FARMINGTON -- An eager Farmington crowd erupted as the clock hit zero: The losing streak was over.
Pea Ridge (0-3) owned a four-game win streak against the Cardinals, but the slate was wiped clean Friday night as Farmington (3-0) powered its way to a 24-7 win to cap the nonconference portion of its schedule undefeated.
Farmington forced a slew of Pea Ridge turnovers and held the Blackhawks offense in check to head into 5A-West Conference play riding a wave of momentum.
"It wasn't a pretty win, but it was a win," Farmington coach Mike Adams said. "Our defense played great all night long. We put them in some pretty bad situations, and we played well enough offensively to get the job done."
There was no offense to be found for either team early on as the first 22 minutes of the 24-minute first half went scoreless, but then Farmington quarterback Marqwaveon Watson found his touch. In the last two minutes, Watson threw a 26-yard touchdown to Caden Elsik and then a 25-yard touchdown to Drew Sturgeon to put his squad up two scores going into the locker room.
Pea Ridge had chances in the first half, most prevalently when the visitors appeared to recover a fumble in enemy territory. A defensive holding call, however, would nullify the fumble recovery and give the ball back to Farmington. A possession later the Cardinals were in the endzone on Watson's first TD pass of the night.
Following the touchdown, the Blackhawks were bitten by the fumble bug themselves, giving the ball to Farmington in their own territory, and the Cardinals capitalized with another score, Watson's second TD toss.
The third quarter mirrored the first quarter as both defenses suppressed any offensive threats, and Farmington held a 14-0 lead going into the fourth quarter.
After three quarters of little success, the Blackhawks put together a complete drive, finishing it off with a one-yard quarterback keeper as Tate Busey sneaked in the quarter of the endzone, bringing Pea Ridge to within one score.
The 14-7 score would not last long as the Cardinals answered with a 32-yard Sturgeon field goal on the ensuing possession.
Watson finished a stellar night with an 87-yard touchdown run to end the game.
"We got exposed last week (against Gravette), our secondary is very young, but they learned a lot and came back and played a lot better."
Pea Ridge 7, Farmington 24
Pea Ridge 0 0 0 7 — 7
Farmington 0 14 0 10 — 24
Second Quarter
Farm - Elsik 26 pass from Watson (Sturgeon kick), 1:39
Farm- Sturgeon 25 pass from Watson (Sturgeon kick), 0:28
Fourth Quarter
Pea - Busey 1 run (Reyes kick), 8:15
Farm- FG Sturgeon 32, 3:08
Farm- Watson 87 run (Sturgeon kick), 1:13
Four Downs
• Farmington forced six turnovers -- three interceptions, one fumble and two turnovers on downs. Pea Ridge also went scoreless on two red zone opportunities.
• Three different Cardinals recorded an interception: Drew Sturgeon, Decory Thomas and Tate Pickens.
• There were a combined 22 penalties.
• Next week Farmington will be at home again against unbeaten Clarksville, while Pea Ridge will return home to face Gentry.
Sports on 09/21/2019