Blackhawks Christen Stadium With Win

Shane Ivy of Pea Ridge on his way into the endzone for his first touchdown of three in the first quarterduring first home game at the new Blackhawks Stadium on September 20, 2013.
Shane Ivy of Pea Ridge on his way into the endzone for his first touchdown of three in the first quarterduring first home game at the new Blackhawks Stadium on September 20, 2013.

PEA RIDGE — Tony Travis stood on the sideline and enjoyed the atmosphere around him.

Standing in the middle of Pea Ridge’s sparkling new Blackhawk Stadium, Travis could not help but be giddy after his Blackhawks christened the showplace with a 48-12 win against Greenland on Friday.

“The way we played tonight, I wish every night was opening night,” Travis said. “This kids were really excited about it.”

The Blackhawks (2-1) set the tone on their opening drive, an 18-play masterpiece that consumed most of the first quarter. Seth Brumley lofted a 9-yard fade pass to Logan Rose in the right corner of the end zone with 1 minute, 47 seconds left in the quarter, marking the first touchdown ever scored in the new stadium.

Greenland answered back midway through the second quarter when it pulled off a perfect hook and lateral that resulted in a 29-yard touchdown by Calvin Giddens. The Pirates tried a two-point conversion run that failed and trailed 7-6.

It was never close after that.

Pea Ridge’s Shane Ivy, who rushed for 169 yards, broke loose on a 61-yard scoring run one play later, cutting away from a would-be tackler and outrunning the Pirates to the end zone. His 31-yard touchdown run a little over a minute later started the rout. Ivy finished with four touchdowns

“It was special being the first game in the new stadium,” Ivy said. “The offense really worked well and the defense worked well.”

Pea Ridge held the Pirates (1-2) to just 3 rushing yards, and just 109 total.

“The key was stopping Giddens,” Travis said. “He’s a talented back and he is going to hurt a lot of teams.”

The Blackhawks did not suffer a turnover, which was a big turnaround from last week’s loss at Green Forest.

“We preached all week to eliminate the mistakes,” Travis said. “That was a big factor tonight. We have to take care of the ball to be successful.”

EXTRA POINTS

w Pea Ridge called an gutsy fourth and one play on its opening drive from its own 24. Garrett Easterling powered for 9 yards to pick up a key first down, which kick-started the 18-play opening scoring drive for the Blackhawks.

w The Blackhawks dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Pea Ridge compiled 270 yards rushing, and allowed Greenland just 3 yards.

w Giddens could not shake the Pea Ridge defense all night. Giddens, who rushed for almost 250 yards in the season-opener, was held to minus five yards on 13 carries.

w The Blackhawks had 10 tackles for loss in the game, totalling 30 yards in losses for the Pirates. They tackled Giddens eight times behind the line of scrimmage.

UP NEXT: Both teams will open conference play next week. Greenland will be on the road to Melbourne to open 3A-1 Conference play, while Pea Ridge will open 4A-1 Conference play at Gravette.

HOW THEY SCORED

Greenland^0^6^0^6^—^12

Pea Ridge^7^28^14^0^—^48

First Quarter

Pea — Rose 9 pass from Brumley (Klein kick), 1:47.

Second Quarter

Green — Giddens 29 pass from Farrar (run fails), 11:51.

Pea — Ivy 61 run (Klein kick), 11:33.

Pea — Ivy 31 run (Klein kick), 10:14.

Pea — McClellan 4 run (Klein kick), 5:28.

Pea — Ivy 3 run (Klein kick), 4:28.

Third Quarter

Pea — Ivy 5 run (kick fails), 6:51.

Pea — Hargiss 1 run (Klein kick), :00

Fourth Quarter

Green — Sizemore 7 run (pass fails), 4:04.

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