Blackhawks crush Tiger comeback
Win mercy ruled 57-28
In what was a shoot-out to begin the battle, the Blackhawks got their defense going in the second quarter and posted their largest ever defeat of perennial football power Prairie Grove by a 57-28 count.
Even after falling behind 35-14 in the first half, the Tigers under Danny Abshier would not give up, nearly scoring before the intermission then scoring first in the second half. After the Tigers got to within 13, the Hawks reeled off 22 straight points to put the game away. This was the Hawks’ third straight win over Prairie Grove, a team that has made the playoffs nearly every season during Abshier’s long tenure.
“They have a well coached team,” head coach Stephen Neal remarked, “and you have to play well to beat them. Both our offense and defense came together to earn the win.”
Senior Samuel Beard put up some big numbers, rushing 26 times for a whopping 271 yards. The 4A-1’s leading tailback, Beard scored three touchdowns. Fellow senior Tate Busey also eclipsed the century in rushing, running 11 times for 124 yards. Both backs averaged over 10 yards a carry. Busey was also six of 12 passing for 66 yards. Senior Hunter Rains caught three for 35 yards with senior Brayden Ralph catching the other three for 31 yards.
Prairie Grove tried a little razzle dazzle to start the game, trying an onside kick to surprise the Hawks. Defender Adam Trammel was not fooled as he corralled the ball on the 50 to give the Hawks great field position.
Beard’s first run was an omen of things to come as he dashed 10 yards for a first down. Busey followed that with a keeper around the right side for 21 yards and another first down. Beards’s third run netted 9 yards to the Tiger 10-yard line and his next run covered 3 yards for a first down on the Prairie Grove 7. Beard got a lot of attention on the next play but the Hawks crossed up the defense when Busey flipped a pass to Brayden Ralph who scored easily just 90 seconds into the game. Luis Reyes kept his streak of consecutive PAT kicks intact to give Pea Ridge a 7-0 lead.
The offense was not off the field long as the Tigers used two runs to go 70 yards to tie the game. Tiger Jared Harger ran for 38 yards on first down with Foster Layman running 32 yards on the next play to score with 9:59 showing. Payton Higgins kicked the PAT.
Rains gave the Hawks a shot in the arm with a sterling 36-yard kickoff return to the Pea Ridge 41. The Hawks’ second possession began like the first with Beard rushing for 10 yards to the Tiger 49. Busey threw a pass to Rains in traffic but the diminutive receiver ran for 10 yards and another first down. Beard got the call and rushed for 13 yards to the Tiger 26 on the next play. On second down, Busey pulled off a great fake, then tucked the ball in to run 12 yards to the Tiger 14. Beard gained 5 yards to the Tiger 9 and two plays later, Busey threw a pass in Rains’ direction only to see a Tiger defender tip it. The alert Rains pulled down the deflected pass for a score with 7:17 left in the first. Reyes’ boot made it 14-7 in favor of the home boys.
The Tigers’ first series needed only two plays to score, but this one needed four with the first three ineffective. Prairie Grove faced a fourth and 2 on their own 43 but they decided to go for it. They got the 2 yards and 55 more to tie the score. The score came on a 57-yard jaunt by Keandre Hobbs. Higgins’ kick with 5:12 left in the first knotted the score at 14-14.
The Tigers’ quick strike offense was one-upped by the Blackhawks when a 39-yard kickoff return by Rains got the homeboys great field position on their own 44. It took just one play to score with Busey keeping the ball, weaving through and past a host of defenders for a 56-yard touchdown run. Reyes split the uprights with 4:43 left in the half for a 21-14 Pea Ridge advantage.
It looked like the Tigers might go right down the field and tie the score again. Quarterback Laird ran for 9 then threw a pass to Hobbs who looked like he might score. He had to beat Blackhawk senior Jake Adams to score, but he couldn’t as Adams took him down on the Hawk 40 after 25 yards.
The Hawk defenders bowed their backs and limited the next two rushes to a single yard. Facing a third and 1, Hawk defender Lance Nunley chased down the quarterback behind the line to hang a 5-yard loss on the Tigers, forcing a punt. A fierce rush by the Hawks affected the punt as it traveled only 10 yards to the Hawk 36.
Busey went to the air on first down, passing the ball to Ralph who juggled it a bit while avoiding tacklers then pulled it down for an 18-yard gainer to the Tiger 46. Busey then rushed for 3 with the field general tossing a 6-yarder to Ralph to the Tiger 37. Facing a third and 1, Beard burst through the defense to scamper 37 yards for the Hawks’ fourth touchdown. Reyes booted the PAT for a 28-14 lead with 10 minutes left in the half.
On the Tigers’ next series, Nunley sliced past blockers to drop the ball carrier for a yard loss on first down. The next two plays netted the Tigers but 2 yards and they punted to the Hawk 30.
The Hawks then launched a ball control, time consuming 6-minute 15-play scoring march. Busey started it off with an 8-yard run with Beard slashing for 9 on the next play. Beard then ran for 5,
Busey for 2, then Beard for 3 for another first down, this time on the Tiger 43. After a penalty slowed them down, Busey and Beard ran three times for 18 yards and a new set of downs on the Prairie Grove 33.
Beard then ran twice for 15 yards to get down to the Tiger 13 and after a Prairie Grove penalty, the Hawks had a first down on the Tiger 8. Beard chewed up 7 of the yards on first down with Busey sneaking it straight up the middle for the score. Reyes’ accurate kick gave the Hawks an imposing 35-14 lead with 4:21 left in the half.
The visitors started their next possession on their own 19. They had some initial success with Harger, Hobbs and Layman running the ball to the Hawk 48. This is where the Hawks’ defensive muscle kicked in, burying the Tiger ball carrier for a 2-yard loss on a reverse, then flooding past the blockers to drop the next running play for a 6-yard loss. A fierce pass rush on third and 18 forced a bad throw by the quarterback and the Tigers had to kick it away.
Beard started things off well, rushing three times for 17 yards and the ball on the Hawk 46. However, a penalty and a pair of incompletions forced their first punt of the day for the hosts. Then came one of the most important sequences of the game.
Starting on their own 24 with just 38 seconds left in the half, the Tigers’ Layman nearly took it to the house, bursting down the east sidelines apparently on his way to score. However, Busey ran him down from his safety position, knocking him out of bounds on the Hawk 17. The rejuvenated Tigers pushed the ball all the way to the 2-yard line for a first down. With only 7 seconds left in the clock and the Tigers out of timeouts, Prairie Grove had one more shot. The Hawks blew back the Tiger line to blow up the play with the half ending with Pea Ridge on top 35-14.
The Tigers had the ball to start the third quarter and they wasted no time in starting a comeback. A 20-yard run by Harger, and a pass by Laird to Russell put them on the Hawk 27. Samual Tillman and Busey put a damper on the drive by dropping the Tiger running back for a 7-yard loss to the
34. Two plays netted the Tigers 1 yard and facing a fourth and 1, they went for it. Laird dropped a perfect pass to Harger in the end zone for the score. Harger ran for the 2-point conversion and suddenly the guests were only down 13 at 35-22, making the Hawks’ goal line stand at half-time very important.
Beard ran the ball well after the kickoff but penalties stymied the Hawk offence. Busey got off a great 47yard punt to flip the field.
Prairie Grove earned a 5-yard penalty on their first play, then Blackhawk senior Mazon Harris sacked the quarterback for a 4-yard loss on the next play. An incomplete pass and a 4-yard run didn’t stop a Tiger punt with the Hawks getting the ball back on the Tiger 49.
Busey and Beard alternated runs to pound down to the Tiger 20. With 1:16 left in the quarter, Beard broke free to scoot into the end zone for the score. Beard then rammed in the 2-point PAT to extend the lead to 43-22.
The beginning of the fourth quarter saw the Hawks holding the Tigers down inside their own 30. Another Nunley tackle behind the line helped force the Tigers hand. The punt was gathered in by Blackhawk sophomore Joe Adams and he got the crowd on its feet by dashing 73 yards to paydirt. However, the play was waved off and the Hawks started over on their own 17.
Rains got things going with a 4-yard run, then Beard put the exclamation mark on the victory by dashing through and by Tiger defenders to roll 79 yards to the end zone. Reyes’ kick raised the score to 50-22.
After the kickoff, Prairie Grove found itself on the Tiger 17. The Hawks hung a 9-yard loss on the Tigers on second down, forcing a punt from near their own goal line. Joe Adams rushed in to get a hand on the ball, and the weakly advancing ball was hauled in by junior Jake Ingram, who returned it 10 yards to the 7. Two plays later, senior Daniel DeLeon bulled through the defense for the Hawks’ last score. Reyes’ kick lifted the led to 57-22, igniting the mercy rule with 7 minutes left.
The Tigers used up the rest of the clock to drive the length of the field to make one last score, with it coming as the clock was running out, leaving the final score 57-22.
Nunley had a whale of a game, leading the way with nine tackles. Luis Reyes had the second most with six, followed by Tate Busey, Joe Adams and Gavin Warden with five. David Snarr, Adam Trammel and Chandler Snow each chipped in with four.
The Hawks will be on the road this week as they play in the new Bobcat Stadium in Berryville. The ‘Cats are winless in the 4A-1, tied with Green Forest at 0-4.
Beard will lead the ground game, averaging 127 yards per game, best in the 4A-1. Busey will be under center, averaging nearly 100 yards per game passing. Nunley leads the team with a 6.4 tackles per game average, with Harris the best “sacker” in the league, averaging nearly one a game.