After a rip-roaring great season in 2014, a lot of Blackhawk football fans were looking for more of the same in 2015. In fact, the team was off to a 5-0 start this year to run their regular season winning streak since 2013 to 15-0, before doing battle with top tier teams Gravette and Prairie Grove.
Well the streak ended, as streaks always do. The fact that it was against the Lions and Tigers shouldn't have been shocking, seeing as to how Pea Ridge has only beaten those teams twice in the last 10 years. However, while the last two games may have been losses, they were competitive affairs with the 'Hawks making a few more mistakes than their opponents which helped determine the final outcome.
That the two aforementioned teams were beaten by the 'Hawks last year probably turned into a great motivator for both those squads. When teams, such as these two, normally have good seasons, they tend to remember the recent past losses and work hard to make amends for them. Think back to the drubbing the locals laid on the private school boys from Springdale last November. After that conquest, a lot of Blackhawk players commented "about time!" and a lot of bad memories of games gone by were somehow laid to rest, and all seemed well with the world.
The thing with high school football is, that to a degree, it's rather like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Key players' health, certain player injuries, or a host of variables can play large roles in determining the outcome of athletic contest. Anyone having raised teenagers knows that it is hard to predict or even always understand the moods or state of mind of young people on the cusp of adulthood.
Winning is fun, great fun, and a whole lot more enjoyable than losing. What made the 2014 season so satisfying was that it followed a season where the 'Hawks won but three games. Finishing last in district in '13 was a big motivator for the '14 season which became the first time the 'Hawks have run the table in conference play, a reversal of fortune that was quite an achievement.
The Blackhawks will regroup, come together, and will be one of the playoff teams by season's end. If they get past Berryville this Friday, they are probably in, and if they win that game and the last home game with Huntsville coming to town the following week, they will definitely be in at least the No. 4 seed regardless of the outcome of the Shiloh game. Depending on other game outcomes, they could get the third seed, which might prove to be a lucky thing. The No. 3 seed from the 4A-1 has had a better showing in the playoffs than the No. 1 seed has had over the past few seasons.
Any given night, almost anybody can beat anybody else for a variety of reasons. Earlier this year, Huntsville pressed hard on Prairie Grove before Eagle mistakes paved the road for a Tiger victory. Prairie Grove then went on to absolutely crush top 10 Shiloh in a mercy ruled game, along with beating our 'Hawks and Gravette's Lions by three touchdowns. This same Huntsville team, who has given the Tigers their best battle this year, lost to lowly Lincoln last week, a team I thought would be lucky to beat anyone this year.
Yep, winning is fun but when you come right down to it, the most important stat is not the win-loss statistics. As my old high school coach, Hall of Famer Burl Fowler, often told us, "it isn't who you beat, it's who you become."
Having all the students kindergarten through fifth grade come through my art room (at least the ones who grew up here), I have seen many students develop into fine young men and women as they mature as prep athletes. I've seen some athletic programs in my years watching high school sports where I was pretty sure that the students involved weren't really receiving any lasting benefit from participating.
Regarding the part of athletics where athletes are trained and primed to be prepared and successful for life after high school, the Blackhawks have a solid winning program. While a lot of folks sometimes lose sight of that fact, sporting programs are about education, the kind you can't get out of a book.
I watched last week's game and things didn't start well. The Tigers scored first, we were deep in our own territory facing a third and long, and the visitors were licking their chops to run back an expected punt. However, the 'Hawks pulled off a great play, got into Prairie Grove territory, went down the field and scored to tie the game at 8-8. Later in the half, the guests were treated to a couple of 'Hawk mistakes that greatly aided the Tigers in two scores for them, and the game was decided long before the final buzzer. In spite of all that, there was no surrender, no sign that the 'Hawks had given up.
Last Friday, Prairie Grove was clearly the better team. However, this is high school. Just because a team doesn't or can't beat another on a given night in October, it doesn't mean it can't be turned around by November. The Blackhawks could and will get better. The local players are not happy with the results of the last couple of games and they will be working harder than ever to get back on the winning track. Who knows how the season will eventually turn out, one way or another.
This is why they play the game.
Playoff picture coming into focus
Prairie Grove's having already dispatched all three of their top three rivals means that they have all but claimed the No. 1 seed from the 4A-1 this year. They had their first four conference games with the four teams that most supposed would be playoff bound by season's end (Gravette, Huntsville, Pea Ridge and Shiloh). Their last three games are against the bottom three teams in the league, so don't expect the Tigers to suffer a loss before the playoffs.
The last two games of the season will probably decide the 2, 3 and 4 seeds. Gravette hosts Shiloh a week from Friday and Pea Ridge will travel to Shiloh the week after. Shiloh and Gravette currently have one loss with the 'Hawks right behind with two defeats. Those final two games will set the final top four seeds.
Meanwhile, Lincoln has two wins and will play Gentry in a couple of weeks with a chance to return to the playoffs. A win there would earn them the fifth seed. The only team with seemingly no chance to make the playoffs is Berryville.
4A-1 standings
1. Prairie Grove 4-0
2. Gravette 3-1
Shiloh 3-1
4. Pea Ridge 2-2
Lincoln 2-2
6. Huntsville 1-3
Gentry 1-3
8. Berryville 0-4
Nashville still top-ranked team in state 4A
Nashville is still undefeated, hanging 69 points on top-10 team Ashdown last week. Their 7-0 record includes two 1-point wins over first Hope (a good 5A school) and then Fountain Lake, also a top-10 team.
Personally, I still believe Warren is the team to beat. Their only loss was to super power Pulaski Academy, one of the best overall teams in the state. Both Nashville and Warren play in the two toughest overall 4A districts in the state and the odds are that one of them will make the final in December.
MaxPreps/CBS 4A football poll
1. Nashville 7-0
2. Robinson 7-0
3. Warren 6-1
4. Dardanelle 7-0
5. Prairie Grove 6-1
6. Fountain Lake 5-2
7. Gosnell 7-0
8. Central Arkansas 6-1
9. Ashdown 5-2
10. Pocahontas 7-0
15. Shiloh 4-2
19. Gravette 5-2
20. Pea Ridge 5-2
35. Huntsville 3-4
36. Lincoln 3-4
46. Berryville 2-5
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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 10/21/2015