The Farmington Cardinals used Pea Ridge turnovers and mistakes to put together a 24-7 win over the Blackhawks, snapping a four-game winning streak the Hawks had held over their former 4A-1 foes.
The Blackhawks actually out gained their hosts in total yardage, 326 to 284. However, four turnovers, two missed field goals, and two failed fourth-down plays which came up inches short served to thwart Pea Ridge from denting the scoreboard the first three quarters.
Tate Busey led the offense with 115 yards passing, making 10 of 26 throws. Busey also rushed for 61 yards on 11 attempts. Samuel Beard led the rushing attack, gaining 78 yards on nine carries. Daniel DeLeon picked up 38 yards on nine tries before leaving the game in the second half due to an injury. Hunter Rains chipped in with 26 yards rushing on eight totes.
Sophomore Trevor Blair was the top receiver with three catches for 45 yards. Rains reined in three passes for 30 yards while Brayden Ralph caught two passes for 21 yards in his first game back after a pre-season injury.
The Hawks took the opening kickoff, then after making a first down, had a pass intercepted on the Farmington 46. The Cardinals drove to the Hawk 9 before being pushed back to the Pea Ridge 19 where the hosts tried a field goal on fourth and 13. Joe Adams burst across on a slant to get a hand on the kick attempt, knocking it offline to leave the game scoreless at the 6:34 mark.
A couple penalties slowed the Hawks but a 17-yard dash by Samuel Beard got the Hawks up to their own 32. Two plays later, the Cards stole their second pass to put Farmington in fine position on the Hawk 29. The home boys drove to the Hawk 14-yard line before a swarming Pea Ridge defense stripped the ball and regained possession for the visitors.
At this point, the Hawks put on the longest drive of the game for either team, moving 58 yards on 11 plays. The drive bogged down on the Farmington 24 and the Hawks' opportunity went by the boards when the field goal attempt was blocked.
The Hawks clamped down on the hosts, after the Cards gained an initial first down to their own 31. Luis Reyes knifed through to drop the tailback Schader for a 5-yard loss. A host of Hawks buried the Cardinal quarterback Marquavious Watson for a 7-yard loss on the ensuing play, with Farmington being forced to punt two plays later.
Beard got off three productive runs with quarterback Tate Busey flipping a 12-yard pass to Brayden Ralph to cross into Farmington territory. The Hawks then only got two yards in three plays, forcing a return punt.
On the third play of the drive, the Hawks seemed to have a big break when they recovered a fumble on the Farmington 28. However, a referee ruled that a Pea Ridge player away from the action held another player, erasing a Pea Ridge takeaway. The Hawks bowed their backs and eventually forced a Cardinal punt, taking over on their own 11.
A series of Blackhawk calamities ensued, led off by a first down Pea Ridge pass that was intercepted on the Hawk 31, the third of the half. On the first play after turning the ball over, the Hawks were flagged for interference for a 15-yard penalty with another 7 yards tacked on for unsportsmanlike conduct to give the Cards a first down on the Hawk 7. A blind side block penalty set the Cards back to the Hawk 22, and stout Pea Ridge defense dropped the Card ball carrier for a 4-yard loss on the next play to give the Hawk faithful some hope.
That hope was dashed on the next play when Watson lofted a 26-yard touchdown pass to Elskin with less than two minutes left in the half. Sturgeon's kick was good to put Farmington ahead 7-0 with 1:36 showing in the half.
The bad news was not over as the Hawks fumbled the ball away on their second play after the kickoff, giving the ball to Farmington on the Pea Ridge 24 with less than one minute left in the half. It looked like the Hawks might hold, knocking away two passes followed by Reyes taking down the quarterback a yard behind the line of scrimmage. Facing a fourth and 11 from the Hawk 25, Watson completed a pass to Sturgeon who negotiated the 25 yards into the end zone. Sturgeon also converted the kick to give Farmington a 14-0 lead with 24 seconds left before intermission.
Farmington had the ball to start the third quarter, but losses on two of three running plays for 8 yards forced a punt to the Hawks 47. Beard and Busey combined for 8 yards to the Farmington 49 with a penalty and three more runs by Busey netting 11 yardsto give the Hawks new life at the Card 19. Daniel DeLeon rushed for a yard with Busey adding four more to the 15. Two plays later saw the Hawks face a fourth down and 5, forcing a field goal attempt. The attempt was wide, giving the ball back to Farmington.
Farmington then had a mini-drive, moving 23 yards before being forced to punt, giving the ball to Pea Ridge on the Hawk 14. Hunter Rains ran for 4 yards with Busey adding three more. On third down, Busey tossed a 13 yarder to Trevor Blair for a first down on the 34. Blair then caught another pass for 3 yards, whereupon DeLeon ran twice for 4 then 8 yards for a first down on the Hawk 49. DeLeon then rambled for 15 yards to the Cardinal 36 to start the fourth quarter.
The drive ran out of gas on the Cardinal 31-yard line, but a Cardinal fumble two plays later gave Pea Ridge an opportunity on the Farmington 41. Beard then ran the play of the game for the Hawks, slashing 29 yards down field to the Cardinal 12. Beard then bashed the Cardinal line for 5 then 6 yards for a first down on the Farmington 1-yard line. Busey's second quarterback sneak attempt put the ball into the end zone with 8:18 left in the contest. Reyes kicked the extra point as Pea Ridge cut the deficit to 14-7.
The Hawk score fired up the Redbirds as Watson ran for 47 yards on first down and passed for 17 more on the next play to get deep into Pea Ridge territory. It seemed like the Hawks had taken the ball after Reyes sacked Watson and the ball squirted loose. However, a referee ruled that a Hawk player away from the action held a Farmington player, giving the ball back to the Cards on the Hawk 16. Pea Ridge held but the Cardinals were accurate with a 32-yard field goal to boost the lead over Pea Ridge to 17-7 with 3:08 left.
After the kickoff, Busey threw passes of 19, 15, 29 and 9 yards to Rains, Beard, Blair and Ralph to get down to the Farmington 3. However a fourth down pass was incomplete turning the ball over to the hosts. Two plays later, facing a third an 1 from their own 12, Watson went up the middle on a quarterback sneak to get the necessary yardage for a first down with a minute left. Surprisingly, Watson stayed on his feet, and bounced out of the mass of bodies on the 13-yard line to sprint free down the west sidelines, racing 88 yards for the game's final score. Sturgeons' kick moved the Cards' lead to 24-7.
Sports on 09/25/2019