Blackhawks play final scrimmage before big crowd
I think it would be fair to say that the football scrimmage Friday was played before one of the largest crowds ever for that event.
Arkansas schools have spring football practice as do the college programs. The practices often end their spring activities with a uniformed, padded scrimmage.
There were loads of fans present as students from all the school locations were on hand for the competition, with students bused in from downtown and the others making the short walk over to the field. Other fans were also present, adding up to a festive, exciting event.
This was the first time the seniors to be were in the driver’s seat, as they prepare to lead their team into year No. 3 of the Blackhawks’ move up into the 5A classification. They have two years of 5A ball under their belt which will serve them well as they go about rebuilding the Hawks’ football fortunes.
Some folks don’t understand why the Hawks play in the 4A classification in all sports except football. The short answer is money.
The AAA eliminated the 7A class from all sports, pushing all the schools downward into other classes. To have cut out the 7A in football and rearranged the other classes would have meant less gate money from the playoffs, the principal source of income for the AAA. Quite a few schools are like Pea Ridge in that they have multiple classifications.
Going from 4A to 5A is a big step for any team. Teams in the 5A due to their school size have deeper rosters, bigger players and faster athletes. The Hawks had a sterling record in the 4A class over the last six years they played in that class. So far, the Hawks have had to deal with winning only one game per season.
Things are looking up for the 2022 fall campaign as there now are a pool of athletes who have experienced the level of play required to be successful. Couple that with a much better schedule, and the ’22 season will likely be the most successful one in their short history of 5A football.
They are opening the season with nonconference games against Gravette, Gentry and Huntsville. They are replacing games with Shiloh, Prairie Grove, Siloam Springs who served as the Hawks’ nonconference opponents the last two years. Among the conference games scheduled in the 5A West, the top two teams from 2021 are gone with conference champion Greenbrier moving up into 6A with conference runner-up Vilonia moving into the 5A Central, with Morrilton also moving over with Vilonia.
Former nonconference opponents Shiloh and Prairie Grove are now members of the 5A West with Dardanelle making the jump from the 4-4 Conference upward.
The schedule will still be tough though not as tough as the first two years. When Pea Ridge made the jump from 3A to 4A several years ago, it was tough sledding for awhile but with steadily improving staff and facilities along with a growing student body, the locals became one of the top teams in the state on a routine basis.
Practice officially opens in August. Make plans to come and support the latest edition of the Pea Ridge Blackhawks football team.
Who says you cant win ’em all
Springtime is a very busy time for schools and their sports teams. Unless you’re talking about a huge school like Bentonville or Fayetteville, when sports like soccer, track and softball/ baseball are going on at the same time, it’s tough to find enough athletes to succeed at all those sports at the same time if you have a 4A size enrollment.
It may be hard, but not impossible as the girls of Valley View pulled off the trifecta of winning state titles in track, soccer and softball this past month. It’s tough being state competitive in two sports at the same time, but winning three?
I’ve been to Valley View which is nestled just southwest of Jonesboro. As a former girls basketball coach in that area, I had the opportunity to play there, and I was impressed with the clean, well kept town with a very enthusiastic and motivated student body. It’s a big, involved farming community that has attracted a lot of Jonesboro kids to transfer over. The school IS the town.
If I were to live in that part of the state, I would send my kids to Valley View. About the name, there really isn’t a valley or a view there —kinda flat which is great for farming.
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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@nwaonline.com.