Dog Days: Pea Ridge Blackhawks

Foltz to play big role for Blackhawks

Cody Foltz is ready to take the field for the Pea Ridge Blackhawks.
Cody Foltz is ready to take the field for the Pea Ridge Blackhawks.

PEA RIDGE -- Last season, Cody Foltz scored his only touchdown from a defensive position on a fumble return after a blocked punt, and the Pea Ridge senior wouldn't mind finding the end zone with the Blackhawks offense this fall.

Foltz, who started on the offensive line as a sophomore, started every game at nose guard last season and was a key part of a Blackhawks defense that gave up just 14 points a game in 2014. Foltz also started five games at fullback last season, and he will again pull double duty when the Blackhawks open the season Friday at Elkins.

Pea Ridge Blackhawks

COACH: Tony Travis

LAST SEASON: 10-1 overall, 7-0 4A-1 Conference

OFFENSE: Pro-I

DEFENSE: 4-2

RETURNING STARTERS: Offense 3, Defense 2

POINTS SCORED PER GAME: 32

POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME: 14

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH: Cody Foltz (Sr., FB, 5-8, 225), Zane Holley (Jr., TB, 5-7, 175), Brent Ferguson (Sr., OL, 6-6, 250), Hunter Carrigan (Sr., OL, 6-0, 240), Kamden Boyd (Jr., OL, 5-8, 190)

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH: Brad Beavers (Sr., LB, 6-0, 200), Cody Foltz (Sr., NG, 5-8, 225), Britton Caudill (Sr., S, 6-3, 210), Hunter Hargiss (Sr. LB, 5-11, 180), Wyatt Weber (Jr., LB, 5-8, 185), Hunter Shackelford (Jr., DE, 6-1, 175), James Tackett (6-0, 170).

KEEP AN EYE ON: Drew Winn. Winn’s older brothers, Dayton and Dakota, both played for the Blackhawks and Drew Winn is expected to start in the secondary and help at tailback.

OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK: Three players — senior Gage Cawthon, junior Cole Wright and sophomore Jakota Sainsbury — all could play quarterback. Tailback Zane Holley and fullback Cody Foltz bring experience to the Blackhawks backfield. Holley rushed for over 100 yards in each of his two starts last season while Foltz started five games. Sophomore Drew Winn is also expected to get carries. Pea Ridge also has three starters back on the offensive line in Brent Ferguson, Hunter Carrigan and Kamden Boyd while Beau German (6-0, 290) saw extensive playing time last season.

DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK: Foltz, who bench presses 335 pounds, returns at nose guard and should stay fresh as the Blackhawks could rotate as many as four players at fullback. Britton Caudill returns at safety after starting every game last season. Zane Holley and Brad Beavers bring experience at linebacker. Holley started five games at linebacker last year and he had 14 tackles in his first start.

SEASON OUTLOOK: While Pea Ridge returns just five starters, experience is not lacking as most of this year’s starters saw playing time last season on a team that went 10-0 during the regular season. A favorable early conference schedule should allow Pea Ridge to gain momentum going into late season games against Prairie Grove and Shiloh Christian.

KEY GAME: Oct 16, Prairie Grove. The league coaches have picked the Tigers to win the conference and a Pea Ridge win could set up a conference championship showdown against Shiloh Christian the last week of the regular season.

QUOTING COACH: Tony Travis. “The good news is were are going to have a solid quarterback, and the other two guys, if they are not at quarterback, are going to be able to help us somewhere else. Somebody that is really impressive is Dayton and Dakota Winn’s little brother, Drew. Drew is built in a similar mold and before all is said and done he will be pushing for playing time at tailback. I also feel good about our offensive line and they should be the strong point of our offense. We have a lot of guys on defense that played important snaps last year.”

SCHEDULE

Sept. 4^at Elkins^7 p.m.

Sept. 11^at Green Forest^7 p.m.

Sept. 18^Paris^7 p.m.

Sept. 25^Gentry*^7 p.m.

Oct. 2^at Lincoln*^7 p.m.

Oct. 9^Gravette*^7 p.m.

Oct. 16^Prairie Grove*^7 p.m.

Oct. 23^at Berryville*^7 p.m.

Oct. 30^Huntsville*^7 p.m.

Nov. 6^at Shiloh Christian*7 p.m.

*4A-1 Conference game

— Paul Nielsen

Foltz will be a nose guard first, but Pea Ridge coach Tony Travis said Foltz's strength and his 5-foot-8, 225-pound frame fit in well in the backfield.

"Cody is a powerful kid, one of the strongest kids that I have coached," Travis said. "He bench presses 340, and his squats are around 485. Cody has a low center of gravity, and that makes it easy for him to lead block a linebacker or defensive end.

"Cody is also very disruptive on the defensive line, and we are going to keep him out there as much as we can. We have depth at fullback, and we feel we can get him off the field and rest him."

Foltz accepts his role as lead blocker in the Pea Ridge Pro-I offense, but the senior also enjoys toting the ball.

"We have high expectations this year, and we have the talent to do very well," Foltz said. "I just want to help the team wherever I can."

Travis said Foltz approached him after the 2013 season and asked to get a look at fullback.

"Cody bugged me a little bit about moving to fullback that offseason," Travis said. "We talked about getting his 40 time down to a certain point, and we told him if he did that we would give him a shot. He worked hard on his speed, and we moved him. He hasn't looked back since."

Foltz played fullback in seventh and eighth grade and said he thought he could better help the offense at fullback.

"I was feeling spunky after my sophomore year, and I asked Coach Travis if I could play fullback," Foltz said. "I played back up and I liked it. I hope to start this year."

Travis said junior Cole Wright and sophomore Jakota Sainsbury are still alternating at quarterback as the Blackhawks prepare for the season opener.

"I'm planning on playing both of them at quarterback on Friday night," Travis said. "They are both good quarterbacks. If one gets the hot hand, then they may get more snaps."

Sports on 08/30/2015

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