The upcoming football season will be the 4A swan song for the Pea Ridge Blackhawks, unless of course, the Arkansas Activities Association decides to fiddle with the classifications again sometime in the future.
In the fall of 2020, Pea Ridge will be at home in the 5A West football conference. Travel time will greatly increase with new conference mates Alma, Clarksville, Farmington, Greenbrier, Harrison, Morrilton and Vilonia. At least I-49 and I-40 will help a little with the distances.
This will be the third time in 16 years that the 'Hawks have had to move up a classification.
The last year -- 2002 -- the Blackhawks played in the 2A-2 with Decatur, Elkins, Green Forest, Mountainburg, Charleston, Hartford, Johnson County Westside and Cedarville was a good year, going 7-4 before losing to Hector in the playoffs.
The first year of 3A ball in 2003 was also good for the 'Hawks. Pea Ridge went 7-3, losing to Charleston in the playoffs that year. Their conference foes were Green Forest, Hackett, Elkins, Hartford, Mountainburg, Hackett, Cedarville and Lavaca.
In 2008, the community's steady growth pushed the school into 4A ball for the first time and the initial year was rocky. The 'Hawks went 1-9, beating only Huntsville 26-21. The locals' lack of depth and training facilities led to lackluster offensive production, scoring more than one touchdown in only three games. They went 2-8 the next season, then 1-9 in 2009. Then, 2010 was down again at 1-9.
The year 2011 was a breakout year of sorts as they went 4-6, just missing out on a playoff berth. They piled up over 600 yards against Shiloh but turnovers led to a 38-34 Shiloh victory and they grabbed the last playoff spot. That was also the year Dayton Winn first became known as one of the top running backs in the state.
Their fifth year into 4A was a great one, as the 'Hawks went 9-1 during the regular season, qualifying to host two playoff games. They crushed Monticello in the first round but a lack of depth allowed Heber Springs to come back from a three touchdown deficit to win the second round game.
Losing a very big senior class helped lead to a 3-7 record in 2013, but in 2014, the 'Hawks swept through the 1-4A undefeated to go 10-0, crushing Shiloh 32-6 in a winner take all game. The 'Hawks were then defeated in the second round of the playoffs.
The year 2015 was a big year in victories and in starting streaks. The 'Hawks went 8-2 to take second in the league then fought all the way to the state semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Nashville.
The year 2016 became the "Year." With seasoned lineman and talented skill players, the 'Hawks fought all the way to Little Rock to play in their first ever state championship game. The 'Hawks led in the first half but turnovers led to their downfall as they finished second in the state.
In 2017, the 'Hawks won their first nine games of the season in high style, then fought their way into the state semis for the third year in a row. Although jumping out ahead for a quarter and a half, Arkadelphia turned it around and took the contest, eventually winning the state title.
A lot of talent graduated from PRHS in the spring of 2018, and off the field incidents compounded the problems of having to replace so many starters but the 'Hawks managed to pull off a seven-game win streak. Shiloh broke the 'Hawks' four-game win streak over the private school boys and a first round playoff loss ended their season at 7-4.
Now we have 2019 coming up with a rather large and talented senior class hopefully ready and poised to make this final year in 4A a memorable one.
This will be the year of the home game as the gridiron 'Hawks will be playing seven home games in their pre-season and regular season schedule. They will host Siloam Springs in the preseason schedule with the first two regular games seeing Harrison and Maumelle come to town. The 'Hawks will then travel to Farmington, Lincoln, Berryville and Shiloh for the only road games. Should the 'Hawks take at least second in the 4A-1, they will have at least one home game in the playoffs.
Pea Ridge is a growing community and is one of the few schools in Arkansas to have climbed three classifications in so short a time. With the explosive growth of WalMart and several other growing nearby corporations, people will be moving into Pea Ridge to get away from the traffic and congestion of Rogers/Bentonville. Pea Ridge's growing status as an innovative and cutting edge school will continue to encourage parents to bring their kids to the Ridge from out of district places.
Back in the 1990s when Bentonville was forced into the large school classification, the school actually pulled out of competing in AAA sanctioned football. Folks thought it was unfair for little Bentonville to be forced to take the field with Springdale, Fort Smith, etc. For awhile, they didn't do particularly well, but fast forward to 2001, and the Tigers won a state title. They have won several since.
No one knows what 2020 will bring or how the 'Hawks will fare playing with the bigger boys. That is in the future, and we are still 4A with a chance to make some noise in 2019.
See you at the games.
Hootens high on Pea Ridge
While they had a good year in 2018, the Blackhawks made a quick exit in the playoffs leading the coaches in the 1-4A to rate the local boys as the third best team in pre-season voting.
Hootens, on the other hand, has picked the 'Hawks second in the league, seventh in the state for their pre-season predictions. The 'Hawks have five individuals mentioned for star status for 2019, with Prairie Grove (the coaches pick for second place) having nary a one. I don't know that I have ever seen a preseason report on Prairie Grove where they don't have several potential stars listed. They lack a proven running back and they have untested quarterbacks and receivers. Still, coach Danny Abshier, with a record of 194-108 with the Tigers, will be sure to motivate his players to erase the memories of a disappointing 2018 season.
The biggest shock I received looking at the polls is seeing how far Gravette has fallen. They have been a top 20 team for many, many years but are starting this season at No. 45. The CNN induced brain injury scare of a couple years ago led to a large portion of their roster hanging up their cleats. A new head coach last season never got the Lions untracked and resigned in late May after a 1-9 record. The last I heard is that a new head coach has not been located yet and it as likely that an assistant will step up to take the reins. In 2018, the Lions scored but four touchdowns all season save for a 31-0 win over hapless Green Forest.
The polls, as always, will have highly ranked teams flounder with unheralded teams making unexpected noise. This is high school football, which is kind of like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.
Hootens 4A state football poll
Arkadelphia
Nashville
Shiloh
Robinson
Warren
Ozark
Pea Ridge
Dumas
Rivercrest
Mena
Lonoke
Dardanelle
Central Arkansas
Bauxite
Pottsville
Prairie Grove
Southside Batesville
West Helena
Stuttgart
Pocahontas
Heber Springs
Ashdown
Jonesboro Westside
Lincoln
Star City
Gosnell
Gentry
Hamburg
DeWitt
Trumann
Riveview
Fountain Lake
Crossett
Brookland
Waldron
Berryville
Mills
Malvern
Harmony Grove
Elkins
Bald Knob
Monticello
Highland
Dover
Gravette
Cave City
Subiaco
Green Forest
•••
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 writer. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 07/17/2019