The Pea Ridge varsity football Blackhawks christened the new season with a two-quarter 47-0 shellacking of visiting Greenland Monday night.
Under new head coach Stephen Neal, Pea Ridge rolled up 354 yards of offense in the first two quarters. The 'Hawks were quite efficient in that time frame, rushing for four touchdowns, passing for two scores, while also getting a defensive touchdown.
Greenland managed 107 yards with all of their positive yards coming via the passing game. The Pirates were -10 yards rushing as they came up against a very stout 'Hawk defensive line.
The Pirates opened the game with a 23-yard strike from Austin Anderson to Hunter Castain for 33 yards to the 'Hawk 47. Trevor Henry then came up with the first of three 'Hawk defensive takeovers as he intercepted Anderson on the 'Hawk 40.
All-State running back Zaine Holley bashed the Pirates for 22 yards on three carries and two first downs to the Pirate 38. After a 1-yard pass from Jakota Sainsbury to Hayden Holtgrewe, Robby Pickthall broke free to dash 37 yards to paydirt. The score lifted Pea Ridge to an early 6-0 lead.
After the 'Hawks hung six yards in losses on the Pirates' next series, the home boys needed only one play following the punt to get back into the end zone. Sainsbury threw a sideline pass that was broken up by a Pirate defender but an alert Holley picked the ball out of the air and raced into the end zone from 55 yards out. Ryan Higgins nailed the extra point for a 13-0 lead with 7:16 left in the quarter.
Greenland's McAdoo gained some yardage in two plays but penalties forced a Pirate punt on their next series. Both defenses tightened as the next possessions for both teams led to punts.
As the 'Hawks ended the quarter on their next series, Carson Rhine rushed for 5 yards. The first play of the second quarter was an outstanding pass and catch from Sainsbury to Holtgrewe that netted 19 yards to the Pirate 30. On first down, Holley swept right then flashed between defenders to race into the end zone for his second touchdown. Higgins booted the PAT again to inflate the lead to 20-0.
On their next possession, it looked like the Pirates might get something going, using passes from Anderson to McAdoo to gain 24 yards and a first down near mid-field at the Pea Ridge 49. Their hopes were quickly dashed when Pickthall caught a Pirate ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage, spinning him around that resulted in the ball coming out loose. Pickthall picked up the fumble and raced 51 yards the other way for the 'Hawks' fourth TD. Higgins' third straight kick put the Pirates in a very deep hole trailing 27-0 with 9:08 left in the half.
On Greenland's next possession, it appeared that the 'Hawks would get the ball back deep in Pirate territory as the visitors faced a fourth and 16 on their own 24. A deep passing play was caught by the Pirates on the Pea Ridge 41, however, to get into 'Hawk territory. The 'Hawks' Wyatt Weber dropped the Pirate ball carrier for a 3-yard loss on first down, and three straight incomplete passes turned the ball back over to Pea Ridge.
It took the 'Hawks just seconds to get back on the scoreboard as Sainsbury hooked up with Higgins on a 56-yard scoring play on first down. The score ballooned the hometown lead to 33-0.
A 4-yard run by McAdoo and a pass from Anderson to Cartwright threatened to gain the Pirates a first down on their next possession. However, Jacob Torres picked up Cartwright as he was struggling to get to the yard marker and left him a yard short. The 'Hawk defenders smothered the Pirate quarterback on the next play to take over on downs.
Britton Caudill took a hand off on the next 'Hawk offensive play and very nearly broke it all the way, getting tackled on the 6 after a 33-yard gain. Winn punched it in up the middle on the next play for the score. Higgins' fourth PAT made the score 40-0 with 3:48 left in the half.
Things went bad to worse, or perhaps awful to terrible when Trevor Hyman broke through for a sack hanging a 4-yard loss on the Pirates. Carson Rhine then came up with an interception on the next play to give Pea Ridge the ball on the 'Hawk 42. One play later saw Winn setting sail down field to score the games' last touchdown with 3:15 left in the half, picking up 58 yards in the process. Higgins' fifth PAT set the score at 47-0.
After a short possession by Greenland, the 'Hawks ran out the quarter near the Greenland goal line as two runs by Torres netted 15 yards while Rhine ran once more for 19 yards and Chase Duncan ended the half with a 4-yard carry.
As this was a benefit, pre-season scrimmage game, the second half was played by both teams reserves with a running clock. Six 'Hawks got in some running plays with Moises Davila rushing four times for 47 yards, Peyton Galbraith running once for 38 yards, Duncan rushing four times for 18 yards, Trevor Henry rushing once for 4 with Carson picking up 10 yards on one carry.
The 'Hawks' reserve defenders held Greenland to minus 4 yards on eight carries. Greenland was one of five in passing attempts for 8 yards to give the Pirates a second half offensive total of 4 yards.
A week from Friday the 2016 season will begin in earnest with the 'Hawks hosting the Booneville Bearcats in their first ever meeting. Booneville was the 2013 state 4A champion and have a storied history as a football power although drops in enrollment have hurt the Bearcats depth.
Sports on 08/24/2016