’Hawks take Huntsville, district title, top playoff seed
The Blackhawk football team claimed a No. 1 seed in the upcoming 4A state playoffs by running past the Huntsville Eagles 56-28. The victory improved the the ’Hawks’ record to 9-0 and clinched at least a share of the 1-4A league championship.
The ’Hawks piled up nearly 600 yards total offense with senior Drew Winn leading the way with 169 yards on just 14 carries, racking up four touchdowns. Winn’s 150 total points scored this season leads the 4A classification.
The game was Senior Night for the seniors of various sports along with football with a large crowd on hand on a cold, windy late October evening. It was the last regular season home game for 2017.
“This was a great Senior Night, and we have these great local families to thank for this and other activities,” head coach Stephen Neal said. “These seniors have a been fun and a joy to coach.”
The ’Hawks gave the Eagles a healthy dose of Winn in the ’Hawks opening series. The all-state running back netted 25 yards on three runs to start the game, and after a 4-yard keeper by Jakota Sainsbury, Winn sprinted the final 16 yards to cross the goal line with 10:01 showing on the first quarter clock. Reliable kicker Evan Green booted the PAT for an initial 7-0 lead.
Blackhawk sophomore Luis Reyes kicked off to the end zone to pin the Eagles back on their own 20. Three plays garnered only 3 yards and soon the ’Hawks had the ball back on their own 36.
Winn broke off a 12-yarder to start the drive and two plays later, Jakota Sainsbury’s first pass was gathered in by Hayden Holtgrewe who took it 23 yards up field. The next play was also a pass, with Jordan Witcher reeling it in for an 11-yard gain, bringing the ball down to the Huntsville 18. Winn burst through for 8 yards, with Robby Pickthal garnering his own 8-yarder for a first down on the Eagle 2. The ’Hawks were pushed back to the 17 on a penalty, but Sainsbury threaded a pass to Holtgrewe in the corner of the end zone for the score. With 4:40 left in the first, Green’s kick moved the score to 14-0.
Huntsville quarterback Sean McCone managed to pick up 17 yards on a scramble, but that was all the guests could muster as they turned the ball over on downs on the ’Hawk 44. A 4-yard pass to Witcher was followed by a catch and run pass from Sainsbury to Holtgrewe which picked up 28 yards to the Eagle 25. The next Sainsbury pass nearly scored as Witcher hauled it in, but was stopped 23 yards down field a mere 2 yards short of the end zone. Winn then did an acrobatic leap over the pile for his second touchdown. Another accurate kick by Green and the ’Hawks were up 21-0 with 1:37 left in the quarter.
Huntsville’s McCone sandwiched two runs for 8 yards around a 38-yard pass to Cyrus Crow as Huntsville finally moved into the red zone. The ’Hawks held on downs, but two plays later, turned the ball back over on a fumble. McCone took the ball from the 9 to the end zone on the next play, to cut the score to 21-7 with 10:16 left in the half.
Holtgrewe jump started the offense with a 38-yard kickoff return to the Huntsville 47. Bradley Wright caught a 12-yard Sainsbury pass to set up runs of 7, 10 and 6 by Winn, Sainsbury and Trevor Henry as Pea Ridge moved to the 12-yard line. Winn then ran right, bolting into the end zone with 8:29 left in the half. Green’s fourth kick restored the 21-point advantage with the score moving to 28-7.
The ’Hawk defense buckled down on the next series, throwing the Eagles back for losses, leading to a punt from the Huntsville 28-yard line. Pickthal broke through to block the punt, picking up the loose pigskin to run it into the end zone for a 28-yard return.. Green booted the subsequent PAT as Pea Ridge assumed a 35-7 lead.
Reyes kicked off to the end zone again, starting Huntsville on their own 20. After a short gain by McCone, the Eagle quarterback put his team back in the scoring column with a 78-yard strike to Zach Elzey on the very next play. Miles Prue converted his second kick to set the score at 35-14 heading into intermission.
The Eagles took the second half kickoff and managed a couple of quick 1st downs before running out of gas, punting the ball after facing a fourth and 13 on their own 45. The ’Hawks were hit with a 10-yard penalty on first down to place the ball on their own 14yard line. Sainsbury then
connected with Brayden Ralph on a fly pattern which nearly scored as the sophomore receiver made it down to the Huntsville 6 before being stopped. A pass to Witcher on the next play scored the ’Hawks seventh touchdown as Pea Ridge led 42-14.
The visitors got a big 75yard return on the kickoff to threaten to score again, starting their drive on the ’Hawk 15. A rush lost 2 yards, and that was followed by a pass theft by Witcher to get the ball back to Pea Ridge on their own 19. Two runs by Winn (16, 65) and the ’Hawks were back in the end zone. Green was good again and the game was put on ice with Pea Ridge leading their Madison County rival 49-14.
The ’Hawk defenders held their foe to a three and out on the next series, leading to an Eagle punt to the ’Hawk 49. Pickthal ripped off a 10-yarder to cross midfield, but the ball was fumbled to Huntsville on the ’Hawk 45. It took Huntsville three plays to get in, with a 34-yard pass from McCone to George taking it in. The score made it 49-21 with 2:30 showing in the third quarter.
The ’Hawks then started a time consuming series with substitutes getting playing time. An 11-play sixand a-half-minute-drive took Pea Ridge down to the 11-yard line where sophomore quarterback Tate Busey darted to the corner of the end zone where he scored standing up. Green’s eighth PAT of the day was good. The score was 56-28 with 7:55 left in the game.
Huntsville decided to keep it on the ground for the rest of the game, with Cyrus Crow doing most of the damage, rushing five times. His last run was a 25-yarder with 4:14 left in the game close the gap at bit at 59-28.
Chase Duncan got the last five carries of the game, gaining 3, 9, 13 and 8 yards.
Besides Winn’s ground statistics, Pickthal had a good night with 65 yards on seven carries. Duncan ran 11 times for 60 yards with Tate running twice for 11. In the aerial game, Sainsbury netted 193 yards on nine of 11 passing. He received a quarterback rating of 161.9, the highest score by any quarterback in the league.
Holtgrewe led the receiving corps with five catches for 100 yards with Witcher also catching the five passes (72 yards).
Adam Trammel led the tackling with nine, with Justin Koon, Tristen Brewer, Gannon Conrad, Mike Mahoney along with Jackson Tillman with five each.
The Blackhawks now head down to Springdale to wrap up the 2017 regular season. As the automatic top seed, the ’Hawks may well be matched with Waldron from the 4-4A in the first round of the A playoffs. The playoffs begin Nov. 10 in Pea Ridge.