GENTRY --The Pioneers put 21 points on the board Friday night in Pioneer Stadium against a strong Blackhawk team, but they were unable to keep Pea Ridge off the board.
Gentry picked up a touchdown in the second quarter when Cole Cripps carried one in and added a pair of late touchdowns from Jon Faulkenberry and Myles McFerron, who rushed for 112 yards on 17 carries. Garrett Matthews kicked three between the posts for points after in the game.
Drew Winn and Zaine Holley, of Pea Ridge, combined for five touchdowns to power Pea Ridge to a 50-21 win over Gentry in the 4A-1 Conference opener.
Winn, the latest in a long bloodline of outstanding running backs, rushed for 125 yards on just 7 carries and scored three touchdowns. Holley, who rushed for more than 1,600 yards last season, finished the night with 111 yards on 8 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Pea Ridge (4-0, 1-0 4A-1) piled up 461 yards of offense with quarterback Jakota Sainsbury going 9 of 13 for 146 yards and a touchdown as the Blackhawks dominated all three phases of the game. Gentry had 201 rushing yards and 79 passing yards in the game.
"Our offense bounced back from a tough, physical game last week," Pea Ridge coach Stephen Neal said. "It's really easy calling plays when you have a Zaine Holley and a Drew Winn in the backfield. I'd find that really difficult to try to defend."
The Blackhawks put up big offensive numbers, but it was the play of the defense that seized the momentum in the first quarter after Gentry (2-2, 0-1) gouged Pea Ridge on a big 45-yard pass from Jon Faulkenberry to Gavin Martin. Gentry moved inside the Pea Ridge 10, but on fourth down and 2, Seth Trammell crashed in to tackle Faulkenberry behind the line of scrimmage to kill the threat.
"Coach Caton made a great call there," Trammell said. "I saw the guard go down, so I just shoved and filled the hole and saw the quarterback go and grabbed him."
Pea Ridge then drove 89 yards in five plays, capped by Sainsbury's 34-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Holtgrewe with 1 minute, 37 seconds left in the first quarter. That combination was stellar Friday night as Holtgrewe caught 8 passes for 119 yards.
The Blackhawks extended their lead after the special teams came up with a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff when Carson Rhine pounced on the loose ball. Winn broke free on a 22-yard scoring run around the left side for a 16-0 lead, and Pea Ridge was never threatened the rest of the way.
Pea Ridge scored touchdowns on its next three possessions to take a 38-7 halftime lead. Winn added a 16-yard scoring run, Holley broke a 58-yarder and Winn again found the end zone on a 25-yarder just before the halftime break.
Pea Ridge will host Lincoln next week, while Gentry will travel to Berryville.
PEA RIDGE 50, GENTRY 21
Pea Ridge ......... 16 22 12 0 -- 50 Gentry ..............0 7 0 14 -- 21 First quarter
Pea -- Holtgrewe 34 pass from Sainsbury (Sainsbury run), 1:37.
Pea -- Winn 22 run (Sainsbury pass to Holtgrewe), :12
Second quarter
Pea -- Winn 17 run (Winn run), 8:16. Pea -- Holley 54 run (Green kick), 4:54. Gentry -- McFerron 6 run (Matthews kick), 1:01. Pea -- Winn 25 run (Spencer kick), :34.
Third quarter
Pea -- Holley 19 run (kick failed), 10:56. Pea -- Brewer 5 run (kick failed), 3:40.
Fourth quarter
Gentry -- Cripps 4 run (Matthews kick), 11:42. Gentry -- Faulkenberry 7 run (Matthews kick), 4:13.
Chip Souza can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter@NWAChip.
PEA RIDGE 50, GENTRY 21
Sports on 09/28/2016