Pea Ridge takes care of business, stays unbeaten

PEA RIDGE — The Pea Ridge Blackhawks remain undefeated after earning a 56-28 blowout victory over the Huntsville Eagles in the team’s senior day game Friday at Blackhawks Stadium.

Much of the Blackhawks’ offensive success came from senior players, who were honored with pregame festivities.

“It’s a fantastic senior class and it’s not just the senior class but the senior class families,” said Blackhawks coach Stephen Neal. “If you get a great class of kids and a great class of seniors, that means they’ve had a lot of great families here who’ve raised them in a great community.”

These seniors played a role in racking up 49 points on the offensive side of the ball, while a special teams touchdown also came from a senior.

In the first quarter, senior running back Drew Winn got the ball rolling for the Blackhawks with a 16-yard touchdown run at the 10 minute, 1 second mark. The offense relied on the running back early, as he ran the ball four times on the possession and racked up 41 yards on the ground to give his team an early 7-0 lead.

On the team’s second offensive drive, Winn ran the ball three times before limping off the field with what appeared to be a leg injury. Senior quarterback Jakota Sainsbury picked up the slack by throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior Hayden Holtgrewe. That score increased Pea Ridge’s lead to 14-0.

Winn returned on the next drive and scored his second touchdown of the quarter, which came on a 2-yard rush in which the back leapt over a defender for the score.

Junior quarterback Sean McCone got his Eagles on the board with a 9-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to cut the Blackhawk lead to 21-7 but the Winn-led Pea Ridge offense came back with a score of their own less than two minutes later. He ended up scoring on that play and scored again in the third quarter on a 65-yard run to finish his big day before sitting during the fourth quarter.

Senior Robby Pickthall recovered a blocked punt and ran it in for a touchdown at the 7:00 mark in the second quarter to add a score from the special teams unit. But it was the offense that proved to be the most effective.

On the day, Winn rushed the ball 13 times for 164 yards and four touchdowns. By the time the game was finished, he was leading the state in touchdowns.

“Drew had a game that Drew has,” said Neal. “You get spoiled when you have a kid like that or a special talent like that.”

Sainsbury had a big day, as well, going 12-for-14 through the air for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Holtgrewe made several key catches and finished the game with four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

This is the second straight blowout victory for Pea Ridge, as the team had previously beaten Berryville 35-0 on the road. The Blackhawks will travel to Shiloh Christian next week for a rivalry matchup that will feature two high-octane offenses.

Huntsville, on the other hand, has dropped eight consecutive games after starting off its season with a victory. The team will return home to face Berryville next week.