Like a hot knife through butter, Zaine Holley raced through Lincoln defenses with a stout offensive live paving the way for him as Pea Ridge whipped the Wolves 35-13 in Lincoln.
Pea Ridge raced out to a 21-0 lead in a very short time, with Holley scoring on the game's first play. Reserves saw a lot of action in the game as the Wolves were thoroughly outmanned in this year's contest. The victory was the 'Hawks' 15th regular season win in a row, and it kept their road record unblemished since 2013.
All four of the 4A-1 games last week were one sided with the winning teams easy victors.
Gentry got back on the winning track with a 38-22 drubbing of Berryville while Shiloh took advantage of Huntsville turnovers to pad their 45-7 defeat of the Eagles. Prairie Grove had little problem with Gravette as they defeated the Lions 49-22.
This week, the 'Hawks will be back home to entertain the Lions this week in an important league battle. Both teams are ranked in the top four in the conference and if the Blackhawks win, they will already have a strong position on a playoff spot. Though the 'Hawks have won but twice in the last nine games with Gravette, they are the favorites this Friday.
In fact, all four games have some importance attached to them.
The Lincoln/Berryville matchup will probably determine who will end the season in the conference basement. The teams have split all eight games since 2000 with identical 4-4 records.
The Huntsville/Gentry tilt will have a lot to say about who gets the fifth and last seed for the playoffs. They have 3-3 records against each other since 2000.
Finally, the Prairie Grove/Shiloh game is considered by most as the game of the week. Most prognosticators are picking Shiloh as they are in everyone's top 10 for the state. However, Prairie Grove's stock has risen in the past few weeks and the game will be close. It will probably be a high scoring affair. Shiloh has the better offense, but Prairie Grove has a superior defense so a case can be made for either team to win.
State 4A poll (MaxPreps)
In this week's poll, Nashville jumped ahead from No. 3 to No. 1 on the strength of a 13-12 win over Fountain Lake. The biggest mover of all was Prairie Grove's ascension from No. 17 all the way to the top 10, coming in at No. 9. Pea Ridge was static at No. 16 but the next two weeks have the potential for the 'Hawks to make some gains, playing Gravette this week and Prairie Grove the next, both games coming at home.
1. Nashville 5-0
2. Warren 4-1
3. Dardanelle 5-0
4. Robinson 5-0
5. Pocahontas 5-0
6. Shiloh 3-1
7. Malvern 4-1
8. Fountain Lake 3-2
9. Prairie Grove 4-1
10. Crossett 4-1
16. Pea Ridge 5-0
25. Gravette 3-2
33. Huntsville 2-3
38. Gentry 3-2
41. Lincoln 1-4
44. Berryville 2-3
In the Hooten's State 4A Poll, which doesn't come out before press time, Pea Ridge was ranked in the 13th spot previous to Friday. Conference teams were ranked as follows last week.
Hooten's 4A Poll Sept. 30
1. Dardanelle 4-0
2. Nashville 4-0
3. Robinson 4-0
4. Hamburg 3-1
5. Gosnell 4-0
6. Warren 3-1
7. Malvern 3-1
8. Star City 3-1
9. Shiloh 2-1
10. Prairie Grove 3-1
12. Pea Ridge 4-0
23. Gravette 3-1
36. Huntsville 2-2
37. Gentry 2-2
40. Berryville 2-2
43. Lincoln 1-3
Major League playoffs set
For some, it came down to the wire but the 10 teams set for post-season play have determined.
Though a lot of sportswriters and commentators bet against it, the St. Louis Cardinals fought off a season of injuries and setbacks to finish 100-62 and claim the best record in Major League Baseball. In the tough National League Central, both Pittsburgh (98-64) and Chicago (97-65) made the field along with the Cards, finishing with the second and third best won/loss records in both the major leagues. They will be joined by NL East champ New York (90-72) and the West champ Los Angeles (92-70).
The Cubs will play the Pirates today in the Wild Card game, the winner to play St. Louis this weekend in a best of five series. The Cubs finished a game back of the Pirates and will have to play the single elimination game in Pittsburgh. However, I fully expect the Cubs to get past the Pirates on the arm of Cub pitcher Jake Arrieta, who has been perhaps the best pitcher in professional baseball the past couple of months. The Cub ace won't be able to pitch in the first two games in St. Louis if they eliminate Pittsburgh but he will be ready when the series moves to Chicago. Arrieta has a 22-6 mark, best in the NL, and has a 1.77 ERA, just a 10th of a point behind Zach Greinke of LA. The Cub hurler has pitched a whopping 229 innings, but has pitched his best over the final month of the season.
Over in the American League. Houston will battle New York in their wild card game with the three other semi-finalists in Toronto, Kansas City and Texas, who all won their respective divisions. Kansas City had the best record in the AL with a 95-67 mark with Toronto close behind with a 93-69 record.
The Cardinals won the pennant in the final game of the Pittsburgh series last week, then dropped the final three games at Atlanta. With nothing to gain in those games with Atlanta, the Cards skipper Mike Matheny gave a lot of position starters time off. The result was the Cards put up three zeros for their offense in those three games. The half empty Braves field had more Cardinal fans there than local ones, but the southern portion of the Cardinal nation had to be satisfied with just seeing their favorite team on the field.
Sportscasters think the Cards have played out, grinding through and struggling with their having to replace so many key players due to injuries. On the other hand, they did compile the best record in the majors in spite of the problems, and I see no difference with the playoffs. The Cards are competitors and they have answered every challenge thrown their way this season, and I expect them to answer again.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 10/07/2015