The ball has fallen in New York City and and a New Year has begun. Here in Pea Ridge, the ball has fallen and a Blackhawk or Lady Blackhawk was there to scoop it up and heat up the scoreboard with the heart of the basketball season upon us.
The Lady 'Hawks entertained West Fork last night with the league lead on the line. The teams came into the game tied up with identical 6-0 records. The Tigers were the state's 4A 4th-ranked team, a team the 'Hawks lost to in overtime in a November tournament. After the West Fork showdown, there are 11 conference games left on the schedule, so while last night's game was important, there is a lot of season left.
The boys have been undefeated as has been Gravette. The two top 10 state-ranked teams could well stay undefeated in conference play until January when they match up for a game in Gravette on Jan. 20. The 'Hawks have to play dangerous Gentry at home on Jan. 17, and they played an improved West Fork team last night. Next Tuesday they will match up with Prairie Grove and then give West Fork a return match on Jan. 13 before taking on Gravette.
With reference back to the old year. It will take some doing to improve on what transpired in 2016, but I think we were saying the very same thing in 2015 and things did get better. A lot better.
The girls track team under the leadership of coach Heather Wade has become the behemoth of the 4A-1, winning their third straight district title. They will do well again in 2017.
The boys basketball team in early 2016 was consistently ranked in the top 10 and their only loss this fall was to Providence by a single basket at the buzzer. Even in the loss, the 'Hawks defense kept them in the game even when they went a quarter and a half without a field and still they almost pulled it off.
The baseball team was great last spring as it usually is, and this year they can be especially optimistic. A load of returning players with a year or growth and experience to hone their success.
The year 2016 was a great year but the pieces and parts are there for an incredible 2017. Stay tuned, come out to watch, and support the Blackhawks and Lady Blackhawks as they continually make the name Pea Ridge a bigger and bigger player on the sports scene in the state of Arkansas.
Exploring the Twitter-verse
I was a committed flip phone user until November when the phone's problems and a need for a better phone to communicate sports led me to finally getting an android smart phone. Like other grandpas in their 60s, I suppose, I have slowly been able to utilize the many and varied features the phone as to offer.
While I am slowly coming up to speed in this electronic society, I have yet to use or even read a Twitter message, the social media that was a big part of the winning president's election strategy recently.
I can surf the internet, and I recently I ran across some tweets from local personalities that beg for publication.
The first one I came across was tweeted out by local head basketball coach Trent Loyd who was referring to the 47 points that former Bentonville basketball star Malik Monk scored against NCAA basketball power North Carolina. Loyd had the pleasure, or perhaps the pain, or facing Monk when the Tigers took on the Blackhawks previously. Lloyd tweeted (I'm not sure I can write "Loyd said"): "Don't worry Roy Williams (coach at North Carolina) Monk has gone off on me too, but not for 47."
Chandler Tidwell tweeted that Pea Ridge had "the two best running backs in Arkansas" with reference to Zaine Holley and Drew Winn, and now we have the "two best guards in Arkansas" with reference to Matt Thomas and Joey Hall. Can't fault Tidwell's judgment, and even though he might be prejudiced, he is right.
To me the best tweet was sent out by quarterback Jakota Sainsbury, who attached a photo taken in Little Rock of him running and pointing up with his finger. His caption read "Mom look, I'm on the big screen!"
CBS/MaxPreps 4A Boys state poll
Dec. 27, 2016
School won-loss pwr rtg +/-
1. Baptist Prep 9-1 22.4 +0.3
2. Batesville Southside 9-1 16.9 -0.7
3. Huntsville 11-1 15.9 +0.2
4. Jonesboro Westside 11-3 14.0 -0.8
5. Gravette 8-1 12.0 +0.8
6. Bauxite 9-2 12.0 +0.2
7. Pea Ridge 9-1 11.7 unch
8. ESTEM (Little Rock) 9-5 11.6 -0.2
9. Cave City 11-2 11.5 -2.5
10. Pottsville 10-2 11.2 new
25. Prairie Grove 4-5 1.8 +1.7
26. Berryville 5-3 1.1 +0.3
35. Gentry 4-4 -1.7 -1.7
28. Shiloh 3-3 0.1 -1.1
36. Lincoln 2-9 -10.6 -11.2
4A North Region boys poll
1. Huntsville 11-1
2. Gravette 8-1
3. Pea Ridge 8-1
4. Pottsville 10-2
5 .Dardanelle 7-3
6. West Fork 9-3
7. Booneville 7-3
9. Ozark 4-6
10. Prairie Grove 4-5
3A-4A-1 Boys conference*
1. Gravette 6-0
2. Pea Ridge 5-0
3. Prairie Grove 4-1
4. West Fork 4-2
5. Gentry 3-3
6. Shiloh 2-3
7. Elkins 2-4
8. Greenland 2-5
9. Haas Hall 1-5
10. Lincoln 0-6
*as of Dec. 27
MaxPreps/CBS State 4A Girls Poll
School won-loss pwr rtg +/-
1. Central Arkansas 10-1 19.6 +0.5
2. Pocahontas 11-3 17.7 +0.8
3. Monticello 8-3 16.8 -0.2
4. West Fork 9-0 14.8 +0.8
5. Ozark 7-2 13.3 -0.3
6. Pottsville 9-3 13.0 +0.3
7. Star City 7-2 11.5 +0.5
8. Huntsville 9-5 9.5 - 0.1
9. Pea Ridge 8-3 9.1 unch
10. ESTEM 10-6 8.5 -0.8
14. Berryville 7-5 6.4 +0.4
21. Gravette 6-4 2.8 -0.5
24. Gentry 7-4 1.8 -0.4
24. Prairie Grove 2-5 -1.9 -1.0
34. Shiloh 3-7 -5.0 +0.2
4A North Region girls poll
1. West Fork 9-0
2. Ozark 7-2
3. Pottsville 9-3
4. Huntsville 9-5
5. Pea Ridge 9-3
6. Berryville 7-5
7. Gentry 7-4
8. Dardanelle 4-7
9. Prairie Grove 3-5
10. Dover 3-6
3A-4A-1 Girls conference
1. West Fork 6-0
2. Pea Ridge 6-0
3. Greenland 6-2
4. Gravette 4-3
5. Prairie Grove 3-4
6. Gentry 2-4
7. Elkins 2-4
8. Haas Hall 1-5
9. Shiloh 1-5
10. Lincoln 1-6
•••
Editor's note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 01/11/2017