 14
W8 Warren 35, Pottsville 34
Nashville 48, Shiloh Christian 23
Central Arkansas Christian 41, Gosnell 14
Pea Ridge 28, Pulaski Robinson 27
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 27
Prairie Grove 50, Star City 21
Arkadelphia 21, Dardanelle 14
Nashville 42, Warren 37
Pea Ridge 3, Central Ark. Christian 0, OT
Semifinals
Friday, Dec. 4
Arkadelphia (8-5) at Prairie Grove (12-1)
Pea Ridge (11-2) at Nashville (13-0)
Championship
Saturday, Dec. 12
at War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock
Arkadelphia-Prairie Grove winner vs. Pea Ridge-Nashville winner, 6:30 p.m.
"This is the craziest thing I've ever seen," he said.
It took overtime to produce the game's first points in Pea Ridge's 3-0 overtime victory over CAC in the quarterfinal round of the Class 4A state playoffs at rained-soaked Mustang Mountain Friday night.
"This is the first game like this I've ever been involved in," Pea Ridge Blackhawk coach Tony Travis said. "These are just unbelievable conditions."
CAC's loss stopped a 10-game winning streak and a seven-game run in which it scored at least 35 points.
"It was just a tough night," Shoemaker said. "They battled and we battled. They just made one more play than we did."
Pea Ridge (11-2) will play the Nashville Scrappers in Nashville in next week's semifinal round. Nashville advanced with a 42-37 victory over Warren.
Overtime in Arkansas high school football gives each team an opportunity to score from 1st-and-goal at its opponent's 10-yard line.
In this case, CAC (11-2) won the overtime coin toss and chose to start on defense.
As was the case throughout regulation, Pea Ridge struggled to advance the ball through the mud as it began its overtime possession. Two runs for a total of 3 yards by junior running back Zaine Holley and a pass dropped in the end zone led Blackhawks coach Tony Travis to send out senior place kicker Jake Edwards.
Edwards' 24-yard field goal held up as the winning score.
"Hats off to our kicker," Travis said. "And to our backup holder."
Sophomore Hayden Holtgrewe handled the first snap of the season on Edward's kick.
For CAC, two runs for no yards by senior running back Braylon Harris, a penalty for illegal procedure, and a botched snap on third-and-goal from the 15 meant sophomore kicker Justin Flanigan faced a 38-yard field-goal attempt to force a second overtime round.
But another failed snap left the ball in the hands of junior holder and starting quarterback Noah Evans, whose pass under pressure fell incomplete short of the goal line.
"I'm proud of our guys," Shoemaker said. "We've had a great year. I'm disappointed for them, but it's really been a neat year for our guys."
At the end of regulation, Pea Ridge had 214 totals yards of offense, including 142 rushing yards on 55 carries. CAC had a total of 87 yards.
Pea Ridge had the only significant scoring opportunity in regulation after sophomore quarterback Jakota Sainsbury's 62-yard pass to Holtgrewe put the Blackhawks at CAC's 24, but CAC stopped Pea Ridge on downs at the 15 with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"We knew it was going to be like this coming in," Travis said. "We're just glad we persevered and came out with a win."
Sports on 12/02/2015