Pea Ridge slips past CAC in overtime
PEA RIDGE 3, CAC 0, OT
Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs Coach Tommy Shoemaker walked through the mud and heavy rain near his team’s bench at the end of regulation and spoke over his headset to an assistant in the press box.
“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said.
It took overtime to produce the game’s first points in Pea Ridge’s 3-0 overtime victory over CAC in the quarterfinal round of the Class 4A state playoffs at rained-soaked Mustang Mountain on Friday night.
“This is the first game like this I’ve ever been involved in,” Pea Ridge Coach Tony Travis said. “These are just unbelievable conditions.”
CAC’s loss stopped a 10game winning streak and a seven-game run in which it scored at least 35 points.
“It was just a tough night,” Shoemaker said. “They battled and we battled. They just made one more play than we did.”
Pea Ridge (11-2) will play the Nashville Scrappers in Nashville in next week’s semifinal round. Nashville advanced with a 42-37 victory over Warren.
Overtime in Arkansas high school football gives each team an opportunity to score from 1st-and-goal at its opponent’s 10-yard line.
In this case, CAC (11-2) won the overtime coin toss and chose to go second.
As was the case throughout regulation, Pea Ridge struggled to advance the ball through the mud as it began its overtime possession. Two runs for a total of 3 yards by junior running back Zaine Holley and a pass dropped in the end zone led Travis to send out senior place kicker Jake Edwards.
Edwards’ 24-yard field goal held up as the winning score.
“Hats off to our kicker,” Travis said. “And to our backup holder.”
Sophomore Hayden Holtgrewe handled the first snap of the season on Edward’s kick.
For CAC, two runs for no yards by senior running back Braylon Harris, a penalty for illegal procedure, and a botched snap on third-andgoal from the 15 meant sophomore kicker Justin Flanigan faced a 38-yard field-goal attempt to force a second overtime round.
But another failed snap left the ball in the hands of junior holder and starting quarterback Noah Evans, whose pass under pressure fell incomplete short of the goal line.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Shoemaker said. “We’ve had a great year. I’m disappointed for them, but it’s really been a neat year for our guys.”
At the end of regulation, Pea Ridge had 214 total yards of offense, including 142 rushing yards on 55 carries. CAC had a total of 87 yards.
Pea Ridge had the only significant scoring opportunity in regulation after sophomore quarterback Jakota Sainsbury’s 62-yard pass to Holtgrewe put the Blackhawks at CAC’s 24, but CAC stopped Prairie Grove on downs at the 15 with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter.
“We knew it was going to be like this coming in,” Travis said. “We’re just glad we persevered and came out with a win.”