Blackhawks tame Lions 46-16

"We've just got to get clicking sooner," lamented Blackhawk head coach Stephen Neal Friday at Lion Stadium in Gravette. The host Lions looked for a time un-tame-able as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the final three quarters were all Blackhawk as the Pea Ridge outscored Gravette 46-6 to win going away.

"Though we went into the half with a lead, the turning point for me was the third quarter.

"We missed a field goal, and then they made one to cut the lead to 21-13," Neal remarked, "and then we got a great kickoff return, two great offensive plays to score a TD, then a defensive touchdown followed by an interception which led to a touchdown and inside of 4 minutes we lead 40-13."

Pea Ridge won the toss but decided to kick to start the game. Though Gravette did get a great run by Austin O'Brien for 14 yards in their first running play of the game, Gravette's next three plays netted but 2 yards and the Lions were forced to punt. Holley rushed for 5 in the 'Hawks' first play after the punt, but the big Gravette line held the next two plays to no yards, forcing the 'Hawks' first punt. The 'Hawks' punt attempt went askew and traveled only 13 yards to give Gravette their first opportunity on the Pea Ridge 41.

After missing his first three passes, Lion quarterback Kilby Roberts hooked up with O'Brien for 12 yards to the 'Hawk 32. An offside against the 'Hawks gave the Lions a first down on the 27 and on the next play, the Roberts to O'Brien combo struck again. O'Brien managed to avoid a host of 'Hawk tacklers to run to pay-dirt, helping Gravette to a 7-0 lead with 6:52 left in the first quarter.

On the very next play, the 'Hawks fumbled, giving the ball back to the Lions on their own 30. Seth Trammel sacked the quarterback on first down to slow them down a bit, though a fourth and 11 pass from Roberts to Brady Moorman just did earn a first down. The 'Hawks defense turned it up a notch, making the Lions grind it out with Roberts and O'Brien alternating rushes to slowly move the ball to the 4-yard line. Jacob Torres rained on the Lion touchdown parade when he dropped O'Brien for a 7-yard loss on third and 4 to force Gravette to kick a field goal. The kick from 26 yards out was good for a 10-0 lead for the hosts with 30 seconds left in the first period.

After the kickoff, a 17-yard pass from Jakota Sainsbury to Hayden Holtgrewe got Pea Ridge into Lion territory at the 47. Runs by Tristan Brewer and Holley moved the ball to the 42 but another fumble turned it over to end the brief threat.

Using strong running by O'Brien, it looked like the Lions were going to increase their lead, moving down to the 'Hawk 30. Holtgrewe derailed those plans by swiping a pass at the 'Hawk 25, returning it 27 yards to the Lion 48.

Holley rushed for 2 yards then two plays later, Holtgrewe caught a short pass from Sainsbury, then ran by, through, and around a host of Lion tacklers as he made his way to the end zone for the 'Hawks' first score. Evan Green booted the PAT to shrink the Lion lead to 10-7 with 6:26 left in the half.

On the Lions' third play after the kickoff, Britton Caudill pulled off pea Ridge's second interception, taking the ball at the 50 and running at a slant to the Lion 17. Sainsbury connected with Holtgrewe again, this time for 12 yards to the Lion 5. After a 5-yard penalty pushed the 'Hawks back to the 10, Holley blew through the Lion defenses for another touchdown, erasing the Lion lead and putting the 'Hawks up 14-10 following Green's accurate PAT with 4:32 left in the half.

The now fired up 'Hawks forced the Lions into a three and out to regain possession. After Sainsbury tossed a 6-yard pass to Holtgrewe, Holley rushed for a first down at the 'Hawk 37 after an 8-yard gain. On the next play, Sainsbury went deep, hitting Holtgrewe with another scoring pass that took the fleet receiver to the end zone for the second time. Green came on to kick the PAT again to up the Pea Ridge advantage to 21-10 with 1:52 left in the half.

Drew Winn had a good runback on the kickoff to start the second half, returning it 25 yards to the Lion 40. Holley slashed his way for 13 to the Lion 24, with Winn nearly breaking free after an 11-yard gain on the next play set them up on the Lion 11. Things quickly went awry from there.

A 5-yard penalty against the Lions moved the ball inside the 10 but two fumbles were followed by missed blocks that pushed the 'Hawks back to the 14. A field goal attempt from the 20 fell short and the opportunity was gone.

Roberts and O'Brien picked things up for the Lions, alternating runs to move them from the 20 to midfield. From there, the Lions crossed up the 'Hawks with O'Brien throwing a halfback pass to Bailey Soule for 24 yards to the 'Hawk 31. O'Brien then ran for 8 yards followed by an 11-yard rush by Dylan Gruver. Two more short runs put the Lions on the 'Hawk 6 but a third down pass was batted away. Childress kicked a 26-yard field goal on fourth down to move the Lions closer, trailing just 21-13.

A big runback by Winn roused the Blackhawk crowd, setting Pea Ridge up first and 10 on the Lion 46. Winn then broke off a 16-yard dash to the 30, where Sainsbury lofted another pass to Holtgrewe who took it in to score. Holtgrewe's third touchdown lifted the 'Hawks to a 27-13 lead with 4:33 left in the third quarter.

The score by Holtgrewe lit a fire under the 'Hawks, with Bret Kirby hanging a 3-yard loss on the Lion ball carrier on the first play. The second play was even worse for the Lions with Seth Trammel sacking the quarterback for a 5-yard loss back to the Lion 30. A Roberts to Moorman pass went for good yardage, but not enough to avoid a fourth down punt. The punt was partially deflected with the quick thinking Jacob Torres picking up the pigskin to race 40 yards to the end zone. The score gave the 'Hawks a big lead at 33-13 with 2:09 left in the third.

Two plays later, the 'Hawks were back in business after Caudill took down his second interception. Caudill returned the interception 16 yards to the Lion 32. Sainsbury went back to pass and bolted ahead when he saw daylight. And, 10 yards later the 'Hawks were first and 10 on the Lion 22 where Winn ran around the left side to spurt into the end zone for the score. Green's kick was the 'Hawks' 40th point to all but ice the contest with 30 seconds left in the period.

On the quarter's last play, O'Brien broke free on his longest run of the day, a 30-yarder to the 'Hawk 35. Three plays later and the Lions had gained a first down on the 'Hawk 15. Three plays netted zero yardage, and after a 5-yard penalty pushed them back to the 20, Childress came to boot through a 36-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to tighten the score slightly at 40-16.

The teams traded punts on their next possession, but the 'Hawks had one more drive left in them. Two penalties hurt the 'Hawks but Holley's runs of 6, 3 and 10 yards set them up on the Lion 5. Holley took it in from there to score again.

The 'Hawks recovered the ensuing kickoff, but after a 15-yard rushing gain by Zach Law, the 'Hawks took a knee to run out the clock and the game.

The Lions outgained the 'Hawks 67 yards to 22 yards in the first quarter, but were outgained 297 to 134 the rest of the way. Holtgrewe led the way with 174 yards on six catches and three touchdowns. Holley led all rushed with 78 yards on 13 carries. Winn added 45 yards on four tries.

The 'Hawks were without the services of star lineman Beau German but Coach Neal lauded the play of Blake Bell and Dalton Nesbit, who filled it. German suffered a slight concussion recently but will be available to play Friday.

"Playing Prairie Grove will be a huge challenge for us," Neal concluded. "They are an outstanding team and it will be some great football this Friday."