Jordan Burnett ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns as Gravette ended Pea Ridge's 15-game regular season win streak with a 22-12 victory on Friday night.
Pea Ridge (4-1, 2-1) hadn't lost a regular season game since their final contest of the 2013 season against Berryville, going undefeated last year until a first-round playoff defeat.
Zaine Holley led the Blackhawks with 95 yards rushing on 27 carries on Friday night, but Pea Ridge was unable to overcome Gravette's ball-control approach in the first half -- one that limited the Blackhawks to only 15 plays in the half.
The win comes a week after the Lions (4-2, 2-1 1-4A Conference) lost 44-19 at Prairie Grove, a game in which quarterback Bryce Moorman was forced to exit late after a suffering a crushing hit in the pocket.
Gravette's Moorman returned on Friday, putting the finishing touches on the surprising win with a late 36-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Soule' to put Gravette up 15-6. The senior was 12-of-14 passing for 131 yards and the one touchdown, with Soule' finishing with seven catches for 85 yards.
Both teams added late touchdowns after that, but the outcome was already clear -- with Gravette's game plan of ball control and a steady dose of Burnett and Moorman working to perfection as the Lions capped their dramatic one-week turnaround.
"That was awesome," Gravette coach Bill Harrelson. "I don't know where that came from, but I know this: I know we've had a lot of quarterbacks play well, but I don't know if we've ever had one play better than Bryce Moorman.
Blackhawk quarterback Jakota Sainsbury finished seven of 12 passing for 94 yards for the Blackhawks, rushing for one touchdown and throwing another to Hayden Holtgrewe with less than a minute remaining.
"Gravette really, really played keep away great in the first half," Blackhawk coach Tony Travis said. "We never really could get in a rhythm on offense. They had us on our heels and outplayed us tonight."
Gravette controlled the ball -- and the game -- while taking a 2-0 halftime lead.
Against a Pea Ridge offense that entered the game averaging 47.2 points per game, the Lions held the Blackhawks scoreless in the first half and limited them to 48 yards of total offense on 15 plays.
The Lions moved the ball well in the half, with Moorman throwing for 80 yards and Burnett gaining 39 on 17 carries, but their only score came with 4:18 left in the half when a Pea Ridge snap sailed over the head of punter Bradley Beavers and through the back of the end zone.
Pea Ridge took a 6-2 lead in the third quarter after Sainsbury's touchdown run, then Burnett responded two plays later with a 72-yard touchdown burst to put the Lions up 8-6.
Moorman followed with his touchdown pass to Soule', and Burnett added an 8-yard score with 1:04 remaining -- also recovering the final onside kick attempt by Pea Ridge to secure the win and his turnaround after being held to 26 yards rushing on 17 carries a week ago in Prairie Grove.
Sports on 10/14/2015