The Blackhawks jumped out to an early lead, fought off a furious Prairie Grove comeback, then scored the game's last 9 points to come away from a very important 38-29 victory on the road.
Senior Carson Rhine made his first ever varsity start at quarterback and he put in a solid game, hitting two of three passes for 60 yards and a touchdown along with rushing 22 times for 146 yards, scoring four touchdowns in the process. Freshman Trevor Blair caught both passes for 60 yards and a score. Junior Samuel Beard had a banner day at tailback, rushing 19 times for a whopping 223 yards, scoring once. Beard averaged 11 yards a carry against one of the best defenses in the league.
"Having Carson at quarterback," head coach Stephen Neal observed, "changed our offense. He can throw the football but he can also really run it. We had a difficult week leading up to the game, but the boys came together as a team, accepted the challenge and won the game. The Tigers are always tough and they played hard and physical tonight as I would expect."
The 'Hawks' first score came like a blitzkrieg, taking only three plays to get into the end zone. On first down, Rhine faked a handoff then ran right, dashing 23 yards before being caught on the Tiger 46. On the next play, Beard rolled right, weaving among tacklers, then sprinted toward the goal, very nearly scoring before being dragged down on the Tiger 2-yard line. Rhine punched it in on the next play to give the 'Hawks an early lead. The 2-point rushing PAT was good, also by Rhine, giving Pea Ridge an 8-0 lead with less than a minute gone.
The 'Hawks tried an onside kick but the Tigers covered at at the Prairie Grove 43. Two runs by Garrett Heltgemes picked up 10 yards into Pea Ridge territory, but three plays later, they were pushed back onto their own side facing a fourth and 16 on their own 48. The Tigers nearly got a first down pass completed on third and 16 but Rhine was there to knock it away to force the punt.
After setting up on their own 34, the Blackhawks were pushed back 15 yards on their first two snaps due to penalties, and though Rhine and Beard subsequently rushed for 18 yards, Pea Ridge was forced to punt.
Starting on their own 30, the Tigers were knocked back 2 yards when Mike Mahoney and Gavin Warden buried the quarterback on the 28. After a short gain on second down, a number of 'Hawks swept over the offensive line to hang a 6-yard loss on the Tiger field general on third down, forcing a punt on fourth and 17.
Beginning on the Tiger 46, Rhine very nearly broke free on first down, rambling 36 yards to the Prairie Grove 10. However, the Tiger defensive line stiffened up, preventing a score on three Blackhawk rushing attempts. A fourth down field goal attempt went awry in the cold, wet environment, giving the ball back to the hosts on their own 20.
Back on their heels from the outset, the Tigers' defensive stand was a shot in their arm, as they launched an 80-yard scoring drive to nearly tie the score. Eschewing the pass, the Tigers ran rushing eight plays to gain a first down on the 'Hawk 9. From there, Garrett Heltgemes bowled into the end zone for the touchdown. Prairie Grove decided to forego trying for a tie, with kicker Cade Walker hitting the PAT to cut the 'Hawk lead to 8-7 with 10:36 left in the half.
The two rivals traded punts until Pea Ridge got something going, starting from the 'Hawk 45 yard line. Rhine picked up 8 yards on first down to break into Prairie Grove territory. A subsequent fumble pushed the 'Hawks back 5 yards, but Rhine dumped a pass to Trevor Blair who outraced the Tiger defensive backfield to the goal line, scoring from 52 yards out. Blackhawk junior Luis Reyes split the uprights to give Pea Ridge a 15-7 advantage with 6:36 left in the second period.
The fired up 'Hawks' defense stopped the Tigers cold on the next two running plays, and a third down pass was off the mark, forcing another Prairie Grove punt. Starting from the Tiger 42, the hosts were fed a lot of Beard, with the junior tailback rushing for 4 yards twice, before breaking loose to sprint the final 34 yards to paydirt. Reyes' kick was true and Pea Ridge was ahead 22-7 with 3:31 left in the half.
It looked like the 'Hawks had stopped the Tigers when they quickly faced a third and 16 from their own 30. However, two straight penalties gave Prairie Grove 20 yards and next life on the midfield stripe. Facing a second and 14 from the 'Hawk 48 with the clock rapidly running out, the Tigers went to the air and picked up 19 yards to the 'Hawk 25. After two runs by the Tigers didn't get them anywhere, they went to the air again and it earned them a first down on the 'Hawk 17. Two plays later, quarterback Eric Guenther threw a perfect pass to brother Greg Guenther who caught it in the middle of tight coverage in the corner of the end zone. Walker hit the PAT kick and the 'Hawks went into intermission with a 22-14 lead.
Though the Tigers came out of the halftime fired out, the 'Hawks contained them until James Millwood came close to breaking one, gaining 48 yards to the 'Hawk 26. Cade Grant took it in from there, scoring with 9:52 left in the third quarter. This time the Tigers went for the tie with Heltemes running up the middle to sore, knotting the contest at 22-22.
After starting from their own 35 following the kickoff, a short gain by Rhine was followed by a burst of speed by Beard that took him 61 yards to the Tiger 2-yard line before the hosts could take him down. The Tigers, determined to stay in the game, threw up a defense that the 'Hawks could not budge, losing 2 yards on three rushes. Reyes came on to add to the 'Hawks' score, nailing a 21-yard field goal with 6:35 showing, giving Pea Ridge a 25-22 advantage.
The Blackhawk defense stepped it up, with the Tigers facing a second and 12 from their own 16. Dropping back to pass, the quarterback saw only black and white jerseys as a sea of tacklers buried him at the 8-yard line. A third and 20 pass missed connection and the subsequent punt gave the 'Hawks possession on the Tiger 45.
On first down, quarterback Rhine moved to his left waiting for a play to develop when he saw a seam in the defense. He immediately bolted through the opening and did not stop running until he crossed the goal line 45 yards later. Reyes' kick was true and the 'Hawks were on top by 10, 32-22 with 4:24 left in the third.
In this emerging battle of the giants, Prairie Grove was not going to give in, setting off on a seven-play scoring march that culminated with a 52-yard jaunt by Grant with 1:21 left in the third period. Walker's kick was good to shrink the 'Hawk advantage to 32-29.
With the rain picking up, the 'Hawks chose to keep it on the ground with Beard and Rhine alternating rushes to pound the ball 36 yards to the Prairie Grove 34. However, the wet ball squirted loose on first down to slow momentum. The next two runs netted but a yard, so the 'Hawks had to punt from the Tiger 34. Reyes' ensuing punt might have been the play of the game with the pigskin bouncing out of bounds at the Tiger 2, putting the hosts in a very deep hole.
Prairie Grove managed to move it out to their own 15 before getting bogged down and having to punt on fourth and 7. The snap to the punter skipped off the turf with the special team's player opting to run it out. The 'Hawks brought him down on the Tiger 13 to give the 'Hawks a chance to put the game away with the new possession. The suspense didn't last long as Rhine darted into the end zone on first down to give the 'Hawks a very important 9-point edge, leading 38-29 with 5:51 left.
The Tigers had one last chance starting from their own 27. Dropping back to pass, the Tiger quarterback suffered a coverage sack, with none of his receivers open allowing a host of 'Hawk tacklers to bring him down. The focused 'Hawks smashed through to drop the Tiger ball carrier for a 2-yard loss on the next play, and led by Gavin Warden, the Tigers' last hope disappeared under a blanket of tacklers 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage on third down, leading to still another punt.
The 'Hawks took over on the Tiger 42 with 3:42 left in the game. A 23-yard run by Beard and a 16-yard dash by Beard kept the chains moving, until the 'Hawks were knocking on the door at the Tiger 4-yard line. The 'Hawks eventually turned the ball over but not until the clock had melted down to 0:08.
Warden led a very aggressive defense, leading the way with 18 tackles. All-state candidate Tristin Brewer was right behind with 17 stops, with Gannon Conrad and Adam Trammel racking up 14 and 13 tackles, respectively. Toby Dunning and Mahoney each chipped in with eight tackles. Conrad led the team with 11 solo tackles while Warden had seven.
Dunning, Brewer, Warden, Conrad, Mahoney and Arnoldo Rascon each recorded a quarterback sack during the battle. Reyes again was masterful in the kicking game, averaging over 35 yards per kick punting in wet conditions, and again kicked off multiple times into the end zone.
Next up will be Berryville, a team that is celebrating its first conference win since early 2016 with their 42-7 whipping of Gravette last week. The Bobcats will be invading Blackhawk Stadium Friday.
The victory kept Pea Ridge tied atop the 4A-1 standings with Shiloh, both sporting 4-0 records. Shiloh will play Lincoln and Gravette over the next two weeks while Pea Ridge will play Berryville and Green Forest. Should both the 'Hawks and Springdale boys win out, the Shiloh/Pea Ridge game here on Nov. 2 will be for all the marbles.
Sports on 10/17/2018