Gentry upsets Siloam in Gravette championship
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
GRAVETTE - In a week's time, the Gentry Pioneers went from going winless at one 7-on-7 tournament to winning the championship of another.
And while there was no championship trophy presented to second-year coach Brian Little and the Pioneers, the reward was aplenty.
Gentry knocked off Siloam Springs, 16-14 in the final game Saturday of the Field of Pride 7-on-7 Shootout at Lions Stadium in Gravette.
"Absolutely, a big difference," Little said comparing his team's play at last weekend's VYPE Select 7- on-7 Inviational and this Shootout at Gravette.
"I think going over (to Fayetteville ) last weekend was really good for us. We wanted to make sure we learned how to compete. We had the opportunity to be together and learning how to play the team game. It paid off for us. We came back this weekend and battled."
Gentry got off to a slow start, losing to Prairie Grove, 13-12 in its first game of pool play. But the Pioneers came back to Huntsville, 18-0 and Farmington, 28-6 to complete pool play 2-1 and earn a No. 1 seed in bracket play.
Gentry knocked off Lincoln, 32-0 in the first round and Elkins, 19-6 in the semifinals before playing Siloam Springs.
"We did start with a loss, and I just asked the kids who beat us in the first game, and they responded with'Gentry beat us'and that's what I want them to understand," Little said. "We sometimes can beat ourselves and if we learn that then we can overcome those mistakes. (Being ) able to fight back after a first game loss and win it, that was real rewarding for our kids."
Little said junior quarterback Caleb Ramsey had his best day of the summer throwing the ball.
In the championship game, Ramsey went 13-for-
23 for 126 yards and two touchdowns .
" I really believe he did have his
best day, " Little said . " After the
Top Gun Challenge , his arm was
tired . Especially going from there
straight into the competition last
weekend . It showed a little bit last
Saturday . We worked on some
things . Thursday night we had a
good session over at our place
with Gravette and Rogers Heritage . We worked through some
throws and some different things .
He brought that to the field today .
I'm really proud of his ball placement and his timing. "
Gentry bolted out to a 16-0 lead
in the first seven minutes . Ramsey hit Robert Henderson for a
score and then the Pioneers converted the extra point to lead 7-0 .Justin Wilkes intercepted a pass for two more
points and a 9-0 lead .
Then Gentry scored again on a
4-yard pass to Justin Stewart for
the 16-0 lead .
Siloam Springs charged back
behind quarterback Bryan
Adair , who got the Panthers within 16-14 .
Siloam Springs failed to tie the
game when the two-point conversion from the 10-yard line was
short of the end zone .
With less than two minutes
remaining , Gentry marched
down inside the 10-yard line before turning the ball over on
downs .
But Gentry's defense which
had nine interceptions on the day ,
held its own and time ran out on
the Panthers .
"We've just got to learn how to
compete the whole time, " Siloam
Springs head coach Clint
Ashcraft said .
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