Williams is new coach
The home grown feeling of a one-school town drew Jeff Williams to Pea Ridge, the new Blackhawk football coach said.
Williams, head coach for the Forth Smith Southside Mavericks for the past 15 years, was named head football coach for the Blackhawks Monday night at the School Board meeting. He will fill the spot vacated by Stephen Neal who left to become the defensive coordinator at Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Okla. Neal had been head coach for Pea Ridge for four years.
“Nothing compares to a community that is all in — a oneschool town,” Williams said. “That home grown feeling on Friday night where everybody knows every player out there and everyone bonds with those players, the coaches, the faculty and the administration. I’ve also been intrigued by the way the kids come through that program all the way to the 12th grade.”
“For a long time, I’ve coached against him,” Tony Travis, athletic and activities director, said. “I’m glad to now to be on the same team with him … We’re excited to have him here leading our football program as we transition into 5A.”
Travis, head Blackhawk football coach from 2009-2016, was coach at Rogers Heritage the last three seasons until last year when he was hired as the assistant principal of the Junior High School. He was appointed as the new AD Monday night.
“I appreciate this administration giving me this opportunity,” Williams said. “I’m very, very excited. I’ve always watched this place from afar and it’s just always intrigued me. I’ve been in bigger schools but I grew up in a town just like this.
“When I go around this town, it felt like I was back home and the people are just really nice. I’m excited to meet our staff and our kids, roll our sleeves up and go to work,” Williams said. “We’re going to try to put a great product on the field.”
Williams said his family is excited, too. His wife, Linda, currently works as administrative assistant for the Sebastian Sheriff’s Office. They have two daughters, Anna Catherine who attends Arkansas Tech University, and Elizabeth who is a high school sophomore, and sons, Jaylin who just graduated from high school and will be attending college and Synora who lives in Oklahoma City. They have two grandchildren.
Travis is replacing Kevin Ramey who was hired as AD in April 2016 and took on the additional responsibilities of the federal programs coordinator this past year. Ramey was named assistant superintendent last month when the board named Keith Martin as superintendent replacing Rick Neal who plans to leave June 30.
Travis helped build the Blackhawk football program, which started with fewer than 30 players his first year.
The Blackhawks finished 11-3 and lost in the Class 4A state semifinals to eventual-champion Nashville in 2016 — his final year at the helm before going to Rogers Heritage. The next season, Neal’s first season, the Blackhawks advanced to the Class 4A state championship game.
Pea Ridge will compete in the 5A-West conference this fall.