Zaine Holley rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown as Pea Ridge remained undefeated with a 45-0 nonconference win over Paris on Friday night in Blackhawk Stadium.
The win is the 13th straight in the regular season for the Class 4A Blackhawks (3-0), who were unbeaten until a second-round playoff loss a year ago. It's also the third straight convincing win to open this season, following a 35-14 win over Elkins and 49-17 defeat of Green Forest.
Nonconference
Pea Ridge 45, Paris 0
Paris^0^0^0^0^—^0
Pea Ridge^15^14^10^6^—^45
First Quarter
Pea — Holley 1 run (Edwards kick), 4:07
Pea — Safety, 3:12
Pea — Sainsbury 1 run (kick failed), 1:20
Second Quarter
Pea — Hankins 20 pass from Sainsbury (Edwards kick), 11:21
Pea — Winn 14 run (Edwards kick), 1:34
Third Quarter
Pea — Caudill 49 pass from Sainsbury (Edwards kick), 11:00
Pea — FG Edwards 32, 5:24
Fourth Quarter
Pea — Torres 29 run (run failed), 6:21
Holley set the tone from the outset on Friday, carrying the ball on all 12 plays of Pea Ridge's opening drive and putting the Blackhawks up 7-0 with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. He finished with 102 yards rushing on 21 carries in the first half, carrying the ball only once for a loss of a yard in the second.
"We told our guys all week they were going to stack the box, and we were going to see if we could (run the ball)," Blackhawk coach Tony Travis said. "We're going to see that this year, but we were still able to do it."
Quarterback Jakota Sainsbury added a pair of passing touchdowns and a rushing score for Pea Ridge, finishing with 90 yards passing -- including a 49-yard touchdown strike to Britton Caudill in the second half.
The Blackhawks held the Eagles (1-2) to only 24 yards of total offense in the first half, and junior Seth Trammell ended Paris' first drive with a blocked punt.
Hunter Hargiss also earned a safety to put Pea Ridge up 9-0 with a tackle for a loss, part of a Pea Ridge defensive line that held the Eagles to 15 yards rushing in the first half on 20 carries. Paris finished with 57 yards of offense overall, 25 coming on the first drive before the blocked punt.
Holley carried the ball on Pea Ridge's first 13 plays, though Sainsbury followed on the 14th with a 38-yard completion to Eric Hankins. Three plays later, Sainsbury plunged in for a 1-yard score to put the Blackhawks up 15-0 late in the first quarter.
Sainsbury found Hankins once again on Pea Ridge's next drive, this time after rolling out to his left before connecting in the back of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 22-0.
Drew Winn and Jacob Torres also had touchdown runs for the Blackhawks, and kicker Jake Edwards added a 32-yard field goal in the second half.
"We've got some things we've got to get better at, but you can't be disappointed in the outcome," Travis said. "We're happy to be 3-0 heading into conference."
Sports on 09/23/2015