1-4A

Winn’s whirls leave Gravette spinning

— Dayton Winn was bottled up and surrounded by a sea of white jerseys.

The Pea Ridge senior, after taking a handoff on third-and-5 early in the third quarter, had nowhere to go. Yet he managed to escape the Gravette defenders by spinning around and dashing the other way. The result of the play was just a 6-yard gain, but it gave the Blackhawks a first down.

One play later, teammate Austin Easterling ran 33 yards for a touchdown that proved to be the difference in Pea Ridge’s 21-13 victory Friday night at Blackhawk Stadium.

“I was trying to get around my tight end and try and cutthe edge,” Winn said. “They reached out and had an arm on me. I guess he just slung me back, and I saw an opening. My blockers came around and the hole just opened up.”

Winn had a number of big plays for the Blackhawks (4-0, 1-0 1-4A), including a 23-yard run later in the second half where seemingly every Gravette defender hit him at least once.

He finished with 193 yards on 23 carries and added a 46-yard touchdown on a screen pass as the Blackhawks defeated Gravette (1-3, 0-1) for the first time since 1994.

Pea Ridge jumped out to a 21-0 lead on Easterling’s touchdown run, but the Lions showed plenty of fight in battling back to have a chance to tie the game at the end.

“Both sides laid out a lot of licks tonight,” Gravette CoachBill Harrelson said. “We just made a few too many negative plays. But that’s a credit to Pea Ridge. They have a great defense, and they showed it tonight.”

Gravette quarterback Chase Brody was near flawless in the second half, at one point completing eight consecutive passes and leading his team back from the threetouchdown deficit.

The Lions, after Easterling’s touchdown, answered with a 76-yard drive and scored on Cody Robinson’s 1-yard run. Then, Bounds hit Shay Shimer on a 39-yard pass to set up a short touchdown pass to Peyton Rose that closed the margin to 21-13 with 11 minutes left.

The Lions had a chance late when Tyler Kerley recovered a Pea Ridge fumble, but the Blackhawks got key sacks from Will Klein, BlakeRoughton and Garrett Morgan to stop the drive. The Blackhawks sealed the victory later on Braxton Caudill’s interception.

Harrelson praised the play of his defense and the way his team fought back. He also gave Winn a lot of credit.

“Dayton Winn is a great back, and that’s all you can say,” Harrelson said. “He made some great runs.”

LINCOLN 37, BERRYVILLE 6

BERRYVILLE - Drew Harris ran for a touchdown and passed for another and Dalton Simmons scored two rushing touchdowns as Lincoln (4-0, 1-0 1-4A) downed Berryville (1-3, 0-1).

Harris scored on a 16-yard run in the first quarter and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Haynes in the third quarter.

Simmons scored on runs of 1 and 50 yards, and Kyle Handy scored on a 3-yard run.

Manuel Ortiz also kicked a 30-yard field goal for Lincoln.

Ethan Chapin scored Berryville’s touchdown on a 1-yard run.

Sports, Pages 24 on 09/22/2012

Upcoming Events