Hawks start well but get overtaken by Farmington 49-22
While the Hawks had difficulty establishing the run early, quarterback Gavin Dixon hit his first eight passes to put the Hawks ahead on the road at Farmington 14-7, but turnovers and penalties derailed an upset bid as the Cardinals came back to post a 49-22 victory over Pea Ridge.
“Farmington’s a well-coached team. They’ve got good kids and they’ve got good coaches and for us to be able to compete against them, against anybody in this league, we can’t beat ourselves,” said Blackhawk coach Brey Cook. “We had a little flew of injuries there in the second quarter and it became a thing where we’re looking around where some of our big names get hurt. Who’s going to be the next man up? And the next man didn’t stand up tonight.”
The sophomore field general was 9 for 9 for 157 yards and added a 24-yard touchdown run to his efforts.
The Hawks had a very tough time moving the ball on the ground against a bigger Cardinal defensive line. However, the Hawks’ elusive receivers and accurate quarterback led a scoring march to open the game. A run play was smothered on first down, but the next play saw Dixon flip a 16-yarder to Trevor Blair for 16 yards to the Hawk 34. Facing third and 10, Dixon then drilled a pass to Rains for 17 yards to go into Cardinal territory at the 48.
Dixon then found Bowen Phillips open for a pass, which he caught for 16 yards to the Card 32. A few plays later saw the Hawks on the Card 24 with a third and 2 situation. Dixon went back to pass, then tucked the ball and rolled left, sprinting for the end zone. The play caught the defense off guard and the Hawks were on top 6-0. A pass to Lyons for the 2-point conversion was good and Pea Ridge assumed an 8-0 lead with 7:30 showing in the first.
It looked like the Hawks might pull off a defensive gem when
they caught the Cardinal running back behind the line on first down. However, the shifty back spun loose and ran 12 yards upfield for a first down. Joe Adams then dropped the quarterback for a loss on first down and after two plays netted Farmington but 4 yards, the host team was facing fourth and 4 from the Hawk 33. The Cards went for it, getting a first down on a pass play to the Hawk 19. Two plays later, Taylor rambled in for the score. The PAT kick left the Hawks on top 8-7 with 5:23 in the first.
It took the Hawks well less than two minutes to retaliate as Dixon completed four straight passes to go 78 yards for their second touchdown. The first pass to Blair went for 18 yards, but was erased on a penalty. The next pass went to Blair again, this time for 20 yards and a first down on the Hawk 37. The next pass was a short one to Blair for 6 yards, but the next play was a bomb, with Dixon connecting with Blair to go 57 yards and a touchdown. The run for the PAT failed leaving the Hawks ahead with 3:30 left in the quarter.
The Cards’ Elzec wasted no time in scoring for Farmington, as he ran through the heart of the Hawk defense to thunder 65 yards to the end zone. The kick was good and the two rivals were tied at 14-14 with 3:23 left.
After a short rushing gain, Dixon’s 10th pass looked good until it bounced of the hands of the receiver and an alert defender caught it before it hit the ground, gaining the turnover. Fortunately, the Hawk defense bowed up and would not let the Cards any closer than the Hawk 32. Instrumental in the denial was a defensive play by senior Caleb Neal to break up a pass that, if completed, would have given the Cards another first down.
The Hawks moved to the Hawk 35 where they had a third and 6, with Dixon connecting with Lyons on an 11-yard pass and first down.
Dixon’s next pass was on the mark and could have picked up the first down, but a tremendous play by a Cardinal defender knocked the ball away. The Hawks eventually had to punt from the Cardinal 42.
The Hawks kept them on their side of the field through plays until a Cardinal receiver slipped behind the Hawk defense and took a deep pass to score easily. Pea Ridge limited the damage by breaking through to block the kick to keep the score at 20-14 in the Cards’ favor with 7:02 left in the half.
The next series started badly for the Hawks with a 5-yard penalty on their first play. It got worse on the second play when a Cardinal defender stepped in front of a Blackhawk pass on the Hawk 25 and ran it back the other way for their fourth score. The kick was true and the hosts led 27-14 with 6:47 left in the half.
A huge penalty on the Hawks to start the next series and a dropped pass led to a Hawk punt, a 40-yarder by Dixon. Starting from their own 39, the Cardinals started an 11-play drive, converted one fourth down, to roll into the end zone on a 20-yard pass with 2:12 left in the half. The kick was good and the hosts were firmly ahead 34-14.
A great third down pass to sophomore Austin James netted 22 yards and a first down on the Pea Ridge 43. However, they could go no further until the half ended.
The Cardinals took the second half kickoff and methodically marched down the field Braidon McCarley recorded three tackles in succession to try and slow the march but Farmington was mixing their run/pass offense effectively. Neal recorded a tackle for loss when he nailed a Cardinal receiver four yards behind the scrimmage line on a pass into the flat. It was a temporary respite as the Cards then scored in five more plays, to go up 40-14 with 7:01 left in the third period.
The Hawks’ bad luck got temporarily worse when they fumbled away the ball on their first play following the Card score. However, that bad feeling was dissolved right away when Lyons came up with an interception on the Hawk 8-yard line. Though the Hawks could not move the ball, they did get to punt it further away from their end zone with the Cardinals taking over on the Hawk 38.
At this point, the game went into a lengthy recess when a Farmington and Pea Ridge player got into a fist fight on the field on the first play. Two Hawk players who stepped from the sidelines onto the field during the altercation were disqualified from playing along with the player in the fight, along with some other Farmington players. At this point midway in the third quarter, due to injuries and disqualifications, seven Hawk starters were out of the game. Four Hawks left the game with injuries earlier.
It took the home team just five plays to score, and with the 2-point conversion made, Farmington led 49-14 thus triggering the mercy rule with the close to run unabated until game’s end.
A short run by sophomore Caden Thompson started the Hawks’ last series, but a Dixon to James pass on second down netted a first down at the Hawk 34. A very flagrant defensive pass interference on the next play pushed the Hawks to midfield at the Pea Ridge 49. A penalty slowed the Hawks’ momentum, but a Dixon to James pass netted 18 yards and a first down on the Cardinal 41. A pass to Lyons picked up 9 yards then a Thompson 9-yard run placed the Hawks first and 19 on the Cardinal 23.
A pass to Rains picked up 15 yards to the Cardinal 8, and after three rushed netted but 1 yard, a pass to Lyons earned the Hawks their third score. A pass to Rains was good for the PAT to leave the final score at 49-14 with 5:26 left. The Cardinals used a ball control offense to run the clock out to end the game.
Dixon wound up completing 15 passes for 221 yards with Blair leading the yardage with 119 on four catches. Lyons had the most catches with five for 45 yards, with Rains hauling in two for 32 yards. James caught three for 9 yards with Phillips taking one for 16.
“We really got to take a look at some of those guys that we’re asking to do big things and they can and they can step up to the challenge. They have to do it. We can believe in them as coaches all we want and we can encourage them and hype them up and coach them, but they got to make the plays and they got to stop looking around at somebody else to make the play,” Cook said.
The Hawks will conclude their season on the road this Friday as they invade Harrison Stadium.