Two of the past three years, the annual All-Star Football game at the University of Central Arkansas in July has been led by former Pea Ridge coach Tony Travis. He has moved on but seemingly, not the position.
By a vote of Arkansas coaches, current Pea Ridge head coach Stephen Neal has been selected to coach the West All-Stars this summer, making a Pea Ridge football coach in charge of this annual festivity three of the past few years. The honor is a testament to not only a coach's acumen in the sport of football, but also to his ability to work, communicate and cooperate with others
All-staters Zaine Holley and Duncan Truesdell will have a chance to play, and perhaps others as well. Coach Neal will be gathering a staff as well as student managers to help direct this honor. Pea Ridge place kicker Jake Edwards was instrumental in last year's victory by the West All-Stars.
District power rankings has the 4A-1 2nd best overall in state
To qualify for regional play after the district basketball tournaments, teams moving on have to make the final four of districts. The same holds true for teams moving on to the state tournament, meaning they have to reach the semi-finals of the regionals to go to state.
Using the MaxPreps power ranking data, I have calculated the top four ranked teams in each district to get an overall average for that district. The list I have compiled is as follows:
4A Conference power rankings
1. District 4A-2 -- 14.1 power average
2. District 4A-1 -- 11.0 power average
3. District 4A-3 -- 10.0 power average
4. District 4A-7 -- 7.5 power average
5. District 4A-4 -- 7.2 power average
6. District 4A-8 -- 2.7 power average
The top four teams currently in the 4A-1 (northwest Arkansas) are Huntsville, Pea Ridge, Gravette and Prairie Grove. The top four in the 4A-2 (north central Arkansas) are Batesville Southside, Baptist Prep (the top two ranked teams in the state overall), ESTEM and Riverview. The best four in the 4A-3 (eastern Arkansas) are Cave City, Jonesboro Westside, Gosnell and Brookland. Pottsville, Ozark, Dardanelle and West Fork are tops in the 4A-4 (west central Arkansas).
The 4A-7 (southwest Arkansas) leaders are: Nashville, Bauxite, Robinson and Arkadelphia. The weakest district in the state is the 4A-8 (southeast Arkansas) which is led by Monticello, Warren, Crossett and Dollarway.
There are a lot of games left to play in the 2016-2017 season and those group rankings will be fluctuating up and down. I will compile another composite ranking at the start of district play to see if the these ratings have the power to predict the finish of some of the tournaments.
Blackhawks edge up in the polls
The boys varsity basketball team has been rising a place a week, coming in at the sixth position in the MaxPreps/CBS 4A state poll last Friday, following a week's sojourn in the No. 7 spot. The two weeks previous, the 'Hawks went from ninth to eighth.
This week's poll saw half the top 10 drop in the ratings with the other half enjoying improvements. The former state leader, Baptist Prep, lost all three holiday tournament games in the elite Next Level Hoopfest in Nashville, Tenn.
The Preps lost to a variety of state powers, losing to Milton, Ga., 70-60; Hopkinson, Ken., 60-48, and to Nashville's Christ the King Academy 59-44. The tournament was tougher than what the 4A state tournament will be later this spring, so the experience will likely benefit them. As a matter of fact, all four of their losses have been to out-of-state teams, losing to Memphis Christian Brothers 36-33 in early December for their other setback.
They were passed up this week by Batesville Southside who ran their record to a state's best 13-1. I'm real familiar with Southside having taught there for seven years prior to coming to Pea Ridge.
The real interesting thing about Southside when I was there from 1991 to 1998, was the lack of a football program and the reasons thereof. When I first arrived, I casually asked some coaches there if there had ever been plans to start a football program.
The boys basketball coach there quickly replied "No and *** NO! This is a basketball school!"
True enough, in the elementary schools, the school had a section of time set aside every school day for their grade school basketball teams to practice and they had hired coaches. The varsity programs practiced nearly every week all year round with participation in other sports discouraged.
What was the result of all that concentration and focus? Not much. They did OK, usually winning more than they lost. I noticed a drop-off in playing intensity in mid-January nearly every year. It's tough to stay focused on one thing without let-up. Possible but tough.
Well, a few years after I left the Southside community, a change in elected officials and school personnel allowed a track and football complex to be built, and there has been a varsity football program for the past 10 years. Just this fall, the Southerners made the playoffs and advanced to the second round for the first time.
All this football success, and what do you know, their basketball team is ranked No. 1 in Arkansas for the first time ever. Not only is their basketball team likely their best one in school history, the scary fact is that Southside has only one senior and two juniors on their team this season.
Southside is in the same 4A district as Baptist Prep, but they won't meet this year until the district playoffs as they are in different 3A-4A combined conferences. While Southside is deeper than Prep, Prep has a pair of sophomores that are ranked in the state's best 40 players and are being heavily recruited.
Conner Vanover (7'3") and Isaac McBride (6"1') give the defending champion Eagles power in the paint and scoring threats from the perimeter, and I predict they will regain the top spot in the 4A polls before the regional play.
Pea ridge, all-sports boys power
The beauty of having multiple sports and providing the where-withal to be credible and successful in all them has a cumulative effect. Winning is contagious. Winning begats winning. A winning culture can't be attained with just a single activity.
Pea Ridge boys finished second in the state in football, third in the state in cross country and fifth in the state in golf. Their basketball team will finish high, perhaps all the way to the top. The baseball team this spring could do as well as the football team did and as well as the basketball team is doing.
If there was an All-Sports trophy awarded to the best 4A school, Pea Ridge would be a strong favorite to win the thing. The football powers in Arkansas are different from the basketball powers in this state, except that the Blackhawks are among both groups. Throw in baseball, and you see still other different schools come to the fore, again except for Pea Ridge which is the only school in the state that had/has a legitimate shot at titles in three major sports.
Arkansas state 4A poll
Jan. 9, 2017
School^won-loss^pwr rtg^+/-
1. Batesville Southside^13-1^18.9^+2.0
2. Baptist Prep^10-4^16.4^-0.5
3. Huntsville^14-2^15.1^-0.8
4. Cave City^13-2^14.0^+2.5
5. Jonesboro Westside^11-4^13.0^-1.0
6. Pea Ridge^12-1^12.9 ^+1.2
7. Nashville^7-1^12.7^+2.3
8. Gravette^10-2^11.8^-0.2
9. Pottsville^12-3^11.6^+0.4
10. ESTEM (Little Rock)^10-8^11.6^-0.2
25. Prairie Grove^7-7^3.1^+1.3
28. Shiloh^7-7^0-6^+0.5
34. Gentry^6-5^-1.6^+0.1
36. Berryville^5-5^-1.9^-0.9
49. Lincoln^2-1^-12.0^-1.8
4A North Region boys poll
1. Huntsville^14-2
2. Pea Ridge^12-1
3. Gravette^10-2
4. Pottsville^12-3
5 .Dardanelle^10-4
6. Ozark^8-6
7. West Fork^10-5
8. Booneville^10-5
9. Prairie Grove^7-7
10. Shiloh^7-7
3A-4A-1 Boys conference*
1. Gravette^6-0
1. Pea Ridge^6-0
3. Prairie Grove^5-1
4. West Fork^4-3
5. Gentry^3-3
6. Shiloh^2-4
7. Elkins^2-4
8. Greenland^2-5
9. Haas Hall^1-6
10.Lincoln^0-6
*as of Jan. 9, 2017
MaxPreps/CBS State 4A Girls Poll
School^won-loss^pwr rtg ^+/-
1. Central Arkansas^13-2^21.8^+2.2
2. Nashville^7-1^20.4^+9.0
3. Monticello^13-2^16.8^-0.2
4. Pocahontas^14-3^18.1^+0.4
5. West Fork^13-0^16.3^+1.5
6. Star City^9.2^15.7^+4.2
7. Ozark^11-2^14.1^+0.8
8. Pottsville^10-5^12.0^-1.0
9. ESTEM^13-7^9.8^+1.3
10. Huntsville^9-7^9.7^+0.2
13. Pea Ridge^9-5^7.8^-1.3
16. Berryville^8-8^6.5^+0.1
18. Gravette^8-6^3.9^+1.1
24. Gentry^8-4^2.5^+0.6
30. Prairie Grove^4-8^-1.7^+0.2
35. Shiloh^5-9 -4.1 +0.8
4A North region girls poll
1. West Fork^13-0
2. Ozark^11-2
3. Pottsville^10-5
4. Huntsville^9-7
5. Pea Ridge^9-5
6. Berryville^8-8
7. Gravette^8-6
8. Gentry^8-4
9. Dardanelle^6-9
10. Dover^6-6
3A-4A-1 Girls conference
1. West Fork^7-0
2. Pea Ridge^6-1
3. Greenland^6-2
4. Gravette^4-3
5. Prairie Grove^4-4
6. Gentry^3-4
7. Elkins^2-4
8. Haas Hall^1-6
^^Shiloh^1-6
^^Lincoln^1-6
•••
Editor's note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 01/11/2017