'Hawks celebrate 45-6 drubbing of Berryville

John McGee

Special to The TIMES

Scoring summary

Berryville 0 0 0 6 - 6

Pea Ridge 11 21 13 0 - 45

First quarter

Pea Ridge — 1-yard run by Winn, 2-point conversion good 3:31

Pea Ridge — 34-yard field goal by Green, 1:25

Second quarter

Pea Ridge — 17-yard pass from Sainsbury to Holgrewe. 2-point PAT from Sainsbury to Holtgrewe. 10:01

Pea Ridge — 65-yard punt return by Holtgrewe, Green kick. 4:05

Third quarter

Pea Ridge — 70-yard kickoff return by Holtgrewe. Kick failed. 11:48

Pea Ridge — 30-yard pas from Sainsbury to Holtgrewe. Green kick. 8:09

The football Blackhawks got back on the winning track with a 45-6 domination of the Berryville Bobcats in the annual Homecoming game last week.

"It was a nicely played game coming off our first loss last week," head coach Stephen Neal said. "We didn't let down and competed well."

"While we had too many penalties again (10), we had no turnovers at all, and I was proud of the way they played," he said.

Hayden Holtgrewe led the way for the 'Hawks with four touchdowns, catching two passes for scores and running back two kicks.

Robby Pickthal and Duncan Truesdell slowed the Bobcat attack in the first series in the battle, but a pair of 'Hawk offsides aided Berryville in sustaining an early drive. The two 'Hawk defenders teamed up to drop the 'Cats' Robert Allen for a loss on a second down at the Berryville 42, and a punt was forced after a third down pass was too long.

The 'Hawks started well on their first series with Jakota Sainsbury hitting Drew Winn in the flat to pick up 20 yards to the 'Hawk 45. Zaine Holley picked up a tough 3 yards to the 48, but a second down snap sailed 18 yards over the quarterback's head to bury the 'Hawks with a third and 25. Caudill caught a 6-yarder from Sainsbury on third down but it wasn't enough. Pickthal kicked Pea Ridge out of trouble with a super kick that traveled 46 yards.

Berryville used runs by Archer and Poe to gain some yardage, but a tackle behind the line of scrimmage by Pickthal forced a punt. A short Bobcat punt put the 'Hawks in business on their own 49.

Winn took care of business in short order, sprinting left then blowing past several defenders to run untouched to pay dirt. A 2-point PAT was successful to give Pea Ridge an 8-0 lead with 3:31 left in the first quarter.

The fleet footed Winn then swiped a Berryville pass two plays later, returning in 22 yards to the Berryville 33. A Sainsbury pass to Hayden Holtgrewe netted 13 yards to the 20. The 'Hawks then drove to the 11 on three plays, but the penalty bug bit again, with a motion penalty forcing a 34-yard field goal on fourth down. Evan Green split the uprights with 1:25 left in the period to boost the lead to 11-0.

On the Bobcats' first play following the kickoff, Caudill and Nolan broke through to drop the 'Cats Maxwell for a loss. Two more plays netted little yardage and the Bobcats were forced to punt again. Holley bashed the middle for 7 yards on two carries, then Holtgrewe caught another strike from Sainsbury on a big fourth and 3 play on their own 45. After a 5-yard Berryville penalty, Holley burst through the line for gains of 9 and 12 yards. From the Berryville 17, Sainsbury hit Holtgrewe on the eastern sidelines with Holtgrewe outmaneuvering the defenders to fall into the end zone for the 'Hawks' second touchdown. The pair hooked up again, this time for a 2-point conversion with Holtgrewe leaping high over the defense to snag the pass. The heroics pushed the 'Hawks into a 19-0 lead with 10:01 left in the half.

There was more bad news for Berryville on their next play, the 'Hawks' Tyler Randall dropped Berryville's Graham for a 2-yard loss. That was followed by another 2-yard loss when Jacob Torres shucked his blockers to make a flying tackle on Allen. After a third and 14 pass fell to the turf, the Bobcats punted the ball which the 'Hawks took on their own 44.

After another penalty set the 'Hawks back to 39. Holley jetted through a lot of traffic to gain 26 yards to the Berryville 35. Sainsbury then made a great pass to Holtgrewe which covered 21 yards to the 14, but the play was called back on another 'Hawk penalty. Winn then burst through for 21 yards to the 23, but a holding penalty against the 'Hawks pushed the ball back to the 45. Holtgrewe took a 6-yarder from Sainsbury on third down but a fourth down run from the 39 was short.

The Bobcats got only 1 yard on two runs following regaining possession and a third down pass was incomplete. The ensuing punt to Holtgrewe on his own 35, launched another highlight play, as the 'Hawk returner scampered past a host of defenders to dash 65 yards and score again. Green was again accurate on the PAT kick and the 'Hawks had a big lead at 26-0 with 4:05 left in the half.

The 'Hawks' defense was still suffocating the Bobcats as they could only muster 2 yards on three plays. The fourth and 8 punt was blocked by a wave of 'Hawk defenders with Pea Ridge gaining possession on the Berryville 30.

Holley dashed halfway home, running 16 yards to the 14-yard line on first down. Two plays later saw Sainsury hit Caudill in stride on the left side as the senior receiver ran into the end zone with 1:37 left in the half to set the halftime score at 32-0.

If fans wondered how long it would be before the Mercy Rule was invoked didn't have to wait long as Holtgrewe gathered in the second half kickoff and outran the Bobcats all the way to score on a 70-yard return. With barely 12 seconds gone in the half, the 38-0 lead activated the AA mandated mercy rule which effectively halved the second half in time.

The roof then fell in on the Bobcats when two plays later, sophomore Carson Rhine snagged a Berryville pass to give the ball back to Pea Ridge on their own 41. Sainsbury picked up 14 yards on a keeeper, followed by runs of 4 and 11 by Holley and Pickthal for a first down on the Berryville 30. On the next play, Sainsbury went to Holgrewe who caught the pigskin and ran it into the end zone for his fourth touchdown. A penalty on the PAT pushed Green back to attempt it from 25 yards out but it mattered not as he scored again to balloon the lead to 45-0 with barely 8:09 showing in the third quarter.

The 'Hawks substituted freely the rest of the way with the Bobcats taking advantage to make their lone score with 3:17 left in the game, a 1-yard plunge by Ferguson. The PAT failed to leave the score at what would be the final one at 45-6.

Holley led the ground attack with 65 yards on eight carries with Winn picking up 64 yards on three carries. Sainsbury had a good night under center, completing 11 of 14 for 1,555 yards.

The 'Hawks had a huge advantage in total yards at the half, leading Berryville 236-45 and the 'Hawks outgained their guests 67-13 in the third period. Pea Ridge gained no yards in the fourth period with the Bobcats picking up 69 for their only score. Pea Ridge outgained the 'Cats 294-125 in the final stats.

Pea Ridge will be on the road at Huntsville this Friday before returning next week for their regular season finale with rival Shiloh.

Sports on 10/26/2016