X Factor Destroys Pea Ridge Game Plan

DISNEY GETS TO BALL ON DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS

PRAIRIE GROVE — There was irony in Pea Ridge’s game-plan, despite careful attention to the O’s, they weren’t able to manage the X-factor, in the form of Isaac Disney.

The Blackhawks were able to keep the Prairie Grove wide receiver out of the offense by holding him to no catches, but the senior beat their strategy anyway during the Tigers’ 42-21 Homecoming victory Friday. Disney was everywhere the Blackhawks didn’t want him to be. He caught two passes on defense and ran both back for touchdowns, in addition to blocking a punt.

Early on, Prairie Grove was jump-started by two other key components among their many-talented players, defensive end-turned tackle Jack Stone ( 6- 4, 230), a former tight end, intercepted a Jakota Sainsbury pass as the Pea Ridge quarterback hurried a throw with Stone’s replacement at defensive end, Solomon Walker, rushing in. Stone returned the ball 50 yards before Sainsbury (5-11, 180) was able to wrestle him to the ground at the Blackhawk 20. The Tigers capitalized with an 8-yard score as Zeke Laird passed to tight end DeMarkus Cooper, who made a nice catch in traffic crossing the goal line. Clay Fidler’s kick gave Prairie Grove a 7-0 lead with 3:24 left in the first quarter.

“We were just trying to get in a rhythm and create momentum to get things going our way,” Cooper said.

That was what the Tigers did. Pea Ridge’s Hayden Holtgrewe bobbled the ensuing kickoff and was smothered by Tiger senior Carl Simpson at the Blackhawk 13. Prairie Grove forced a three-andout and Pea Ridge punted. Fidler returned the kick to the Blackhawk 37. The scoring drive was quick. Cooper hauled in another Zeke Laird pass for 18 yards. On the fourth play of the drive, Kyle Sam bulled his way into the end zone, knocking over defenders on a 15-yard touchdown run. Fidler kicked the P.A.T pushing Prairie Grove’s lead to 14-0.

Then momentum swung the other way. Pea Ridge’s Jacob Torres dropped the ensuing kickoff, but this time the fumble worked to the Blackhawks’ advantage with him returning the ball for a 92-yard touchdown. After the score, Pea Ridge recovered a sky kick and set up their offense at the Tiger 19. The first quarter ended there with Prairie Grove holding a 14-7 lead with the Blackhawks knocking on the door. Blackhawk tailback Zaine Holley scored on a 2-yard run and when Evan Green’s point-after went through, Pea Ridge had tied the game, at 14-14, with 2:07 elapsed in the second quarter.

Fans were fixated, eager to see which team would score next. The Blackhawks tried another sky kick which Anthony Johnson recovered for Prairie Grove. The Tigers drove to the Blackhawk 30 but lost a fumble. The Tiger defense wouldn’t let Pea Ridge make a first down and they punted. From that juncture, the x-factor — a. k. a. Disney, played a major role in turning the tide back in Prairie Grove’s favor.

Disney exploded on a 39-yard punt return to set up a Tiger first down at the Pea Ridge 34, but an interception ended the drive. The Blackhawks were again forced to punt, this time from deep in their own territory. Disney zoomed in and blocked the punt with Dustin Burton recovering for the Tigers at the Pea Ridge 15. Prairie Grove couldn’t score with their offense, turning the ball over on downs on a sack back to the Blackhawk 21. Disney then came up with the game- changing play, intercepting Sainsbury’s pass on third-and-18. Disney would not be denied, returning the ball 25 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Fidler’s P.A.T. gave Prairie Grove a 21-14 lead going into halftime.

“The first half was special teams mistakes by both teams,” said Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier. “They started to wear down a little sooner than we did.”

The Tigers received the second-half kickoff with Carl Simpson recovering another Pea Ridge onside kick. Taking advantage of a short field, Prairie Grove marched 51 yards in eight plays to score on Zeke Laird’s 10-yard quarterback keeper. Three plays from scrimmage later, lightening struck twice in the form of Disney picking off a Pea Ridge pass and running the football back 48 yards for his second defensive touchdown of the contest. Zeke Laird ran for two and Tiger fans celebrated a 35-14 lead at the 7:20 mark of the third quarter.

Both teams scored touchdowns in the fourth period. Johnson had a 19-yard touchdown run for Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge scored on Drew Winn’s 47-yard run to make the final, 42-21.