Blackhawks fall to Scrappers

Special to The TIMES

NASHVILLE -- The Blackhawk football team ended its extended season Friday night as Nashville punched its ticket to its ninth state championship game with a 42-20 win over an overmatched but scrappy Pea Ridge squad Friday night.

Nashville dominated on both sides of the ball, holding the Blackhawks to just 127 yards rushing -- half of that in the fourth quarter -- while racing out to 35-0 lead in first half of their Class 4A semifinal.

Pea Ridge (11-2) has pulled off two of the biggest victories of the Class 4A postseason prior to Friday, knocking off Pulaski Robinson in the second round and winning at Central Arkansas Christian 3-0 in overtime Friday, Nov. 27, in the quarterfinals. The Blackhawks were led by junior running back Zaine Holley, who has rushed for more than 1,700 yards and 25 touchdowns.

A dual threat at quarterback has helped Pea Ridge advance to where no other Blackhawks team has been before.

Blackhawks coach Tony Travis had never rotated quarterbacks in his coaching career, but he really didn't have a choice this season after quarterbacks Cole Wright and Jakota Sainsbury both were impressive heading into the season.

And Travis has taken rotating quarterbacks to the highest level possible as Wright (6', 170 lbs.) and Sainsbury (5'11", 180 lbs.) alternate every other series. It's a combination that has also paid big dividends for surging Pea Ridge (11-2), winners of six straight games and making its first semifinals appearance in school history at unbeaten Nashville (13-0).

"I told those guys before that first game against Elkins that I was going to rotate them both by series," Travis said. "They are both good quarterbacks, and they are both good athletes. They make good decisions and they both do good things for our team. That is why we stuck with the rotation."

Pea Ridge's bread-and-butter is a ground attack that is averaging almost 300 yards a game, but the two-quarterback platoon has allowed Travis to use all of the Blackhawks' playbook.

The Scrappers (14-0) will try for their fifth state championship when they take on Prairie Grove at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Nashville's last state title came in 2007.

The Scrappers came out swinging and delivered a haymaker before the crowd was settled in their seats.

Darius Hopkins took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage and exploded through the middle of the Blackhawks' defense for a 71-yard touchdown run to put Nashville on top for good just 15 seconds into the game.

The lead grew to 21-0 when Snell faked a handoff to Hopkins, juked a linebacker and sprinted 47 yards to the Blackhawk 3. Two plays later, Harris cut through a huge hole and trotted into the end zone.

The Scrappers kept the pedal to the metal in the second period. Hopkins burst though a hole over right guard for a 22-yard TD run and Snell hit wideout Hunter White in stride on a post pattern for a 21-yard scoring strike.

The Blackhawks finally put together a scoring drives late in the second quarter when quarterback Jakota Sainsbury came in and connected on passes of 23 and 24 yards to set up a 4-yard scoring run by Drew Winn. The 2-point pass play failed, and Nashville led 35-6 at halftime.

The referees invoked the mercy rule, running the clock after Snell scored from 10 yards out midway through the third period to make it a 42-6 game.

Pea Ridge put together a nine-play, 71-yard drive, capped by Zaine Holley's second-effort fight through the middle from two yards out.

In the closing moments, the Blackhawks drove 65 yards, the last 29 on a dart from Sainsbury to Britton Caudill. Sainsbury found Gage Cawthon in the back of the end zone for 2 points to close out the scoring.

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Editor's note: Bill Owney, Texarkana Gazette, and Paul Neilsen, NAN LLC, contributed to this report.