Pea Ridge Rebuilds Team, Stadium

Workers prepare to pour concrete Monday as construction continues on a football stadium at Pea Ridge high school.
Workers prepare to pour concrete Monday as construction continues on a football stadium at Pea Ridge high school.

PEA RIDGE — Pea Ridge is building a new football stadium, and the Blackhawks are rebuilding their football team after losing 21 of 22 starting positions to graduation.

And both projects may not be done until late August.

Construction is currently under way for a new $2 million stadium that will include an eight-lane track and home seating of 1,500, up from the 480 seats on the home side at the old Blackhawks Stadium.

But weather delays have put construction back a month and the original completion date of July 30 is in question. The good news, however, is the Blackhawks’ home opener isn’t until Sept. 21, but several junior high games are scheduled the first two weeks of the season.

Just in case the new stadium is not ready, normal upkeep at the current stadium is continuing

“I would say they are every day of a month behind,” said Pea Ridge athletic director and football coach Tony Travis. “They finally got some concrete poured last week, and they hope to get some more poured before the next round of rain. But they feel confident of getting our first game in there.”

Pea Ridge is coming off its best season in a decade after the Blackhawks finished 10-2 last fall. The Blackhawks finished second in the 4A-1 Conference and they won the school’s first playoff game since 2003. But only linebacker Will Cline returns.

The Blackhawks had 63 players finish spring drills, which is the biggest number in Travis’ five seasons. Pea Ridge ended last season with 57 players in uniform.

“We have a lot of positions up for grabs, but from start-to-finish, we got a lot of good out of spring practice,” Travis said. “We competed well, and the intensity got up pretty high. We came out with some questions answered.”

One of the biggest holes left by graduation is at tailback where the Blackhawks must replace Dayton Winn. Winn rushed for 2,181 yards and 21 touchdowns last season and he finished his career with 4,383 yards rushing.

Top replacements include Dakota Winn (5-foot-4, 106 pounds), Shane Ivy (5-8, 135) and Kevin Gomez (5-7, 134). Dakota Winn is Dayton Winn’s younger brother and is a rising junior.

“They are not big running backs,” Travis said. “But Dayton proved last year that you don’t have to be a big running back to be effective.”

Trent Ramsey (5-6, 143) and Seth Brumley (6-3, 190) are the top candidates at quarterback. Brumley started as a sophomore last year at Quapaw, Okla., before moving to Pea Ridge after the football season. Brumley could also play defensive end.

“They split snaps in the spring, and we will carry that over into 7-on-7 in the summer,” Travis said. “The good thing is that both of them can do other things.”

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