Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Prairie Grove Solidifies Dominance
PEA RIDGE — Sam Dodd was 14 of 23, passing for 225 yards and a touchdown as Prairie Grove cemented its place atop the 4A-1 Conference with a 40-16 win over defending league champion Pea Ridge on Friday night.
The Tigers (6-1, 4-0) have now won six straight games following a season-opening loss to Farmington, outscoring their opponents by an average of 46-17 during that stretch.
Dodd led a Prairie Grove attack on Friday that gained 396 yards of total offense, connecting with seven different receivers. His lone touchdown pass was a 41-yard strike to Isaac Disney late in the third quarter to put the Tigers up 40-16 and put the game out of reach.
“I’ve got coaches, and kids too, that are pressing me to throw the ball a little more,” Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said. “I don’t know how to, and they’re teaching me … And we’ve got a guy (Dodd) that can get it to them.”
Reed Orr added a pair of touchdown runs, and Blake Faulk rushed for 79 yards and a score for Prairie Grove - which was coming off a 62-33 win over Shiloh Christian the week before.
The Tigers lost to Pea Ridge (5-2, 2-2) 28-20 a year ago, but they took a 28-8 halftime lead on Friday after Dodd ran for a 5-yard touchdown as time expired in the half.
Disney led Prairie Grove with three catches for 84 yards, and Gavin Heltemes added four catches for 64 yards in the convincing win.
“I feel really good,” Dodd said. “After the big Shiloh win and then to come to Pea Ridge after they lost to Gravette, we knew we had to put it on them to get a big lead for our conference. Our line is really kicking in.
Pea Ridge had its 15-game regular season winning streak snapped a week ago in a 22- 12 loss to Gravette, taking some of the luster off a matchup between two of the expected top teams in the 4A-1.
The Blackhawks didn’t let last week’s disappointment carry over early on Friday, however.
After falling behind 8- 0 in the first quarter, Pea Ridge regrouped with a 9-play, 63-yard touchdown drive early in the second quarter.
Jakota Sainsbury capped the drive by rolling to the right and connecting with Britton Caudill for a 5-yard touchdown pass, with Caudill then throwing the 2-point conversion to Gage Cawthon to tie the game at 8-8.
The momentum was quickly lost, though, when Prairie Grove answered with a pair of touchdowns in just over a minute to push its lead to 20-8.
Orr had both touchdowns, the first coming from three yards out and the second from four. His second came following a fumble recovery the Tigers on the kickoff, one that hit a Pea Ridge player and was recovered by Anthony Johnson.
Sainsbury finished 12- of21 passing for 216 yards and a touchdown in the loss, and sophomore Hayden Holtgrewe added seven catches for 163 yards and a 37-yard touchdown that closed the Pea Ridge to 28-16 in the third quarter.
The loss marks the first time Pea Ridge, which was held to 70 yards rushing on 26 carries, has lost two straight games since 2013.
“The formation they were getting in when we were in our tight end/fullback set wasn’t conducive to being able to run the football,” Pea Ridge coach Tony Travis said. “… We got beat by a good team, and we’ve got to go in and learn from this and get better, because I really think we’ve got a lot of football left we can play.”