Tiger defense ends Blackhawk streak
Prairie Grove’s “good as advertised” defense was the difference in the Tigers’ 42-21 conquest of Pea Ridge last Friday. The loss ended the ’Hawks’ 13-game road game victory streak and gave Pea Ridge their first loss of the season.
It took the homecoming Tigers just about 100 yards of offense to score five of the six touchdowns. The farthest drive that Prairie Grove had to go on offense for 35 points was less than 50 yards and two TDs were interception returns.
In fact, even though the ’Hawks had double the yardage that Prairie Grove had accumulated by halftime, they trailed 21-14.
The game started well for Pea Ridge, taking the opening kickoff and picking up two first downs while driving to midfield. Zaine Holley rushed for 18 yards on four totes with Jakota Sainsbury tossing a 5-yarder to Hayden Holtgrewe to spark the march.
But, as what has been a Blackhawk problem at times this season, a penalty against the ’Hawks derailed the drive. With Pea Ridge having to go to the air, it gave an edge to Prairie Grove’s defenders who have been formidable on pass defense this season.
Blackhawk defenders stepped up and allowed the Tigers but 3 yards on three plays on their first possession to get the ball back rather quickly.
The Pea Ridge offense picked up where it left off with Holley picking up 10 yards on three carries that complemented a big 21-yard pass from Sainsbury to Drew Winn that gave the ’Hawks a first down on the Tiger 29. Holley edged them a bit closer on first down with a 2-yard run but the penalty bug bit them again, being pushed back to the 32 to face a second and 13.
On an obvious passing situation, the Tigers came up with an interception, returning it all the way down the field to the ’Hawk 20. Though giving up a 12-yard run by the Tigers’ running back, the ’Hawks broke up a first down pass then Britton Caudill dropped a Tiger receiver for a yard loss on second down to force a third and 9. The The Tigers’ Zeke Laird then dropped a 9-yard pass to Demarkus Cooper for the score. The kick failed to leave the score 6-0 with 8:30 left in the first.
The ’Hawks mishandled the kickoff which led to them having to start from their own 12. Holley got 4 yards on the first carry but a 1-yard loss for another ’Hawk running back and a third down incompletion forced a ’Hawk punt.
A good run back by the Tigers gave the hosts excellent field position on the ’Hawk 37. An 18-yard second down pass placed the Tigers on the ’Hawk 19 and two plays later, Kyle Sams broke off a 16-yard run to paydirt. They ran in the PAT to boost their lead to 14-0 with 24 seconds left in the quarter.
The next kickoff was again mishandled by the ’Hawks but return man Jacob Torres picked up the loose pigskin and bolted left near the ’Hawks’ goal line, then threaded his way upfield, picking up numerous blocks by his teammates to make his way to the Tiger end zone. Evan Green converted the extra point to close the gap to 14-7 with 16 seconds left in the first.
That set the stage for a big play for Drew Winn who sprinted down the field to recover the ’Hawk kickoff on the Tiger 17, the third time this year that a Blackhawk has recovered a kickoff that wasn’t a short kick.
Holley picked up 3 yards twice on the first two plays, then bulled his way through the line carrying tacklers forward for 4 yards and a first down on the Tiger 7. After Winn rushed for 3 then 2 yards, Holley took it in from the 2 with 9:53 left in the half. The PAT was good and the score was knotted at 14-14.
Sensing the momentum had swung the ’Hawks’ way, the Tigers went to work, picking up 12 yards on runs by Orr and Johnson. A possible TD pass from Laird was foiled when Duncan Truesdell stopped it. A 12-yard pass on the next down moved the Tigers to the ’Hawk 40 and Johnson moved it 10 more yards to the 30 on the next play. This is where the ’Hawk defense came up big, stripping the ball from Prairie Grove with Seth Trammel coming up with it along with others on the scene.