Pea Ridge running back Zaine Holley had 252 yards and five touchdowns in the first half of last week's game against Gentry.
That was impressive enough for Coach Tony Travis, but the junior wasn't finished.
FEAT OF THE WEEK
Zaine Holley
SCHOOL Pea Ridge
CLASS Junior
HEIGHT/WEIGHT 5-7, 175
FRIDAY’S STATISTICS Rushed for 332 yards and 7 touchdowns on 29 carries in Pea Ridge’s 72-34 victory over Gentry. Scored on runs of 5, 10, 66, 2, 3, 1 and 9 yards.
Holley ended up with 332 yards and 7 touchdowns on 29 carries in Pea Ridge's 72-34 victory in the 1-4A Conference opener for both teams, and that career-best effort was more enough to merit this week's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Feat of the Week.
Holley, 5-7, 175 pounds, scored on runs of 5, 10, 66, 2, 3, 1 and 9 yards as Pea Ridge improved to 4-0.
"We just kept going to him," Travis said.
Gentry took a 6-0 lead with 7:18 left in the first quarter, then Holley went to work.
He scored from 5 yards out with 3:39 left in the quarter to give the Blackhawks a 7-6 lead. With 49 seconds left in the quarter, Holley's 10-yard run made it 14-6.
Pea Ridge used a 31-point second quarter to build a 45-22 lead going into halftime, with Holley scoring three of his seven touchdowns in the quarter.
Gentry tied the game at 14-14 with 10:04 left in the first half, but Holley scored on a 66-yard run 20 seconds later to put Pea Ridge back on top 21-14. He added runs of 2 and 3 yards in the quarter to help Pea Ridge build its 23-point lead after two quarters.
"I felt like we needed every bit of it," Travis said, whose Blackhawks took advantage of two turnovers by Gentry in the opening half.
Holley added touchdown runs of 1 yard in the third quarter and 9 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Holley found plenty of room running behind an offensive line led by left tackle Brent Ferguson, 6-6, 260, center Hunter Carrigan, 5-10, 215, guards Tanner Flippo, 5-9, 175, and Kamden Boyd, 5-7, 185, and right tackle Beau German, 5-10, 280.
"We got off the football," Travis said. "We attacked low. We moved people. That's their job up front."
Holley has rushed for 741 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first season as Pea Ridge's starting running back, but it's not the numbers that impresses Travis. It's his work ethic.
"He wants to play scout team tailback during practice," Travis said. "He wants to be out there doing something. He's always learning.
"He's really starting to understand and be patient and find those openings."
Sports on 10/01/2015