Pea Ridge faces tough first-round playoff game with Lonoke

Have you ever said to someone “you can’t get there from here” after they’ve stopped and asked for directions?

That’s a smart-aleck answer, but it was usually good for a laugh or two.

There’s nothing funny about the long distances teams have to travel in the playoffs when they didn’t finish high enough in the standings to host. In Class 4A alone, first-round games and the travel miles between the schools include Prairie Grove at Hamburg (300 miles), Elkins at Warren (270 miles), Gravette at Pocahontas (270 miles), Gentry at Central Arkansas Christian (214 miles) and Mena at Gosnell (324 miles).

That’s five teams from

Northwest Arkansas who’ll fill up the big yellow buses with gas a few times today and return home sometime Saturday morning. Two teams in our area that don’t have to worry about travel are Shiloh Christian and Pea Ridge. Shiloh Christian likely won’t need a peak performance to beat Heber Springs (4-6). But any kind of letdown could cost Pea

Ridge (6-4) against Lonoke (6-4), which defeated Riverview 26-14 last Thursday.

That’s an extra day to prepare and an extra day to heal for the Jackrabbits against Pea Ridge, which lost 28-26 in a slugfest last week to Shiloh Christian.

“Both teams were throwing big, slugging punches,” Shiloh Christian coach Jeff Conaway said shortly after the game. “We would throw one, and they would counter.”

Lonoke’s only loss in its last four games was in double overtime to Central Arkansas Christian. The Jackrabbits have an emerging star in sophomore quarterback Spencer Pepper, who’s thrown for nearly 1,000 yards with 12 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Pea Ridge will counter at quarterback with senior Tate Busey, who has compiled over 1,800 yards running and throwing the football.

Pea Ridge entered the playoffs last year with an eight-game losing streak, only to lose 8-0 in overtime to Helena in a first-round game. That’s a disappointing ending to a successful season, and the Blackhawks won’t allow it to happen again tonight.

RICK’S PICK Pea Ridge Other games involving teams from Northwest Arkansas (selections are capitalized).

CLASS 7A

Van Buren at LITTLE

ROCK CATHOLIC

Little Rock Central at SPRINGDALE HAR-BER CABOT at Fayetteville Rogers at CONWAY

CLASS 6A

Siloam Springs at MARION

CLASS 5A

Batesville at HARRISON ALMA at Forrest City

CLASS 4A

MENA at Gosnell Heber Springs at SHILOH CHRISTIAN

Gravette at POCAHONTAS

Prairie Grove at HAMBURG

Gentry at CENTRAL ARKANSAS CHRISTIAN

Malvern at OZARK

Elkins at WARREN CLASS 3A

Charleston at PRESCOTT Mountain View at GREENLAND

Lake Village at LAMAR Mansfield at CAMDEN FAIRVEW

CLASS 2A

MOUNTAINBURG at Murfreeseboro

Dierks at HACKETT Mineral Springs at MAGAZINE

Lavaca at FORDYCE LAST WEEK 22-2 (91 percent)

OVERALL 224-44 (84 percent)