Off the Bench: Blackhawk Stadium

Every year, my dad, papa and I like to go to playoff football games at high schools in the area that we've never been to. In the last couple of years, I've been to West Fork and Gravette playoff games. This year, I have been able to go to a different school each week because for the first time in three years, I am not playing in the playoffs with Springdale. Last week we went to Prairie Grove and watched them demolish Crossett 52-0 in the first round of the 4A state playoffs. Their stadium wasn't much, as I expected, and they played on a grass field, as I expected, but there is just something about a small school atmosphere that I love.
This week, we went to Pea Ridge to see the Blackhawks take on the Heber Springs Panthers. Before we even got to the stadium, I knew it was going to be unlike any other game I had ever attended. Pea Ridge is not a very big town (population 4,794), but we had a hard time finding their stadium. Finally, we saw some of the lights through the trees. We turned on to the first road we came to, which happened to be a gravel road. We weren't sure we were going the right way until we saw some ladies standing at the entrance to the "parking lot." Instead of paying for tickets at the entrance of the stadium, we paid for our parking and tickets right there. The reason I put "parking lot" in quotation marks is because there wasn't really a parking lot. It was just open grass that surrounded two or three sides of the stadium. I had never been to a stadium that didn't at least SOME paved parking area, or at least gravel parking area. The surprises didn't stop there. After we parked, we could just walk into the stands. There wasn't anyone checking or collecting the tickets. While we sat in the visitor's bleachers, most people brought lawn chairs and sat on elevated ground where they could watch the game over the fence surrounding the field.
I saw a tweet last week about something called a "Blackhawk Burger," so obviously my dad, my girlfriend, Kelcee and I decided that's what we'd have for dinner. We walked over to the concession stand, where we found a huge pavilion type thing beside it, where there was a big time operation going on. Several people were taking orders while several others were at the back grilling and constructing burgers. So many people were buying them that it took us at least 15 minutes to get our order, but it was well worth the wait. The burger, and the fries, were delicious.
Once back to our seats (which were just wooden planks that didn't look or feel very safe), we settled in for some football. The game itself was much better than the Prairie Grove game last week. Pea Ridge jumped out to a 21-6 halftime lead, albeit with the help of some home-cooking from the referees. I didn't have a dog in the fight, so I can say, without bias, that the refs were definitely helping out the Blackhawks. At one point, the Panthers looked like they stopped Pea Ridge inches short of a first down on 4th & 1. The refs brought the chains out for a measurement and initially ruled that they were short (the correct call). However, as I briefly looked down at my phone, I heard the fans on the other side of the stadium erupt in cheers. Apparently, the refs moved the chains and awarded the Blackhawks with a first down. I couldn't believe it. Another time, the refs called a personal foul penalty on Heber Springs when it was clearly just an intentional grounding penalty. I am still confused as to what exactly they called and how many yards they were penalized and if they lost a down or not. Much to the delight of the Heber Springs fans, I commented that the refs called a "potluck penalty" because they seemed to combine several penalties. The second half was completely different. Heber Springs turned things around and #23 (I don't know his name) took over. He ran through tacklers, made people miss, and had enough speed to break away from people in open field. Before you knew it, Heber Springs was on top. #23 continued to dominate, making a spectacular diving catch downfield and crushing a guy while playing defense. Eventually, the Panthers pulled away and beat Pea Ridge 42-21.
I think my dad put it best when he said, "I feel like I'm in the middle of the deer woods." Well, we really were. Trees surrounded all sides of the stadium. Only a couple (gravel) roads led to it. There were no paved or even gravel parking lots. A cloud of smoke hung low over the stadium from the Blackhawk Burger grill. I absolutely loved the atmosphere, though. Next week, I'm hoping to go to the Greenland 3A state playoff game, but it will be tough to beat this.

There was no paved or gravel parking lot, only grass.

Another view of the "parking lot," as well as the visitor's bleachers.

Here's the back view of the visitor's bleachers. You can see why I didn't feel safe - only wooden planks and 10+ feet of air separated you and the ground, plus there was nothing between the planks, allowing your stuff (or you) to fall to the ground if you weren't careful.

Here's a side view of the visitor's bleachers. Again, not safe!

Here's the pavilion where the famous "Blackhawk Burger" is made.

It was quite the operation. There were people collecting orders, people grilling, people constructing the burgers, and people doing other various jobs.