Holley scores seven TDs for Blackhawks
Blackhawk junior Zaine Holley rushed for 337 yards and seven touchdowns as Pea Ridge opened 4A-1 Conference play with a convincing 72-34 win over Gentry Friday night.
The win is the 14th straight in the regular season for the Blackhawks (4-0, 1-0 4A-1), whose last regular season loss came to Berryville to end the 2013 season.
Holley had 252 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in the first half, with Pea Ridge holding off a spirited challenge from the Pioneers (2-2, 0-1) to take a 45-22 lead at halftime.
The junior carried the ball on the first eight plays of the game for the Blackhawks, culminating with a 5-yard touchdown run, and he added scoring runs of 10, 66, 2, 3, 1 and 9 yards on 30 carries overall.
“We needed every one of them with the way they were moving the ball in the first half,” Blackhawk coach Tony Travis said. “(Holley) really runs hard, and he is getting used to running be- hind his line.”
Holley also had the first 12 carries a week ago for Pea Ridge, settling for 101 yards rushing on 22 carries.
The Blackhawks needed only one carry in the second half from the junior in that blowout, but he didn’t let up in the second this time around, lunging for his seventh touchdown early in the fourth quarter to put Pea Ridge up 65-28.
Afterward, Holley would only comment on the game as long as he was surrounded by his offen- sive linemen.
“I’m honored to have the best offensive linemen in our conference,” Holley said. “It’s the best offense I could ever ask for, and I like to run behind them. I love them; they’re my brothers.”
Holley’s longest touchdown run of the game was a 66-yard burst in the second quarter that broke a 14-14 tie and put the Blackhawks up 21-14.
Pea Ridge finished with 433 rushing yards overall, including a 65-yard touchdown run down the right sideline with 28 seconds remaining by junior Jacob Torres.
Gentry quarterback John Faulkenberry finished 16 of 24 passing for 190 yards in the loss, while C.J. Taylor accounted for three touchdowns, two rushing and another on an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The Pioneers, who have now lost two straight games after opening the season 2-0, moved the ball effectively in the first half but were unable to slow Holley and the Blackhawks.
“We knew (Holley) was a really good running back and we were going to have to tackle,” Gentry coach Paul Ernest said. “We competed well, and I thought they played hard the entire game. We’ve just got to grow as men and a team, coaching staff included.”