Blackhawks hosting 4A-1 District Tournament
For the first time in the spacious basketball facility in the new high school complex, Pea Ridge will serve as host for the 2022 4A-1 District Basketball Championships.
Pea Ridge, Farmington, Gravette, Gentry and Prairie Grove from the 4A-1 West will meet with Harrison, Berryville, Huntsville and Shiloh from the 4AEast to determine the 2022 District Champion. It will also to determine which four of the nine teams will move on to the regional competition next week.
Farmington and Harrison already have berths in the semi-finals due to their divisional championships this season and thus have secured two of their coveted four berths. Those two teams met in the state 4A finals last season with Harrison taking the title.
The Lady Hawks were slated to play either Huntsville or Shiloh Tuesday afternoon. The winner of that game is scheduled to play at 4 p.m. Wednesday versus the Gentry Pioneers, with the winner of that game playing in semifinal action at 4 p.m. Friday against the East Champion Harrison Goblins.
The Blackhawk boys were to play either Shiloh or Gentry Tuesday night with the winner slated to play at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday against the Huntsville Eagles. The winner Wednesday will be pitted against top seeded and the 4A state’s No. 1 Farmington Cardinals in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
The championship finals will be Saturday — 5 p.m. for the girls and 6:30 p.m. for the boys. The third place playoff games will see the girls play at 2 p.m. with the boys game at 3:30 p.m.
Pea Ridge is the defending district champion having beaten Farmington for the title in 2021. The Blackhawks finished ahead of Farmington in the regional last season, taking second after losing to Morrilton in the final.
Razorbacks go up, then down
Described as one of the greatest games held at Bud Walton Arena, the Arkansas Razorbacks defeated the No. 1 nationally ranked Auburn Tigers 80-76, a game that set attendance records, and was also marked by a $250,000 fine levied on the university after students rushed the floor to celebrate the huge victory.
The Hogs then played the SEC eighth-place Alabama Crimson Tide on the road, a team that was crushed by visiting Auburn by 20 two weeks ago. The Hogs lost to the Tide 68-67. Could be the Razorbacks are only good if they play scared.
SEC Standings
Auburn 11-1
Kentucky 10-2
Tennessee 9-3
Arkansas 8-4
Alabama 6-6
Florida 6-6
LSU 6-6
Miss State 5-6
Texas A&M 4-8 S. Carolina 5-7
Vanderbilt 5-7
Missouri 4-7
Mississippi 3-9
Georgia 1-11
super bowl over, Rams win
I wasn’t real interested in the Super Bowl though I did hope Joe Burrow would win with the Bengals after the career he has had to date.
He was a third string quarterback for Ohio State and he decided to enter the transfer portal after getting no real playing time for three years. Coach Urban Meyer made no attempt to keep him, even going so far as to saying no one would miss him and that he would never be heard from again.
He transferred to LSU where he led the Tigers to a national title in 2020, then was taken No. 1 in the NFL draft. He had injuries in his first pro season, but this year he was healthy, leading the Cincinatti Bengals to the Super Bowl, where they have not been in well over 30 years.
The Bengals lost the Super Bowl 23-20 on a last minute touchdown by the LA Rams. Had Burrow won the game, there might have been a movie about it, say around 2042.
Back in 1999, there was another quarterback who was ignored by the coaching staff for his first three years in college. No pro teams had any interest in him, but he still wanted to play so he played arena football, kind of a circus football with less players, less space and a lot more scoring.
He got a chance to leave his Iowa arena team for a tryout with the St. Louis Rams and they took him on as a third or fourth string quarterback. After a series of injuries decimated the quarterback corps, he got to start on opening day. Though sports writers thought the Rams would likely lose all their games that year as they lacked a “quarterback,” Kurt Warner set passing records and won the NFC and Super Bowl crowns in his second season.
Now a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, those that thought Warner was a no-talent dud found out they were wrong — spectacularly wrong. Burrow nearly replicated Warner’s titles in his second year. Maybe he will yet be Hall of Fame material.
The movie about Warner’s extraordinary life is playing locally right now, appropriately named “American Underdog.”
4a-1 league standings
The final conference standings are:
Girls
4a West division
1. Farmington 12-0
2. Gentry 8-4
3. Pea Ridge 7-5
4. Gravette 7-5
5. Prairie Grove 4-8
4a-1 East division
1. Harrison 7-4
2. Huntsville 3-8
3. Shiloh 3-8
3. Berryville 1-10
Boys
4A-1 West Division
1. Farmington 12-0
2. Gravette 6-6
3. Pea Ridge 5-7
3. Prairie Grove 4-8
5. Gentry 2-10
4A-1 East Division
1. Berryville 9-2
2. Huntsville 6-5
3. Harrison 5-6
4. Shiloh 3-8
4A-1 Overall record Girls
1. Farmington 26-1
2. Gentry 23-4
3. Pea Ridge 16-10
4. Gravette 16-11
5. Prairie Grove 12-10
6. Shiloh 12-13
7. Harrison 10-11
8. Huntsville 8-15
9. Berryville 6-14
Boys
1. Farmington 25-1
2. Berryville 21-5
3. Gravette 16-11
4. Huntsville 10-7
5. Harrison 13-12
6. Gentry 10-11
7. Pea Ridge 11-16
8. Prairie Grove 8-15
9. Shiloh 6-17
Editor’s note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, 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.