Hawks make history, finish conference play 12-0
For the first time since Pea Ridge joined the 4A classification, the Blackhawk boys have finished their conference season with an undefeated record. The last time the Hawks went through a conference schedule without a loss was the 2007-2008 season when they were the unbeaten champions of the 3A-1 District. They went on to win the district tournament that season but were upset in the first round of the North Region to end their season prematurely.
Trent Loyd’s Blackhawk boys finished both the 2016-17 and the 2017-2018 seasons with a solitary loss in conference play so this is the first time to go unbeaten. After the Hawks clinched the championship with three games left, those games could have become trap games, with the underdog team being more motivated to win than a team that had nothing left to prove. To their credit, the Hawks took care of business and completed the sweep, readying themselves for postseason play this week.
Prairie Grove hosts 4A-1 District play this week
The Hawk boys and girls are playing in the 4A-1 District Tournament in Prairie Grove this week. The boys by virtue of their title in the 4A-West, are playing Thursday against the survivor of the of a possible trio of teams including Prairie Grove, Huntsville and Gentry, or two potential teams in the other bracket being Berryville and Gravette. Shiloh and Pea Ridge were seeded into the semifinals with the odds being that Pea Ridge will play Huntsville and Shiloh will play Farmington in semifinal action, pending the outcome of quarterfinal contests, obviously.
I can see Shiloh being beaten by Farmington to set up the third Battle of the
Birds this season. Pea Ridge handed the Cards their only losses after Christmas break with the exception of the upset win Shiloh put on Farmington back on Jan. 24th (52-45) when the private school boys went into Farmington with a 9-8 record. Pea Ridge whipped the Cardinals 42-35 last month at home then beat them again at their place 53-51 in overtime in a battle royal. While running the table on their 4A-1 foes this season, a district title won’t be automatic as a potential Farmington/Pea Ridge final would be an intense affair.
The girls tournament has Farmington and Harrison seeded into the semis as champ of the respective divisions. The Lady Blackhawks will have to earn their ticket to the North Region Tournament by going through Berryville. Berryville has won both games this season, 49-44 and 31-25, both of which were not decided until late in the fourth quarter. The Lady Bobcats have extra incentive to play into the semifinals as Berryville is the host for the North Region Tournament this season. To not play in their own tournament will be a strong motivator.
As I have said before, there are five 4A-1 girls teams that should be among the 12 teams in the state tournament. However, only four teams from each district have any possibility of doing so, which means that one team will be eliminated from further play this season in the district quarterfinals. The Hawks, however, have an equal motivation to solve Berryville and get into Region play. Had they beaten Gravette in January, they would have earned the second seed in the district tourney with a game likely with Prairie Grove or Huntsville in the path of a Region bid.
Having said all this, it is still one game at a time, and the team that plays the best on any given night is the team that usually wins. Sometimes both teams play lights out and it comes down to the fewest mistakes. On the plus side for Pea Ridge, there was a rough patch where the Hawks had an inordinate number of turnovers and shooting was poor. These past few games have seen a solid uptick in the ladies’ game and I would rate them a solid candidate to possibly win the whole thing relative to the district meet.
Like Yogi Berra famously said, “It ain’t over til it’s over.”
The boys could have been saving their best play for the last. They have great size and rebounding and scoring strength inside, they have excellent guard play, and they have a raft of players who can shoot the three. With a team that has been impressive with their passing game, Loyd’s cagers have demonstrated the ability to score from just about anywhere, and their defense is the icing on the cake. When the Hawks are bearing down defensively, they are just hard to score on.
With their Region ticket already punched, they will likely have to play either Morrilton, Dardenelle, Ozark or Pottsville in region play. Dardanelle has the best overall record, third best in the state, with a 24-3 standard. They have dropped to 17th in the latest state polling releases. It seems they built up the bulk of their victories by beating up on a schedule of 3A and 2A teams. They finished third in the 4A-4 with four conference losses. Ozark’s record is much less impressive at 18-8 but they swept Dardanelle 57-42 and 48-41 in league play. Morrilton finished 19-8 and were co-champs with Ozark but Morrilton played seven 6A5A teams.
Standings and polls as of Feb. 16:
Boys move up another spot to No. 7 in state poll; girls remain No. 8
Farmington’s 74-60 upset win over Harrison vaulted them into the 4A state’s No. 1 ranking, as they slipped past former No. 1 Batesville. The Cardinals were in a tight game with Harrison, leading by 2 at the half, rushed the Goblins 22-10 in the third quarter to take the battle between the 2020 East and West divisional champions.
The Lady Hawks’ double win last week kept them in the eighth slot where they have been for some time. The girls Top 10 did not change much this week except for Batesville and Farmington swapping spots. A new No. 10 slipped in, North Region foe Morrilton.
Meanwhile, the boys keep their steady climb up the polls, finishing the 2020 regular season 11-0, after going 9-4 in the fall semester. They are currently riding a 12-game winning streak. Though finishing behind eStem, Arkadelphia, and Robinson in the Hawks tournament back in December, the Blackhawks have moved past all of them in the polls.
The Hawks have improved considerably since their December games, but how much? They have strengths in every aspect of the game, and they have a deep bench. If opponents leave the 3-point line unguarded, the Hawks could burn you there, but if you put too many defenders out on the arc, the Hawks could pound it in down low. They have been very very good from the free throw line, and all these facets of their game leads me to believe is that they have a huge upside.
With well over 100 victories under his belt during his short tenure at Pea Ridge, Trent Loyd’s teams will be prepared and their success or failure won’t depend on the team’s character or work ethic. With the district meet at Prairie Grove, the Region tourney at Berryville, and the state tournament at Farmington, the Hawks will be playing on familiar courts right up to the state final in Hot Springs, if they get there.
High school athletic contests are hard to predict. There are always the upsets, the teams that have off nights and with the level of play going up with each round, an off night could end a season. This postseason will be a lot of fun.
Editor’s note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at prtnews@nwadg.com.