Harrison too much for Pea Ridge

HARRISON 45, PEA RIDGE 14

HARRISON — Harrison took advantage of three Pea Ridge turnovers in the first half and cruised to a 45-14 win on Friday night at F.S. Garrison Stadium.

The Goblins recovered a Pea Ridge fumble on the Blackhawks’ first play from scrimmage and never really looked back.

Junior running back Gabe Huskey took two plays to give Harrison the lead after the Pea Ridge fumble. He scored on a 3-yard run just 44 seconds into the opening quarter for a 7-0 lead.

Following a Pea Ridge punt, the Goblins put together a nine-play, 74-yard drive again keyed by Huskey. Quarterback Ben Johnson hit Huskey with a screen pass on third-and-13 for a 21-yard gain. Fullback Brooks Both later went untouched up the middle

for a 10-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 14-0 midway through the opening quarter.

Harrison coach Joel Wells praised his team’s effort against a solid opponent in the season opener for both teams.

“They’ve won 25 games in two years,” said Wells, referring to Pea Ridge. “You’ve gotta have a lotta respect for them. They are well-coached with a good program. They got nine starters back on defense from a team that won 12 games. Our kids were ready to play from the get-go.

“It kinda snowballed on them a little bit, that’s exactly what happened. We got a lot of guys that are hungry. I was really proud of our seniors.

Huskey finished with 119 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns in only three quarters of action. He also caught six passes for 82 yards, picking up right where he left off last season when he rushed for more than 1,800 yards as a sophomore.

Johnson passed for 192 yards, hitting on 13 of 20 attempts. The Goblins defense also made it tough for the Blackhawks, intercepting two passes and limiting Pea Ridge to just three yards of total offense in the first two quarters.

Johnson threw a pair of touchdown passes of 24 and 26 yards to junior Rilee Jones in the second quarter as Harrison led 38-0 at halftime. The second half was played with a running clock under the Arkansas Activities Association sportsmanship rule.

Pea Ridge finally got on the board thanks to Tate Busey’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Ralph with 8:14 left in the third quarter. But Harrison responded on Huskey’s 39-yard touchdown run.

Blackhawks coach Stephen Neal said mistakes early made it difficult against a Harrison team that’s expected to contend for a 5A-West Conference title.

“There’s no climbing out of it,” Neal said. “They’ve got a heck of a football team. You give great football teams extra possessions, then you have more scores. It was a great beginning for them and a learning experience for us. It’s one of those deals where we’ll come back from this.”

Pea Ridge will make another road trip next week, playing at 5A Maumelle. Harrison will host Mountain Home.