PRAIRIE GROVE -- Defense and special teams helped Prairie Grove stay unbeaten Friday night in a 4A-1 Conference showdown with Pea Ridge.
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]
Isaac Disney returned two interceptions for touchdowns and also blocked a punt in the Tigers' 42-21 victory that extended Prairie Grove's regular season win streak to 15 games.
Pea Ridge^7^7^0^7^—^21
Prairie Grove^14^7^14^7^—^42
First Quarter
Prair — Cooper 8 pass from Laird (Fidler kick), 3:24.
Prair — Sam 15 run (Fidler kick), :24.
Pea — Torres 92 kickoff return (Green kick), :06.
Second Quarter
Pea — Holley 2 run (Green kick), 9:53.
Prair — Disney 25 interception return (Fidler kick), 1:52.
Third Quarter
Prair — Laird 10 run (Kick failed), 8:54.
Prair — Disney 48 interception return (Laird run), 7:20.
Fourth Quarter
Prair — Johnson 19 run (Fidler kick), 5:04.
Pea — Winn 47 run (Green kick), 3:59.
The Tigers (7-0, 4-0 4A-1) led 21-14 at halftime, but used a short field to open the third quarter and drove 49 yards in eight plays to take a two-touchdown lead. They were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
"We've got a bunch of tough kids, they are just hard-nosed and they work hard," Prairie Grove defensive coordinator Craig Laird said. "They knew it was going to be a dogfight. We told them at halftime they were doing some good things, and they just needed to keep it up."
Prairie Grove turned to its ground game to open the third quarter with Anthony Johnson and Kyle Sam tearing through the Pea Ridge defense for gains of 11 and 12 yards on the first two plays. From there the Tigers just ground the ball down the field with quarterback Zeke Laird capping the march on a option keeper from 10 yards out with 8 minutes, 54 seconds left in the third quarter.
"Sometimes we tend to sit down and run the ball too much," Tigers coach Danny Abshier said. "We were being bull-headed and not trying to pass much and sometimes you have to put the ball up."
Disney, who had a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter, added his second pick-six on the next Pea Ridge drive, when he reached way back over his head near midfield to pull in a Jakota Sainsbury pass. He picked up a big block and raced down the left sideline for a touchdown and a 35-14 lead.
"I'm so proud of him," Laird said of Disney. "He's great friends with my son (Zeke). They do a lot of stuff together and I love him. He may come across as cocky, but he's really a pretty down-to-earth kid. He makes plays and great players do that in games like this."
Pea Ridge (6-1, 3-1) had big plays of its own in the first half, especially on special teams. After Prairie Grove took a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter, the Blackhawks answered right back when Jacob Torres picked up a bobbled kickoff and weaved his way 92 yards for a touchdowns. Torres benefited from a number of key blocks on the return.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers failed to cover a sky kick by Pea Ridge kicker Evan Green, and the Blackhawks took over at the Prairie Grove 18. Zaine Holley and Drew Winn carried the ball down to the 2, where Holley crashed in to tie the score at 14-14.
But Disney broke the tie with just under two minutes left in the first half, stepping in front of a Sainsbury pass and easily returning the interception 25 yards for a touchdown.
Johnson led the Tigers with 13 carries for 70 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Prairie Grove will travel to Gentry next week, while Pea Ridge returns home to host Berryville.
Sports on 10/15/2016