PEA RIDGE — Shane Ivy emerged from a crowd of teammates and well wishers inside the Pea Ridge field house.
Take away the sweat-soaked T-shirt and the helmet he was carrying, and it would have been easy to mistake Ivy (5-foot-8, 135 pounds) for one of the Pea Ridge football team managers.
The three opponents Pea Ridge has faced this season would probably prefer to see Ivy carrying water bottles on the sideline instead of gulping from them after another long touchdown run.
“He’s running with a lot of confidence right now,” Blackhawks coach Tony Travis said. “The mental aspect of football goes a long way. If he can continue to build off the first three games, he’s going to have a good season for us.”
Ivy, who made the move to featured back this season, is quietly putting together a solid season. OK, maybe not so quietly. In three games, the junior tailback has rushed for just over 350 yards, including a 169-yard, 4-touchdown night last Friday when the Blackhawks obliterated Greenland 48-12 to christen their new stadium.
This season he has scored on runs of 75, 61 and 31 yards. His 61- and 31-yard touchdown runs against Greenland last week came on back-to-back plays and enabled the Blackhawks to take control of the game.
Ivy has big shoes to fill as Pea Ridge’s feature back, replacing Dayton Winn in that capacity. Winn was a stellar back for the Blackhawks, rushing for more than 1,000 yards in both his junior and senior seasons.
“At the beginning of the season there was a lot of pressure,” Ivy said. “I’m alright now.”
Ivy’s two long scoring runs last week came on a play called “Black Miami” where he took a handoff to the left, then cut back behind his blockers down the left sideline, pretty much untouched.
Like all great backs, Ivy was quick to praise his linemen.
“The blocking has been great every play,” Ivy said. “We definitely have great blocking.”
Travis said Ivy’s play has been solid for the Blackhawks (2-1), who open 4A-1 Conference play on the road at Gravette (0-3) this week.
“He’s a tough runner,” Travis said. “He’s not going to overwhelm you with his size, but he runs hard. If he gets loose, he can eat up ground in a hurry.”
Ivy was primarily a cornerback prior to this season. Travis said the coaches moved Ivy to the backfield over the summer, hoping that he could give the team the kind of effort that Winn provided.
“In football, you are always looking for a solid running game,” Travis said. “Shane has picked it up quickly. This is still a learning experience for him. He’s only going to get better.
“He’s learning how to run behind the fullback and his blockers, and how to use them to set up his runs.”