Brumley Did It All For Conference Champs Pea Ridge

PEA RIDGE -- An early-season injury didn't slow Seth Brumley down.

Brumley suffered a foot injury the first game of the year but the Pea Ridge senior quarterback didn't miss a beat in guiding the Blackhawks to a 10-0 regular season and the 4A-1 Conference Championship

As the Blackhawks quarterback, Brumley passed for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for almost 600 yards and eight more scores. Brumley also handled the punting duties with a 43-yard average and he also came up with big plays on defense, especially late in the year in key victories over Prairie Grove and Shiloh Christian.

For his efforts, Brumley is the NWA Media All-Area Class 5A-Below Player of the Year.

"What people don't know is that he battled nagging injuries all year," Travis said. "Elkins, our first game of the year, he gets turf toe. He re-injured it Green Forest, he re-injured it against Gravette. We went into the season planning on playing him more on defense."

Brumley said he was at full speed for the win against Shiloh Christian with the conference title on the line. He played more on the defensive side of the football against the Saints and returned an interception for a touchdown.

"The first couple games I played with the injury were tough," Brumley said. "I was limited on what I could do. Our defense was outstanding and I think people doubted our secondary could handle Shiloh. The defense played outstanding on that night. The interception was a moment I will always remember."

Travis said that Brumley has the skills to play college football and that he is just waiting for the right offer.

"The thing about Seth is he is as good a linebacker as he is a quarterback, and he is an outstanding quarterback," Travis said. "Seth was a good leader and the guys looked up to him. At crunch time, Seth could make that play for us whether it was with his arm or with his feet."

Brumley moved to Pea Ridge from Oklahoma the second semester of his sophomore year and Travis knew he was getting a quality football player. Ethan Rhine was the Blackhawks quarterback Travis' first season in Pea Ridge and he is also Brumley's cousin

"Ethan was an outstanding football player and did an outstanding job at quarterback and linebacker," Travis said. "Ethan told me Seth could play. Seth had the measurables and the football IQ when I first talked with him. Then he started throwing the ball around and we knew he was going to be a good football player for us."

Pea Ridge struggled Brumley's first season as the Blackhawks returned just one starter from he 2012 team that advanced to the postseason. But Pea Ridge, and Brumley, steadily improved in 2013 as the Blackhawks finished the season with a win against Farmington and several close losses.

That, Brumley said, was a confidence builder going into this past season.

"That finish gave us some hope, something to look forward to this year," Brumley said. "(Tailback) Shane Ivy had a great junior year and he came back and had another 1,000-yard season this year. Our line had experience and they got bigger and had a better knowledge of the offense."