Blackhawks christen new stadium with 48-12 victory
The Blackhawks christened their new stadium with an almost entirely new starting lineup but the game looked a lot like last year’s battle as the locals steam rolled Greenland 48-12 in a mercy ruled contest.
“I wish every night could be opening night,” Tony Travis, head coach, said. “We came in focused and ready to play. We’ve come a long way since game one though we still have a long way to go.”
After holding the Pirates to 13 yards before forcing them to punt, the Blackhawks put together a long drive that nearly consumed the whole first quarter, scoring in the final 90 seconds. With Shane Ivy’s break away speed along with a heads up interception by Colton Watkins, Pea Ridge exploded for 28 points in the second period to break the game open before intermission.
Ivy ran through the Pirate defenses to pile up 172 yards on the ground, scoring four touchdowns in the battle. Two of the junior tailbacks carries went for 61 and 32 yard touchdown jaunts.
“I really have to give credit to our blockers for making my runs possible,” Ivy said. “We played well on both sides of the ball and had a team effort”
The gambling side of Travis’ play calling paid off again in the first quarter. After runs by Seth Brumley and Ivy left the ’Hawks facing fourth and 1 from their own 23-yard line, Travis eschewed the punt and sent Garrett Easterling up the middle, with the junior athlete breaking loose for 8 yards and a first down.
Brumley then connected with Tristan Trundle for a 9-yard passing play on the first down play. After runs by Easterling and Ivy were negated by a penalty, Brumley hit Trundle again, this time for 10 yards and another first down. Ivy took a sweep left for 12 yards, followed by 7-yard runs by Brumley and McClellan to give the ’Hawks a first down on the Greenland 23.
Easterling, Ivy and Brumley bashed through for runs of 6, 3 and 5 respectively to set the ’Hawks up, first and 9 on the Pirate 9. A fade-away pass by Brumley to Logan Rose in the corner of the end zone proved to be the first score of the game, coming with 1:37 left in the quarter. Klein’s kick was true to boost the lead to 7-0.
While suffering two plays for losses on rushes, the Pirates did hit a 28-yard bomb to Calvin Giddens to put Greenland on the ’Hawk 34. After Watkins and Ivy brought down Giddens for losses on two consecutive plays, the Pirates resorted to their old “Hook and Ladder pass play” that fooled the ’Hawk defense, allowing Giddens to break free on a 39-yard scoring run. The visitors failed to convert the PAT, leaving the score at 7-6 with 11:51 left in the half.
Tough defense and two consecutive lightning bolt offensive plays in less than two minutes took the wind out of the Pirates’ sails and set the tone for the rest of the contest.
On the first play following the Pirate score, Ivy ran left, picked up two great blocks then burst down field to run 61 yards to paydirt. Klein’s PAT kick was again good to boost the score to 14-6 with 11:33 showing.
A great kickoff by Brumley pinned the Pirates back on their own 18. Two incomplete passes led to a third and 10 when a thirddown pass in the flat was sniffed out by Ketcher and Small, leading them to bury the Pirate receiver 9 yards behind the line of scrimmage. A short punt transferred possession back to Pea Ridge on the Pirate 32. Another run by Ivy had the same result with the junior speedster dashing to the end zone for another touchdown. Klein’s third kick elevated the score to 21-6 with 10:22 on the clock.
The next Greenland possession resulted in lost yardage with the ’Hawks getting the ball back on their own 42. A 10-yard scamper by Easterling brought the ’Hawks into Pirate territory with Brumley connecting with Rose again, this time for 33 yards, as Pea Ridge was threatening to score again. From the Pirate 29, a Pirate penalty and 9-yard run by Brumley gave the ’Hawks a first down on the Greenland 16. Runs by Easterling, Brumley and Ivy gave the ’Hawks a first down on the 4-yard line where McClellan took it in on the next play for a 28-6 lead. Klein’s fourth PAT attempt was good with 5:28 left in the half.
Greenland’s bad luck just kept getting worse with a pass completion netting lost yardage on their first play. Things went from bad to awful when Watkins wrested the ball away from a Pirate receiver on the Greenland 22 to give the ’Hawks another opportunity to dent the scoreboard. Brumley went back then scrambled forward, picking up 15 yards before being pushed out of bounds on the 6-yard line. A Pirate defender who decided to tackle Brumley after he went out of bounds was whistled for the foul, moving the ball to the Pirate 3-yard line. Ivy then ran right off tackle to dance into the end zone for the ’Hawks’ fifth touchdown. Klein’s kick made it 35-6 with just over four minutes left in the half.
A penalty on Pea Ridge set the Pirates up first and 2 from their own to start their next pos- session. A host of ’Hawks broke through to bury the Pirates next running play but a 18-yard pass after two incompletions put Greenland into Pea Ridge territory on the 43. Three rushing plays netted zero yards for the Pirates and a personal foul on Greenland pushed them back to their own 32. Jack Rapp gathered in the ensuing punt and brought the Pea Ridge crowd to its feet by running it back 40 yards, nearly breaking free for score. However, a Pea Ridge defender ran over the Pirate punter to erase the runback and giving the ball back to Greenland, first and 10 on the ’Hawk 43. A run play lost yards and three straight incompletions finished out the clock into intermission.
Getting the ball to start the second half, runs by Ivy, Easterling and Brumley took the ’Hawks into Pirate territory at the 48. The drive stalled however, forcing Pea Ridge to punt for the first time, pinning the Pirates back at their 11-yard line. Once again, the Pirates lost yardage on their possession with a short punt giving the ball back to Pea Ridge on the Greenland 33. Two runs by Ivy (28 and 5 yards) and the ’Hawks were back in the end zone. The kick failed but the score with 6:51 left in the third quarter activated the Mercy Rule, which meant that the clock would not stop for the rest of the evening, thereby shortening the contest.
At this point, the ’Hawks substituted freely but it didn’t slow down their offense. The ’Hawks got the ball back when Justin Self broke through to nail Greenland’s Giddens who was trying to convert a fourth and 1 play. The play lost two yards giving the ball to Pea Ridge on the Pirate 37. Hunter Hargiss had his first high school carry on a 5-yard run, then carried three more times to gain 11 yards to the Greenland 17. New quarterback Gage Cawthon picked up 16 yards on a keeper for a first down on the Pirate 1. Hargiss crossed the goal line on the next play with 0:05 left in the third quarter. Kleins’ kick made it 48-6.
A ’Hawks’ miscue gave the Pirates possession on the Pea Ridge 8 in the game’s final moments with the visitors taking advantage for a quick score and reduce the final margin to 48-12.