CONWAY -- Drew Winn was bottled up with few running lanes in the first half Monday night against Hamburg during the Hooten's Kickoff Classic in Estes Stadium.
The second half was a different story for the Pea Ridge senior tailback.
Winn rushed for 170 yards on 25 carries, including 119 in the second half, and scored four touchdowns as the Blackhawks rolled to a 50-30 victory to open the season.
"We just stayed with it and kept doing what we do," Pea Ridge Coach Stephen Neal said of his team's second-half success in the run game. "We just needed to wait for our offensive linemen to take over. It was just a matter of time before we started clicking on some drives.
"But give Hamburg a lot of credit, too. They are a good football team. They had a whole lot to do with us bogging down early."
The Blackhawks (1-0) turned a couple of Hamburg mistakes into first-half points, converting two fumbles and a short punt into three touchdowns and a 24-10 halftime lead.
Pea Ridge opened the third quarter with a six-play, 61-yard drive as quarterback Jakota Sainsbury connected twice with Hayden Holtgrewe on passes of 26 and 16 yards, the last one ending on a diving catch in the end zone to extend the Blackhawks' lead to 31-10.
Hamburg (0-1) scored twice in a span of just over five minutes to pull within 31-23. Andravyon Forrest scored both touchdowns, the first set up by a 58-yard pass from Jonathan Kelley to Allen Forrest to the Pea Ridge 1.
The second scoring drive came after Hamburg partially blocked a Pea Ridge punt, and the Lions used the short field to drive 48 yards, including a 22-yard pass from Kelley to Allen Forrest. Andravyon Forrest's 6-yard touchdown run with 4:42 left in the third quarter made it a one-possession game at 31-23.
Then Pea Ridge found the run game it had been missing, driving 61 yards in five plays -- all Winn runs -- capped by his 25-yard dash down the left sideline for a 38-23 Blackhawks' lead.
Winn scored his fourth touchdown to open the fourth quarter, this one a 30-yarder with 10:19 left for a 44-23 edge.
With Hamburg focused on stopping Winn, Pea Ridge found success in the air as Sainsbury finished the game 14 of 19 for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jordan Witcher was the main weapon early, collecting 4 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. Holtgrewe took over in the second half, finishing with 8 catches for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Pea Ridge won't have a lot of time to celebrate the opening victory as the Blackhawks travel to Booneville on Friday for their second game in four days. Winn said his team is looking forward to the challenge.
"We're on the road again, so we just have to prepare for that," Winn said. "We know every team we play will have a target on us. It makes the games more competitive, and we just have to keep playing harder and let my teammates do their job."
Sports on 08/29/2017