4A-1 CONFERENCE OUTLOOK Pea Ridge will face some of state’s toughest teams

PEA RIDGE — As usual, the league Pea Ridge resides in is one of the state’s toughest in Class 4A.

Shiloh Christian, who went undefeated last season, returns 13 starters from a state semifinalist team and will most likely be the odds-on favorite to repeat that this year.

Eli Reece will likely be the top returning signal caller in the league, and Truitt Tollett will be one of the best wide receivers in the state. Shiloh won three playoff games over Star City, Mena and Nashville before succumbing to Arkadelphia, the eventual state champion.

After that, however, the other four playoff spots are up for grabs.

The Blackhawks were undefeated last season in league play before running into Shiloh, and 11 returning starters should give them a chance to do so again, although this time the finale will be in Springdale.

Sam Beard’s all-conference campaign a year ago was highlighted by a 220yard performance against their Civil War battlefield counterpart.

Prairie Grove has been a perennial power in the conference for much of the last decade, but last year limped to a 5-6 finish and a first round playoff exit.

The Tigers only return nine starters and will have to break in a new quarterback, which could prove troublesome running their traditional Wing-T offense.

Lincoln is one of the true wild cards of the league. The Wolves went 8-3 a year ago, losing to only Pea Ridge and Shiloh before triumphing over Prairie Grove in the final game of the year for the first time in 23 seasons.

Despite losing to Hamburg in the first round of the playoffs, Lincoln returns 10 starters and have more quality depth than they’ve enjoyed in some time.

After winning 11 games and making the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history in 2013, the Wolves only won 12 the next four years before last year’s 8.

Gravette has gone through some coaching upheaval. Once considered one of the league’s most consistent products, they lost Bill Harrelson after a 12-year tenure which saw them win nine games five years in a row (2007-11) and make the state semifinals in 2007.

The Lions went 1-9 a year ago and only return 10 starters from that group. They were held to single digits in all but one game, a 31-0 victory over Green Forest.

Cy Hilger came on late last year at quarterback and should use his speed and elusiveness to lead the Lion offense to more success in 2019.

Gentry made the playoffs a year ago by virtue of its win over Gravette in the finale, but lost 31-7 to Mena in the first round of the playoffs. A playoff berth this year would give the Pioneers their third straight trip for only the third time in school history.

Brandon Atwood will be one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the league if not all of Class 4A, and will give Gentry a chance every time it steps on the field.

Berryville won four games a year ago for the first time in nearly a decade, but the Bobcats haven’t made the playoffs since 2006. Only returning eight starters is probably not a recipe to doing so, although Tristan Updegraff is an excellent athlete and ran for more than 600 yards a year ago.

Rounding out the league is Green Forest, which only won one game in 2018 over West Fork and lost to everyone else on its schedule.

The junior high Tigers went 8-2 however, so reinforcements are on the way to a team that only returns seven starters and was shut out seven times.

Photo courtesy of Life Touch Members of the Pea Ridge Blackhawk Varsity football team are Samuel Beard, Rylan Bowie, Tate Busey, Zac Withrow, Cole Brown, Jake Ingram, Trevor Blair, Tanner Willey, Logan Stewart, Hunter Rains, Cole Travis, David Snarr, Joe Adams, Dillon Wells, Caleb Neil, Carlos Martinez, Trenton Tolliver, Luis Reyes, Braden Mincks, JT Roses, Jake Adams, Marcus Nobles, Ayden Cotton, Gavin Warden, Will Anderson, Peyton Losey, Rhett Snyder, Mazon Harris, Brayden Talley, Daniel Deleon, Jayson Frasier, Jorge Vasquez, Andrew Guyll, Adam Trammell, Lance Nunley, David Wood, Joseph Peal, Chandler Snow, Uriah Varble, Clayton Henson, Iain Mullikin, Michael Ericson, Baker Fairchild, Hagen Schader, Patrick Herren, Jordan McGarrah, Joe Jiminez, Clay Sebree, Wyatt Randall, Mason Hart, Phillip Brown, Ethan Garrett, Thaddeus Timmons, Gavin Spivey, Samual Tillman, Cooper Tillman, Trey Calico, Carson Yates, Brody Carney, Malachi Martin, Anthony Bleything, Daniel Wood, Chris Ellis, Justin Blount, Brandt Bowen, Hunter Anderson, Chase Doyle, Chris Sharp, James Fort, Brayden Ralph, Devon Hopkins, Tyler Quam and Braidon McCarley. The team trainer is Jaime Mann. Student assistants are TJ Lancaster, Cheyenne Morris, Mandy Phillips, Dessa Watkins, Krysta Hatcher, Maddie Gafford, Jake Cline, Karlina Rodriguez and John Grigsby. Coaches are Stephen Neal, Cody Alexander, Kevin Carey, Josh Reynolds, Nathan Claytor, Matt Easterling, Asa Poteete, Jacob Meyers and John King.