Reunion games to kick off 2022 football season

Brey Cook’s 2022 Blackhawks will have a reunion of sorts when they open the campaign by playing three teams from their old 4A-1 conference.

The Hawks left the 4A-1 after the 2019 season when the Arkansas Activities Association moved Pea Ridge up into the 5A classification.

For a number of years in the old 4A-1, the top four teams for several years were Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, Farmington and Shiloh. Today, all four of those teams reside in the 5A West.

The exit of the four cleared the way for other teams to try and lead the reconfigured 4A district. Gentry and Huntsville are in the mix to assert their claims on playoff seeds, along with Elkins and new member Ozark. Gravette has a large junior class which could put them in contention.

The Hawks will open the season by hosting Gravette on Aug. 26. The teams haven’t played since the Hawks put a 42-0 whipping on their cross county rivals in 2019.

Pea Ridge hasn’t lost to the Lions since 2015. The Lions were a stout team earlier this millennia, winning 74 games from 2000 to 2011. However, Gravette has won only 42 games since 2011, winning only a single game in 2021.

They do have 10 playoff victories since 2000, while Gentry and Huntsville have yet to register a playoff win during that same time span.

The Hawks will have a week off after the Gravette game, hitting the road for back to back away games, visiting Huntsville on Sept. 9 then invading Gentry on Sept. 16.

Huntsville spent several years in 5A until 2019 when they swapped leagues with the Hawks. Huntsville went nearly winless in the bigger school conference. They did win four games in 2021 and qualified for the 4A playoffs though getting eliminated in the first round. They are coached by Matt Williams who has a 10-22 record at the school. The last time the Hawks played Huntsville, Pea Ridge won 21-7 in 2009.

Rounding out the three game nonconference game schedule will be a game with the Gentry Pioneers.

The Pioneers had their best season in 20 years, winning seven games in 2021, against four defeats. They have averaged 2-3 victories a year since 2000, but have been on the upswing the past couple of years. The Hawks last played them in 2019, claiming a 43-7 victory. The last time the Pioneers came out on top of Pea Ridge was in 2013.

The Hawks open league play with new league member Prairie Grove, the 4A1 runner-up last year. The Hawks played them in 2021, losing to the Tigers at home.

The Hawks do pick up a new opponent with the Dardanelle Sand Lizards joining the 5A West. They entered the league this year along with Prairie Grove and Shiloh. The three replaced Greenbrier, Vilonia and Morrilton.

Lots of question marks hover around the 5A West with the exit of three of the top four teams in the league. Perennial contender Harrison will likely be the consensus preseason pick to win the district, or perhaps Shiloh will gain that distinction.

With all the resources and transfer students Shiloh can bring to bear, the Springdale school will always be a contender.

There was a bit of news from west county. Decatur apparently decided to end their experiment with eight-man football, rejoining the local 2A-1 regular league. The Bulldogs played but six games last year among eight-man members. They have 10 on their schedule now.

Over the next few weeks, I will be going over the Hawks’ roster and talking about what may be in store for ’22.

Less than six weeks to the first kickoff!

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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.