Holley, defense key Blackhawks past Eagles

Zaine Holley rushed for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Pea Ridge's defense dominated in a 40-16 win over Huntsville on Friday night.

The win secures a playoff berth for the Blackhawks (7-2, 4-2 4A-1 Conference), who have rebounded from their only two losses of the season with a pair of convincing wins in the last two weeks.

4A-1 Conference

Pea Ridge 40, Huntsville 14

Huntsville^0^0^0^14^—^14

Pea Ridge^6^9^19^6^—^40

First Quarter

Pea Ridge - Wright 17 run (kick failed), 4:13

Second Quarter

Pea Ridge - Safety, 7:43

Pea Ridge - Holley 6 run (Edwards kick), 5:02

Third Quarter

Pea Ridge - Holley 3 run (run failed), 8:10

Pea Ridge - Holley 3 run (Edwards kick), 6:47

Pea Ridge - Hargiss 1 run (pass failed), 3:43

Fourth Quarter

Pea Ridge - Hargiss 16 run (kick failed), 10:57

Huntsville - Weaver 3 run (Lemus run), 1:40

Huntsville - Welch 7 pass from Weaver (Weaver run), :00

Holley had 105 of his rushing yards in the first half, and the junior also had a pair of touchdown runs on 23 carries in rainy conditions.

Hunter Hargiss added a pair of touchdown runs, and Cole Wright had another for the Blackhawks -- who are now 17-3 overall over the last two seasons and have outscored their last two opponents 88-14 after a win at Berryville last week.

"Last week on the road, I felt like we played angry a little bit coming off two losses, which is what you want from your guys," Pea Ridge coach Tony Travis said. "The defense played great tonight in some miserable conditions."

The Blackhawks led 15-0 at halftime and extended their lead to 40-0 following Hargiss' 16-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

They benefited from fumble recoveries by junior Seth Trammell and senior Bradley Beavers in the third quarter to set up touchdowns, and senior James Tackett also had a pair of second-half tackles for losses.

The Eagles (3-6, 1-5), who have now lost five of their last six games, scored a pair of late touchdowns.

Pea Ridge entered the game having bounced back from back-to-back losses to Gravette and Prairie Grove with a 48-0 win at Berryville a week ago.

The Blackhawks' stellar defense from that win carried through to the first half against the Eagles on Friday night, with Pea Ridge holding Huntsville to 39 yards of total offense while taking a 15-0 halftime lead.

Wright put Pea Ridge up 6-0 with a 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, with Holley leading the way as a blocker. After Huntsville purposely took a safety to avoid punting in a steady rain from its own end zone, Holley added a touchdown of his own on the following drive -- a 6-yard plunge that put the Blackhawks up 15-0.

Holley's second score of the game put Pea Ridge up 21-0 -- the first of three touchdowns in less than five minutes for the Blackhawks following the two fumble recoveries.

"The turnovers in the third quarter helped us out," Travis said. "They defense played good on first down and got us in some favorable third downs, and that was the key for us."

Sports on 11/04/2015