The Pea Ridge Blackhawks' wild ride through the 4A State football playoffs came to end last week, just a victory short of the state championship game next week in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The season ended with the Blackhawks held in much higher regard statewide than when the 2016 campaign started.
With most prognosticators picking the 'Hawks to lose in four of their last five games, the boys from the Ridge flipped those numbers, winning four of their last five contests to finish the season ranked among the state's five best teams. With so many experienced athletes returning for 2016, expect that forecasters will look much more favorably on Blackhawk football in the future.
In the final 42-20 loss to Nashville, the 'Hawks fell behind early to a very large and fast Scrappers team, but fought them on fairly even terms from late in the second quarter and on. The undefeated and top-ranked team in the state bolted for three touchdowns in the early going to get on top 21-0. The final three quarters saw Nashville beat the visiting 'Hawks by a small 21-20 margin.
Nashville's speed was on display last spring when they took second place medals in all three state relay races at the state track meet. They finished fourth in the overall state track championships, only 3 points from second. The Scrappers have long been known for their athleticism and speed, and Pea Ridge fans got to see that first hand last week.
Nashville will play for the state title next week against fellow 4A-1 district member Prairie Grove. The Tigers won their 13th straight game by outscoring Arkadelphia 61-40 to earn their first ever finals berth. Stocked with a large senior class, the Tigers have been a bit different in 2015 as they had a potent passing attack to go with their always successful ground game. Nashville will be favored to win this week, but it would be good to bring that hardware up here to northwest Arkansas. It was satisfying to see the 4A-1 having half the semifinalists this year, with four of the other six districts in the state having none at all.
To get to the finals in the Rock, Prairie Grove had to get past three No. 3 seeds and a No. 4 seed with a combined 29-22 record. By contrast, in the 'Hawks' four playoff games, they did battle with a No. 4 seed, a No. 2 seed, and two No. 1 seeds with a combined 41-9 record.
The 2015 season had peaks and valleys for Pea Ridge, with a lot of character testing confronting our young athletes.
The season started well with the 'Hawks jumping out to a 5-0 record before stumbling in an upset loss to Gravette in week No. 6. The next week's game against Prairie Grove was a disaster as the visiting Tigers put a thumping on the 'Hawks that could have sent the 'Hawks into a tailspin. As I noted in my column in October, the 'Hawks had a lot of season before them and they could and would get better as they worked toward the postseason.
The first test of their increased resolve was on full display in the season ending conference game at Shiloh's Field of Champions. Shiloh got ahead and were poised to make it a rout when the 'Hawks stiffened their backs and shut down the vaunted Shiloh offense. Pea Ridge came back to win the game in the fourth quarter along with the second seed for the playoffs.
The 'Hawks disposed of an undermanned Trumann in the first round, but were heavy underdogs to Pulaski Robinson in the next round. An extremely aggressive 'Hawk defense stunned the visitors into making bunches of turnovers and Pea Ridge held them off to take a shocking victory. Robinson had beaten Gravette by 40 points the week before.
In the quarterfinals, Pea Ridge were on the road to play another heavily favored opponent. That game turned into a mud bowl with rain falling throughout. A two-hour wrestling match turned into a 0-0 battle going into overtime. The 'Hawks hit the field goal and CAC fumbled away theirs to settle game 3-0. That game was physically demanding with a number of athletes suffering a variety of injuries during that epic struggle.
From the first kickoff against Elkins in the season opener to the last snap in the Nashville game, the 'Hawks have been a team on a mission. The mid-season bump in the road may have made the post-season success more likely. Failure comes to all people at some time in their lives, and it is how they deal with it that determines their final story.
The 2015 football Blackhawks learned a lot this year that will likely translate into success in other parts of their lives. The team won a lot of games this year as well as honors, but going into the future, it won't be so much about what they won but what they became.
And that, my friends, is what the game is all about.
MaxPreps/CBS State 4A poll
With just two teams left to play, the final poll for the 2015 season is very nearly set. The top two teams will be decided this week when Prairie Grove battles Nashville. 48 schools play in the 4A classification.
TOP 25
1. Nashville 14-0
2. Prairie Grove 13-1
3. Warren 10-2
4. Dardanelle 12-1
5. Pea Ridge 11-3
6. Central Arkansas 11-2
7. Fountain Lake 8-4
8. Robinson 9-3
9. Arkadelphia 8-6
10. Ashdown 8-4
11. Shiloh 7-4
12. Pottsville 8-4
13. Malvern 6-5
14. Star City 9-4
15. Pocahontas 10-1
16. Hamburg 9-3
17. Gosnell 9-2
18. Dover 8-3
19. Gravette 7-4
20. Crossett 6-5
21. Dollarway 6-5
22. Stuttgart 5-6
23. Lonoke 5-6
24. West Helena 6-5
25. Mena 3-7
Other district members
27. Huntsville 4-6
29. Lincoln 4-7
36. Gentry 3-7
43. Berryville 2-8
10 SEC schools go bowling
The Southeastern Conference got their usual heavy share of the college bowl berths when announced last Sunday.
Arkansas is headed for the Liberty Bowl opposite Kansas State on Jan. 2, the last bowl date before the National Championship game the following week. Across the state, Arkansas State is going to the New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt Champions to play Louisiana Tech.
The schedule:
Dec. 29 -- Texas Bowl: Louisiana State vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 29 -- Birmingham Bowl: Auburn vs. Memphis
Dec. 30 -- Belk Bowl: Mississippi State vs. North Carolina State
Dec. 30 -- Music City Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Louisville
Dec. 31 -- Orange Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan State*
Jan. 1 -- Outback Bowl: Tennessee vs. Northwestern
Jan. 1 -- Citrus Bowl: Florida vs. Michigan
Jan. 1 -- Sugar Bowl: Mississippi vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 2 -- Tax Slayer Bowl: Georgia vs. Penn State
Jan. 2 -- Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. Kansas State
* The winner of Alabama/Michigan State will play the winner of the Clemson/Oklahoma game for the national championship.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist, sports writer and the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 12/09/2015