There’s a whole lot of sweatin’goin’on
This is a busy time of the year.
The football team is in the home stretch of their schedule, remaining undefeated in conference play with the two weakest teams on the schedule before the league finale. The last game with be with the state’s top-ranked Shiloh team on their field.
Meanwhile the volleyball girls are in the top four of the conference while holding a No. 12 ranking in the state poll. The top four teams in district play move on to the state tournament and the Blackhawks have that in their sights.
The fairly recently formed bicycle racing teams are in full gear and doing well in their fledgling sport.
Running their district meet next Tuesday, the Pea Ridge cross country teams will be looking for high finishes in that meet as well as in the state championships in November in Hot Springs.
Couple all that with the cheerleader activities and all the workouts the band play through, and there is a lot going on right now. The one other fall activity is golf which has already concluded for the season.
The other sport that is working hard right now is the boys and girls basketball programs. They, too, are putting in the sweat and the hours to get ready for the second year of the new 4A-1 Conference which last year saw 5A schools Huntsville, Harrison and Farmington drop down into it.
4A-1 Conference football
Pea Ridge and Shiloh remain at the top of the 4A-1 standings with their one-sided victories last Friday. While the Hawks were dismantling Prairie Grove to the tune of 57-28, Shiloh was running over Gentry by a 4918 count. Gentry and Prairie Grove remain tied for third pace overall with Lincoln joining the log jam with a 4114 conquest of Green Forest while Gravette also climbing into the tie with a 29-7 beating of Berryville.
This week, Shiloh hosts Lincoln with the Hawks traveling to Berryville. The 4-0 tie between the two rivals will likely by 5-0 by the weekend. Gentry and Prairie Grove duke it out at Tiger Stadium this Friday with the winner remaining in third. Gravette takes on Green Forest which probably keep the Lions tied for third with the Gentry/Prairie Grove winner.
District football standings
1. Pea Ridge Shiloh
3. Prairie Grove Gentry Gravette Lincoln
7. Berryville Green Forest 4-0 4-0 2-2 2-2 2-2 2-2 0-3 0-3
MaxPreps District football stat leaders
As a team, the Hawks are leading all schools in rushing in the 4A-1 with 1,580 yards, with Gentry in second with 1,018 yards. Shiloh leads passing offense with 1,603 yards with Gentry second with 1,014. Pea Ridge is fourth with 802. Senior Samuel Beard leads all rushers in total yards, touchdowns and scoring.
• Rushing:
1. Samuel Beard, Pea Ridge, 891 yds.
2. Brandon Atwood, Gentry, 553 yds.
3. Tate Busey, Pea Ridge, 419 yds.
• Passing:
1. Eli Reece, Shiloh, 1,366 yds.
2. Brandon Atwood, Gentry, 1,014 yds.
4. Tate Busey, Pea Ridge, 663 yds.
• Receiving:
1. Truitt Tollett, Shiloh, 762
2. Zach Jarnagan, Gentry, 424
5. Trevor Blair, Pea Ridge, 261
• PATs:
1. Keaton Carter, Shiloh, 30
2. Luis Reyes, Pea Ridge, 26
• Scoring:
1. Samuel Beard, Pea Ridge, 80 2.Truitt Tollett, Shiloh, 72
• Touchdowns:
1. Samuel Beard, Pea Ridge, 13
2. Truitt Tollett, Shiloh, 12
• Sacks:
1. Mazon Harris, Pea Ridge, 5, Trenton Durham, Gravette, 5
5. Gavin Warden and Lance Nunley, Pea Ridge, 3
• Interceptions:
1. Zac Jarnagan, Gentry, 4
2. John Roses, Luis Reyes and Joe Adams, Pea Ridge, 2
• Kickoff Yardage:
1. Luis Reyes, Pea Ridge, 47.0 per kick
2. Bryan Soto, Green Forest, 42
• Punts:
1. Ian Drake, Gravette, 41.7
2. Tate Busey, Pea Ridge, 37.3 per kick
MaxPreps/CBS 4A State football poll news
*Current statewide MaxPreps rankings This was an unusual week in the MaxPrep CBS 4A rankings with 17 schools retaining the same rank as the previous week. Each week, 24 teams lose and 24 teams win and there is usually movement for the great majority of teams. This week’s biggest gainer was Hamburg who picked up seven places in the poll with a 24-6 win over then No. 13 West Helena. Hamburg is No. 14 now. The week’s biggest loser was West Helena, dropping down seven spots.
Pea Ridge crept up into the seventh position with their blow out win over Prairie Grove. Though it looks like a blow out now, the Hawks had a big goal line stand at the end of the second quarter, stopping the Tigers on the 2-yard line. The visitors then scored to start the third period and had they scored before the half, they could have closed to within 6 points. The mild comeback energized the Hawks as they scored the next 22 points to mercy rule the game.
The top five teams in the polls remain the same, with three of them from the 4A7. Arkadelphia had a tough time with No. 15 Harmony Grove, eventually winning 19-0. Nashville rocked Ashdown 55-20 with Robinson smacking Malvern 46-7. Ozark whipped a weak Pottsville team 35-14 to stay in fifth. Harmony Grove is ranked 15th but is only in sixth place in the 4A-7