The first annual Pea Ridge Holiday Tournament is in the books, and the week's activities went well with the local lady hoopsters winning three games in three days.
The most obvious strength, at least to me, is how tenacious the Lady Hawks are on defense. They play hard, run hard and do not give up on anything. That the Hawks give up very few fast break layups attests to their hustle and awareness.
A very big part of their offense is their sharpshooting, easily shooting and making more 3-point baskets than the other teams last week. A very good Mammoth Springs team was in many ways a mirror of the Hawks in defensive pressure, but they did not have the outside shooters to match the Hawks acuity.
The only downside to the tournament was the lack of fans to fill our now spacious venue. Of course, having teams come here from hundreds of miles away will definitely cut down on the visitors crowd on the west side of the arena, but local fans used to come in much greater numbers, that is, before the covid response and protocols have made so many people fearful of getting out and about. Hopefully, if our nation can ever get past this situation, there will come a time when will actually be the roar of the crowd what a Hawk athlete pulls off a great play.
Speaking of the locals, the Ridge fans that came to the hardwood marathon last week were marvelous. Walking around the concourse, I witnessed local people exchanging pleasantries with out of towners, kinda nice. I also heard fans discussing their team (Winnsboro) beating Arkansas' top ranked team in Farmington the day before the tournament.
Playing three consecutive games in consecutive days is rough, but playing four in a row is grueling. The Raider fans I overheard discussing that very thing were confident they would roll over the field in Pea Ridge even if a bit tired. They didn't, losing to Mammoth Springs in the semis and barely getting by Star City for third place.
Little by little, folks have been hearing about Pea Ridge across our fair state, due to the excellence of our athletics, in addition to our academic endeavors, and fine quality of our facilities. The greatest thing I have heard from lots of sources is how nice the athletes, coaches and people are who represent the school and community. That's the greatest strength of all.
4A-1 District play begins in earnest
Having played one conference game, there are 11 more on the slate, with those 11 games making up the remainder of the Blackhawk schedule that will finish out the regular season.
The regular season schedule is:
Dec. 17 - Huntsville (Hawks won both games)
Jan. 4 - Gravette at home
Jan. 7 - at Prairie Grove
Jan. 11 - Farmington at home
Jan. 18 - Berryville at home
Jan. 21 - at Shiloh
Jan. 28 - Harrison at home
Feb. 1 - at Gravette
Feb. 4 - Gentry at home
Feb. 8 - Prairie Grove at home
Feb. 11 - at Farmington
4A-1 Conference Standings
Jan. 1, 2022
Girls
4A-1 West
Pea Ridge^1-0^10-6
Gentry^1-0^10-0
Farmington^1-0^15-1
Prairie Grove^1-0^8-3
Gravette^0-0^9-6
4A-1 East
Harrison^1-0^4-7
Shiloh^0-1^9-5
Berryville^0-1^5-5
Huntsville^0-3^5-8
Boys
4A-1 West
Pea Ridge^1-0^7-9
Farmington^1-0^14-1
Gentry^1-0^5-3
Prairie Grove^0-1^4-8
Gravette^0-0^7-5
4A-1 East
Harrison^1-0^8-6
Berryville^0-1^11-4
Huntsville^0-1^4-3
Shiloh^0-1^3-10
NFL Playoffs nearly set
The Kansas City Chiefs secured a playoff a berth a long time ago, as well as their sixth straight divisional title. However they lost in the final seconds to the Cincinnati Bengals. losing their number one seed in the playoffs likely to Tennessee. The Titans have a weak foe in their last game next week, a likely win. They are tied with KC for the top seed, but they own a win over KC early in the season before the Chiefs got their game rolling, thus giving the edge. The Chiefs have to win next week to keep their No. 2 seed as tying with No. 3 Cincinnati would be to lose their higher seed.
The number one seeds in the playoffs are the only ones who will get a bye week in the playoffs, as No. 2 seeds will have opponents.
In the loss Sunday at Cincinnati, there was more than a little bad officiating. The Chiefs had a long kick return for a touchdown erased on a dubious holding call, and at one point, the refs automatically called a first down on a Bengals' run that was far from the first down marker. The Bengals knew it and they were hustling to start the next play to keep the Chiefs from contesting it, but the Chiefs got their challenge in, and the replay showed the Bengal back was never even near the first down.
Athletics on all levels has taken a hit from the lack of quality experienced officials. The covid scare has caused a great many refs to retire or seek other "less dangerous" work, and it is getting difficult to get the quality and quantity of men needed to work this kind of job. Everybody hates the ref, but without them, you don't have games. Without good ones, you don't have the best of games.
•••
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 writer. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].