An outstanding era in Pea Ridge athletics will come to a close with the departure of head football coach and athletic director Tony Travis.
Not that the rising athletic fortunes of the school will necessarily suffer, but that the architect of what has become one of the best small school athletic departments in the state will be plying his trade somewhere else.
In the spring of 2009, Pea Ridge was looking for a new head football coach. Getting someone to step into the job was a little daunting considering the circumstances. At that time, the school had perhaps the worst football facilities in the state, and the program's success was limited with small numbers of athletes coming out for the gridiron.
Further compromising the school's chances for success was the tradition of some of the athletes to skip their sophomore and even their junior seasons to play just as seniors. The effect was that a lot of the roster was perpetually inexperienced. In spite of all that, Travis came to Pea Ridge, leaving behind a successful stint as an assistant coach for 7A state champion Fayetteville.
In speaking with the new coach back in '09, Travis said he felt that he needed to change the culture before sustained success could ever be possible. He set out to do that and seven years later, he has done just that.
The facilities that Pea Ridge now enjoys are by far the best in the conference if not the state, and the numbers of student athletes has risen sharply. A truly worthwhile athletic program in any school has to serve most of the students in some capacity or another and that is now the case here.
Pea Ridge has won 10 football games or more in three of the past four years, winning a league title along with advancing to the state semi-finals for the first time ever. These stats, while significant, are not the most important things to remember concerning the Travis era.
My own high school athletics experience was a very positive one, with my school becoming a sports power after a time in the league basement in prior years. While talking with my own head coach as a graduating senior, I thanked him for the championships won and the honors taken and he told me something that I have never forgotten. My coach said, "the things you won weren't nearly as important as the things you became."
When I think about the current crop of athletes who put on the Pea Ridge uniform, the most impressive thing about them is their character. There have been a lot of athletes who have been very successful athletically here the past few years, but the one thing they all have in common is their approach to the game, their attitude if you will.
A verse from the Bible tells us that "the first will be last and the last will be first." That wisdom applies to success in life in general, whether it be in athletics or in some other endeavor. It tells you that if you take care of the important things first, the good or fun things will come.
Learning a good work ethic, developing self control and placing the good of others ahead of your own desires will lead to a life that is successful.
A few years from now when the games won and trophies taken over the recent past seasons become a part of distant history, the students who participated in the rise of Blackhawk pride will carry those experiences with them as long as they live.
One important note regarding Travis departure. Most coaches resign when they see hard times coming, or when they jump to a more successful program. Whoever becomes the head coach in 2016 will inherit a team on the cusp of greatness. With nearly 100 players on the roster and the great majority of experienced players back for the next campaign, next year's coach is most of the way to getting "Coach of the Year" honors. The cupboard is certainly not bare at Pea Ridge.
Good luck to Travis as he takes over the Heritage War Eagles. An 0-10 season in 2015 will make the job as demanding there as it was in Pea Ridge in '09.
Travis was here for seven years. It was tough sledding in the early years, but boy, how time shave changed.
As Bob Hope used to croon, "Thanks for the memories."
League title decided last night
Pea Ridge hosted Huntsville last night in a game that likely decided the 2016 league championship. The clubs were tied with 10-2 marks last night and if Pea Ridge won, they will have clinched the title no matter the outcome of Friday's game.
Both teams were victims of last second upsets last Friday with Gravette beating Huntsville on the last basket and Berryville topping the Blackhawks by one with a last second shot.
In last week's column, I mentioned that both those games carried great risks of upsets. Huntsville and Pea Ridge had already eliminated all the other teams in the conference from a possible league title and the fact that the Eagles and 'Hawks were playing each other in the next game was a bad omen for Friday.
Gravette and Berryville were highly motivated to win and improve their playoff seeding and had more more to lose than did either of their opponents. It has long been said that most any team can beat any other team on a given night, and that axiom played out last Friday.
Sometimes a loss can be a good thing when you learn from it.
Standings and rankings
4A-1 District Standings
1. Pea Ridge 10-2
Huntsville 10-2
3. Berryville 7-5
Gravette 7-5
5. Shiloh 6-6
6. Gentry 5-7
7. Prairie Grove 2-10
Lincoln 1-11
4A North Region poll
1. Baptist Prep
2. Huntsville
3. Pea Ridge
4. Ozark
5. Pottsville
6. Dover
7. Dardanelle
8. Berryville
9. Gentry
10. Gravette
State 4A MaxPreps/CBS Poll
1. Monticello
2. Malvern
3. Jonesboro Westside
4. Baptist Prep
5. Huntsville
6. West Helena
7. Dumas
8. Riverview
9. Pea Ridge
10. Ozark
23. Gentry
24. Berryville
27. Gravette
35. Shiloh
46. Lincoln
47. Prairie Grove
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 02/10/2016