Hawks’ fall to Panthers
Siloam Springs 6A Panthers jumped out to a big lead early on, and used big play offense to keep the Blackhawks at bay, winning the non-conference battle 55-21.
“The boys played hard,” Blackhawk head coach Jeff Williams said. “We made some mistakes and we sure need to execute better. However, we did many things right and we are working to get ready for conference games that begin in two weeks. Trevor Blair, Marcus Nobles and Joe Adams had big games and many others stepped up to contribute.”
The Panthers took the opening kickoff and drove 69 yards in seven plays to score first. Padwin Phizema took the ball in from 28 yards out to score with 9:51 left in the first quarter.
Senior Marcus Nobles gathered in the ensuing kickoff, and blew by several defenders very nearly breaking free to score. However, while finally getting caught, Nobles did return the ball 39 yards to the Hawk 44. Senior Zac Withrow bashed his way through an immense Siloam defensive line to gain 5 yards. Junior Blair caught a pass from junior Logan Stewart that left him 2 yards shy of the first down, but the junior receiver spun away from Panther defenders to gain the necessary yardage then dragged tacklers another 10 yards down field for a first down in Siloam territory at the 36.
Withrow picked up 4 yards to the 32, but a Siloam defender shot the gap on the next play to drop the Hawk ball carrier for a 3-yard loss. Stewart kept for a 2-yard gain, but a fourth-down pass from the 37 fell incomplete, turning the ball over to the Panthers. On the very next play, Panthers’ quarterback Hunter Talley flipped a pass to Gavin Henson to out speed the Hawk defense and ran 63 yards to paydirt. The PAT was good and Siloam was out to a 14-0 lead with 6:16 left in the first.
Nobles again got off a good return, running 20 yards to the Hawk 23. The first down pass was batted down. After another incomplete pass and with the Hawks facing a third and 10 situation, the Hawks went back to pass, but when the receivers were covered, Stewart pulled it down and scrambled for 7 yards. The Hawks elected to punt on fourth with Blair booming a 40-yarder with Siloam eventually setting up on their 35.
After a penalty and having a first down rush stuffed for no gain by the Hawk defense, Siloam went to the air and made a small gain but still faced a third and 11 at the Panther 34. Blackhawk junior John Roses broke through to sack the Panther quarterback for a 10-yard loss on the next play to force Siloam Springs to punt the ball away.
The Hawks could not move the ball, however, with Blair booting another 40-yard punt to push the Panthers back to their own 26.
Stung by the Hawks’ defensive success on their previous possession, the Panthers went to work with rushes by Collins pushing Siloam to near mid-field. Talley then found Zachary Gunnerman open, with the senior receiver needing to best just one more man to score, but the man was Nobles who took him down on the Hawk 25. Collins then ran twice for 10 yards followed by a 15-yard scoring dash by Talley as time expired in the first quarter. The kick was good and Siloam led 21-0 headed into the second quarter.
Starting out on their own 19 following the kickoff, Blackhawk junior Stewart ran for a first down on the first play picking up 12 to the 31. On the next play, Stewart hit junior Will Anderson on the left flat, with Anderson racing up field for 23 yards to the Siloam 46. Two running plays netted the Hawks but 2 yards, but though Blair was triple teamed on the next play, Stewart still got the ball to him and Blair fought the defenders off to make the catch and come down on the Siloam 8. On the next play, Stewart executed great fake to junior Joe Adams, then dashed left to cover the 8 yards to the end zone, scoring with 9:02 left in the half. The kick was good with the Hawks cutting the deficit to 21-7.
The Hawks’ good feelings were tested moments later when the Panther’s Gunnerman dashed 50 yards on first down to the Hawk 15. Pea Ridge bowed its back, stopping the first down run for no gain, then limiting a completed pass to just 1 single yard. However, though the Hawks came within an eyelash of sacking the quarterback, Talley had just enough time to get rid of the ball with Elijah Coffee grabbing the looping pass then taking it in for their guests’ fourth score with 7 minutes left. The kick was wide right after heavy pressure by the Hawks rushed the kicker, leaving the score at 27-7.
Stewart started the Hawks’ next possession with an 11-yard run, but the next three plays were not successful, forcing another punt. The Blair punt was a super job, rolling dead at the Siloam 5. However, the Hawk advantage was short lived when Phiezema ran 95 yards up field on first down to score again. Talley ran in the 2-point conversion to push the visitors ahead 35-7 with 5:51 left in the half.
The Hawks started their sixth possession with a short gain by Adams. Stewart then found Blair open again for 9 yards and a first down. Though draped with Panther defenders on the next play, Blair still managed to catch another Stewart pass then picked up 24 yards to the Siloam 44. Adams then ran up field for 5 yards, followed by another pass to the sidelines when Anderson hauled
it in, dashing 18 yards to the Siloam 21. Withrow then rushed for 3 to the 18, where Stewart threw a quick pass to Blair just short of the goal. Blair shucked the first tackle, then spun out of another before crossing the goal line with 3 minutes left in the half. The kick split the uprights and the Hawks trailed 35-14.
The Blackhawks’ defense then took their game up a notch, forcing a 3 and out on the Panther offense, with the ball going over to the Hawks at their own 45 with 2 minutes left. A pass from Stewart to Anderson picked up 5 yards, with Adams running through a crowd for 12 yards to the Siloam 38. After a busted play for loss, Stewart dropped pass to Anderson for 3 yards with a 12-yarder to Withrow in traffic netting 12 yards to the Panther
23. Facing a third and 10, Stewart hooked up with Blair for a 19-yard gain to the Siloam 4. Stewart very nearly scored, rushing to the 2-yard line on first down. However the half ran out before the Hawks could score, leaving the halftime score at 35-14.
After a rough first quarter, the Hawks actually out gained their guests 230-168 with both teams scoring 14 in the second period.
The Hawks suffered a turnover in their first series, with Siloam having a first down on the Pea Ridge
24. Gunnerman took it to the end zone on the next play, with the PAT kick lifting Siloam’s lead to 42-14.
Withrow picked up 17 yards on the next play for the Hawks, but the next four plays netted but 2 yards. Blair got off a 40yard punt to the Panther 20.
The Hawks’ defense stuffed the Panthers first rush for a 1-yard loss, then tipped away a Talley pass to put Siloam into a third and 11 jam. Nathan King then caught a Talley pass for first down on the Siloam 35. An incomplete pass and two short runs led to another Siloam punt.
The Hawks then suffered some more bad luck when a turnover gave the ball back to Siloam on the Hawk 14. This led to a quick TD run by Gunnerman. The PAT was missed, leaving Siloam on top 48-14.
The Hawks’ next drive had some success with a rush by Adams gaining 9 then a 3-yard dash by Withrow on fourth down picking up a first down to the Hawk 45. Withrow then tossed a 12-yarder to Blair to cross mid-field to the Panther 43. Adams got 5 yards on first down but that was all they could muster with the Hawks turning the ball over on downs with the third quarter clock running out.
Three big runs by Gunnerman and a big one by Phizema took the Panthers to the Hawk 1. A big defensive play by Blackhawk sophomore Jonathan Lyons stopped Gunnerman just short of the goal line. Two plays later saw the Panthers still stuck on the 1 and with Adams succeeding in bringing down the Siloam running back behind the line for a yard loss, Siloam was forced to forego the touchdown attempt and settle for a field goal. However, this didn’t pan out well for the Panthers as a number of Hawks broke through to block the kick with senior Jorge Vasquez picking up the loose pigskin and returning in 95 yards the other way to score. Other Hawks joined Vasquez to block potential tacklers until he fell into the end zone with 8:14 left in the game. The kick was good to shrink the deficit to 48-21.
It didn’t take Siloam long to respond as Phizema raced 78 yards two plays later to score the game’s last touchdown. The kick with 6:36 left set what would be the final score at 55-21.
Stewart led the offense with 20 rushing yards and 187 yards through the air in 12 of 24 passing. Blair had a stellar game as a receiver, catching 10 passes for 141 yards.
Adams led the rushing attack with 41 yards on 11 totes with Withrow having 34 yards on nine carries. Martinez had 10 yards on five carries.
Withrow took over passing duties when Stewart went down with an injury, completing three passes for 34 yards. Will Anderson had a productive night, catching three passes for 54 yards with Withrow catching a single pass for 12 yards.
The Blackhawks will be in Prairie Grove this Friday to take on their former conference rivals.
The Hawks have won their last three encounters with the Tigers, taking them down 26-21 in 2017, 38-29 in 2018, then bashing them 57-28 last season. However, after taking a 27-7 licking from Farmington in 2019, they rebounded last week to hammer the Cardinals 19-7 in the season opener. The Tigers were off last week and will be looking to break their losing streak to Pea Ridge.
Pea Ridge will have their bye week next week, with the conference opener set for Sept. 25 at Alma, a first time meeting.