Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Blackhawk basher Nunley taking advantage of opportunities as a senior starter
PEA RIDGE — Lance Nunley wasn’t a junior high superstar at Pea Ridge. He didn’t lace up shoulder pads or snap a chinstrap to a black helmet with silver wings until he was in the ninth grade.
Stephen Neal, the Pea Ridge football coach, called his weakside middle linebacker “a program player.”
The journey that Nunley has taken from fresh-faced freshman to head-hunting senior is one that coaches at every level encourage. Get in the program early, work extremely hard, have patience in the process and be ready when your time comes.
“Lance is a young man who is Blackhawk through and through,” Neal said. “This is what program development is about, taking a player who is not a superstar, but they just want to work. Kids like Lance who have a great attitude. It’s amazing to see how, as a senior, how he’s playing at such a high level.”
Nunley, who is listed on the roster generously at 5-foot-10, 155 pounds, has been a major force on the Pea Ridge defense since the middle portion of the season. A first-time starter, Nunley leads the team in tackles with 86 — 43 solo and 43 assisted — and also has 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.
In the last three games combined, including playoff wins against Lonoke and Star City, Nunley has 31 tackles and 2 forced fumbles as the Blackhawks (8-4) have advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals, where they will travel to Ozark (11-1) tonight. The winner will advance to the semifinals next week.
“It took a little while for the game to slow down for me,” Nunley said. “In our nonconference games, I would tense up and maybe overthink things. But about halfway through the year, it started to become more natural to me. The game slowed down and I could just play.”
Nunley, who was primarily a track guy before joining the Pea Ridge football program in the ninth grade, said his parents never pushed him to play football and were in fact somewhat reluctant in giving their blessing when he told them he wanted to join the football team.
This season, his parents are in the stands cheering loudly as No. 41 wreaks havoc on opposing teams.
“They love it now, and they are saying they don’t know what they will do after this season ends,” he joked.
Nunley battled some injuries including one to his leg in a junior varsity game last season. Neal said even when he was not able to be on the field, Nunley was always at practice.
“Every single day he was here,” Neal said. “That showed the coaches a lot about his character.”
Away from the football field, Nunley is an avid hunter and spends hours in the woods with both his bow and gun.
On a recent hunting trip, Nunley was able to get off a clean shot with his bow, but could not track the whereabouts of the deer. It was over a day later when he finally found the deer, too late for him to harvest the meat.
“I hate it when I kill an animal and can’t find it because I only hunt to provide meat,” he
said. “But I made sure the meat did not go to waste and other animals benefitted from it.”
Neal said what sets Nunley apart is his leadership and putting team before self.
“He’s one of these kids that leadership-wise, he leads by example and volume,” Neal said. “Lance is the guy that screams and yells and makes practice fun. If he sees people walking on the field, even coaches, he’ll let them know about it. He’s that type of leader.”