Roughton Brings The Hammer

Blake Roughton, a Pea Ridge senior, is a two-way starter for the Blackhawks. Pea Ridge will host Monticello on Friday in a first-round Class 4A state playoff game.
Blake Roughton, a Pea Ridge senior, is a two-way starter for the Blackhawks. Pea Ridge will host Monticello on Friday in a first-round Class 4A state playoff game.

— Blake Roughton’s red no-shave November beard could not mask his hugesmile.

The Pea Ridge senior does not hide the fact his favorite season is here and he’s hoping it’s a successful one.

Sure, the Blackhawks are 9-1 and headed to the Class 4A state football playoffs. And Roughton is pumped and ready to inflict his signature move whenever he gets a sack or makes a big play.

But it’s also bow hunting season for deer, and the 5-foot-11, 260-pound Roughton is on a mission to take down a trophy buck, perhaps one that will top the 10-pointer he took down last year.

“I like to hunt and fish,” Roughton said, “especially bow hunt. I rifle hunt some, but I like to bow hunt better. It’s more of a challenge, and it’s a lot funner. You have to get up close and personal.”

Up close and personal is also how Roughton likes to get with opposing backs, especially several yards in the backfi eld.

And when he does bring down his foe, he immediately flashes a trademark move used by the cartoon superhero Thor, who welds a mighty hammer that only he can lift.

“I like to get excited,” Roughton said. “I throw down Thor’s hammer quite a bit, after a sack or a big play. It gets my teammates going. They really like it.”

Blackhawks coach Tony Travis went to his three-year starter during the spring and told him he’d like to play himmore on both the offensive and defensive lines this season. Since he was a sophomore, Roughton had been a fi xture on the defensive line.

Roughton jumped at the chance to stay on the field more, and went about improving his conditioning. He said he did not miss a summer workout, replaced sodas with water and eliminated sweets from his diet. The result was a loss of 25-30 points he said, and the stamina to go both ways in the tough 4A-1 Conference.

“Blake played some offensive tackle last year, but this year we’ve played him both ways a lot,” Travis said. “He’s been able to keep his energy level up. He was here every day this summer and worked hard on his conditioning.”

Travis said the enthusiasm Roughton brings to the team is important to keep the defense playing with passion.

“Our defense has been the strength of the team,” Travis said. “It has set the tone for us and it all starts upfront with Blake and those guys. He is our emotional leader. He plays with a lot of pride, a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity and it rubs off on them.

“Guys feed off that.”

Pea Ridge will host Monticello on Friday in Blackhawk Stadium, which will likely be the final game played in the old stadium. The school is expected to begin construction on a new stadium after the first of the year.

Sports, Pages 10 on 11/08/2012

Upcoming Events