Blackhawks sweep Huntsville to start conference play
Heath Neal’s Lady Blackhawks and Trent Loyd’s Blackhawks kicked off their conference schedules on a high note, winning both the girls and boys varsity games on the road at Huntsville last week.
All four conference games in both boys and girls contests pitted 4A-1 West Divisions teams versus 4A-1 East Division teams. The West boys teams in Pea Ridge, Gentry and Farmington won three of four with the West girls splitting victories with Pea Ridge and Farmington emerging victorious.
The Hawk boys won a 61-59 nail biter over the Eagles, Farmington won a tough battle with Berryville 50-41 while Gentry put the hurt on Shiloh with a 6039 victory over the private school boys. Prairie Grove suffered the lone loss, a 8761 pounding handed them by Harrison. Gravette was idle Friday, as playing in a nine-team league leaves one school uninvolved each cycle.
Pea Ridge’s 46-39 win over Huntsville and Farmington’s 62-26 total destruction of Berryville providing the West’s victories. Defending state champion Harrison had a tough 68-64 win over Prairie Grove with Gentry getting smacked down 68-25 by Shiloh.
The Hawks were scheduled to play two games this week, taking on Elkins Monday and following that up with a game against Providence on Tuesday. After a break through the holidays, the Blackhawks will be hosting Gravette on Jan. 4, then Prairie Grove on Jan. 7.
The big game looming for both the boys and the girls will be the battle with Farmington in Pea Ridge on Jan. 11. The Cardinal boys are 10-1 for the season with the Lady Cardinals undefeated at 11-0. The Cards have three starters back from last year, but a new player has put a whole new spin on Farmington futures. Sophomore Jenna Lawrence, a 6’2” forward, was a big part of Melbourne’s state championship last spring but has moved to Farmington. She made headlines by already signing a letter of intent to play for Arkansas after she graduates in 2024. They will be the team to beat this season having already won their 11 victories by an average of more than 30 points.
Wheels coming off the Razorback bus?
The Hogs looked hot out of the gate, winning their first seven games though not without some lapses along the way.
Their start earned them a No. 10 national collegiate ranking and things were looking up. However, two rather poorly played games albeit victories against instate smaller schools in the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Arkansas - Little Rock dropped them to No. 12. Then a 88-66 blowout loss to Oklahoma dropped them to No. 22, and after a shocking 89-81 home loss to fiveloss Hofstra, the odds are the hardwood Hogs will be pushed clear out of the rankings.
The Razorbacks have the talent, perhaps too much, as they are having problems syncing together. They are great from the free throw line, but from behind the arc, not so much. Defense has become a weakness and repeated scoring droughts have become a problem. They were to played little Elon Tuesday, a member of the American Athletic Conference along with Hofstra, and had a 3-9 record going into Tuesday. It was considered a cinch victory three weeks ago, now, maybe not.
But as Nolan Richardson famously said, “all illness isn’t death” and the Hogs have time to fix what ails them. With a deep roster, perhaps some other athletes may be pressed into more service.
Athletics can sometime turn on a dime. After Georgia ran roughshod through the conference games this year and when Alabama lost a game to Texas A&M, and barely won other games, including a tight one with Arkansas, the Bulldogs were prohibitive favorites against the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. Alabama blew out Georgia, so you never know.
The better team on the day of the game usually wins the game, not always the higher ranked.
Three 4A-1 Conference schools are wrestling
I have a grandson who plays football, runs track and now wrestles for the Gravette Lions. I got to attend a double duel meet with Gravette, Berryville and Gentry at the old Pioneer gym to watch my son’s son wrestle.
Wrestling is a growing sport in Arkansas with all the large schools in the state having programs and now there are 11 4A schools that are wrestling in 2021-22. Besides the three 4A-1 teams, other schools include Arkadelphia, Ashdown, Bauxite, Robinson, Morrilton, Pottsville, Pulaski and Subiaco.
To my surprise, I discovered that there is a
wrestling program for girls as well this season. There have been reports of girls wrestling on boys teams over the past few years, but they have “league of their own” now. Most of the 4A schools have declared for the sport but I do not know how they are doing with turnout and competition. I know the boys’ programs in the northwest are all doing well.
The 4A State Wrestling Championships are set for Feb. 19-20 in Little Rock at the Stephens Center.
When I attended Monett (Mo.) High school between 1967 and 1971, wrestling was an up and coming sport for the smaller and mid-sized schools, with the larger schools having the sport for a long time before that. The reason we took it on was at the insistence of the football coach who thought it would be a great training help for players who didn’t play basketball. He turned out to be right as the school went from 0-10 seasons in the mid-’60s to a 30-game winning streak beginning in 1970, taking state title along the way.
I liked the sport as it gave smaller athletes a venue to succeed. The meets are composed of 14 weight classes beginning with the 98 pounders, then going up a few pounds gradually to the heavyweight division.
To the uninitiated, it is nothing like pro wrestling. Three 2-minute periods, with the athlete who scores the most points, or who wins by pinning their opponent. The hardest part is memorizing all the holds and counter holds you come up against in a match. You do not win by throwing your opponent around, you usually win by outsmarting him.
It’s a good sport.
••• sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at prtnews@nwadg.com.