It was the the immovable object and the irresistible force, and both were on the side of the Pea Ridge Blackhawks as they swept to a 35-6 conquest of the Berryville Bobcats Friday.
"We played a lot of our kids and we got great effort from everyone," a pleased head coach Stephen Neal related. "The boys know how to practice, and they took that into the game tonight. We gave several players a chance at running the ball, and they did not disappoint."
The irresistible force that was the offense scored every time they had the ball until the fourth quarter. The first Blackhawk punt did not occur until there was only 7 minutes left in the game. The defense, on the other hand, did not allow a first down that wasn't due to a penalty until the 6:00 minute mark of the third quarter.
Junior Samuel Beard led the team on offense, rushing 22 times for 109 yards, scoring two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. Sophomore Cole Brown was second in rushing, gaining 60 yards on nine totes.
The 'Hawks were effective in the passing game with Carson Rhine hitting seven of eight passes for 85 yards and a score, with sophomore Zac Withrow connecting on six of eight for 48 yards. Freshman Trevor Blair caught four of the passes for 26 yards with Brayden Ralph gaining the most yards with two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.
'Hawks elected to kick to start the game, then held the visitors to -7 yards in their first series. Senior Arnoldo Rascon shot through the blockers to drop the quarterback for a 6-yard loss on the game's first play. A roughing the kicker penalty on fourth down against the 'Hawks gave Berryville new life, but the next three plays netted but 3 yards so the 'Cats punted away.
Beard started the offense off with a 9-yard run, then followed that up with a 17-yard scamper to give the 'Hawks a first down at the Berryville 31. After a 2-yard jaunt by Beard, Rhine flipped a pass to Blair to pick up 6 yards, with Beard rushing for 2 more on the next play for a first down on the 21. Rhine then found Ralph cutting across the middle with the junior grabbing the pass, then motoring into the end zone for the first score. Beard ran in the PAT, and the 'Hawks were ahead 8-0 with 5:48 left in the first quarter.
The defense forced another 3 and out on the Bobcats' next possession following the kickoff. After a Berryville punt sent the ball back to the Blackhawk 23, Pea Ridge would start their most time consuming scoring march of the season. The 'Hawks would run 20 plays, including two that were penalized, as they burned 8 minutes of clock before striking paydirt.
Beard started things off with a short run, then a Rhine pass to Peyton Galbraith netted 16 yards to the 'Hawk 43. A couple of short gains by Beard were wiped out by a penalty, but Rhine and Ralph connected again, this time for 21 yards to the Berryville 38. Beard rushed the 'Hawks toward a first down, but it took a 5-yard fourth-down pass to Galbraith to move the chains again.
Beard rushed three more times to get the 'Hawks within a yard of a first down. Faced with a fourth down play on the 'Cat 19, Rhine kept the ball and earned a new set of downs on the Bobcat 13. Beard then broke off an 8-yard run, but the 'Hawks were penalized 5 yards on the next play. Beard ran twice more, taking the ball down to the Berryville 5 where the 'Hawks faced their third straight fourth-down play. Beard took it on in from with 7:02 left in the half. Rhine ran the PAT in to give the 'Hawks a 16-0 lead.
After six straight incompletions, the 'Cats finally connected on a pass, an 8-yarder to the Bobcat 32 on the first play following the kickoff. However, a wall of 'Hawk defenders jammed up the line of scrimmage to smother the 'Cats' next play, and on 3rd down, Gavin Warden made a flying tackle to bring down the Bobcat all carrier 2 yards behind the line. A short punt then gave the ball to Pea Ridge on the Blackhawk 49.
Rhine connected on two straight passes for 8 yards each, first to Blair, then to Withrow. Beard burst through for 30 yards on the next play , then bashed the line for 3 more to enter the end zone. His score left the Blackhawks with a solid 22-0 lead.
Berryville managed to drive into Blackhawk territory in the final minute of the half, with a Bobcat pass seemingly headed for a Berryville score until senior Mason Harwell stepped in front of it for a drive-killing interception.
Beard ran the first plays of the second half, picking up 16 yards and a 1st down on the Berryville 49. From that point on, the Hawks would rotate a number of running backs into the game but the chains kept moving, and the score kept mounting.
Normally a linebacker, Tristin Brewer got the call to rush the next three plays and he did well, picking up 9, 8, then 4 yards to get the ball deep into Bobcat territory at the 32. Luis Reyes then ran three plays that covered 10 yards, earning a first down on the 'Cat 18. Brewer went back in and rambled into the end zone with 8:22 showing in the third quarter. Reyes booted the PAT and Pea Ridge led 29-0.
Bobcat Christian Lemus then earned the 'Cats' first first down with three rushes to the Berryville 46. Lemus and Tristan Updegraft ran for 3 then 10 yards to the 'Hawk 41. The Bobcats then connected on only their second pass of the evening, and it very nearly scored, with J.D. Smith hitting Scotland Lucas for 39 yards to the 'Hawk 2. Braden Logan ran it in from there to score with 5:32 left in the third, making the deficit a little less at 29-6.
The 'Hawks had not been stopped on their first four possessions and the fifth would be no exception. Blair started things rolling with a 6-yard catch and run, with additional yardage tacked on when the 'Cats grabbed his face mask. Sophomore Cole Brown then dashed past defenders to gain 28 yards to the Berryville 7. Mike Mahoney smashed through the line for 4 yards, barreled through it again for 2 yards, then on a third and 1 play, Mahoney would not be stopped until he entered the end zone. His score came with 1:46 left in the third quarter, giving the 'Hawks a 35-6 lead.
The Bobcats used two 15 yard penalties against the 'Hawks to move into Pea Ridge territory at the 22. The 'Cats' first play was an incomplete pass with the 'Hawk defense swarming over the quarterback for a 4-yard loss on second down. A pass into the end zone looked like it might score for the guests until Brown shot into the play and knocked the ball away on fourth down.
Brown then got the first two offensive calls, picking up 11 yards on two runs for a first down on the 'Hawk 32. After a holding call against the 'Hawks set them back first and 20, two straight 11-yard passes from Withrow to Marcus Noble and then to Payton Beckman put the ball at midfield for a first down. The 'Hawks would get no closer, and were forced to punt for the first time with just over 7 minutes left in the game.
Lemus inspired his team with a 19-yard run right after Berryville assuming possession, and a series of short runs took the ball into Pea Ridge territory at the 40. The Cats tried a deep pass which would have worked had not the 'Hawks David Snarr knocked it away. Another deep pass on fourth down was on the mark, but Mason Harwell broke the play up to get the ball back for Pea Ridge.
Pea Ridge then ran the clock down to under a minute, but the Bobcats could not mount a threat in the waning moments and Pea Ridge took the final victory.
Defensive efforts were widely shared by a lot of players with Cole Brown recording the most tackles with 12. David Snarr had the second most with 8, with Brewer, David Wood and Mahoney each adding 7. Jake Adams and Rascon had six tackles each with Adam Trammel coming up with five stops.
Five other 'Hawks recorded rushing yardage with Brewer gaining 40 yards on five tries, Mahoney running three times for 7, Reyes rushing for 11 on two jaunts, with Rhine running once for 6, and Withrow once for 9.
The victory clinched at least the No. 2 seed for the 4A state playoffs in November. The No. 1 seed will be awarded to the winner of the Pea Ridge/Shiloh regular season finale game to be held Friday, Nov. 2, in Pea Ridge.
This week, the 'Hawks will travel to their farthest conference road game of the year at Green Forest. The Tigers are the newest and weakest member of the 4A-1, having been promoted out of the 3A-1 from last season. Their first season as a 4A member has not been successful to date as the Tigers have yet to score in a conference game, being the victims of five straight shut outs.
Sports on 10/24/2018