PEA RIDGE -- The Siloam Springs football team got an honest look of where its at Friday night during an Arkansas Activities Association benefit game.
The Panthers' defense was pushed around by Class 7A Rogers and fell 14-0 to the Mounties in a one-quarter scrimmage, but the unit rose to the occasion to keep Pea Ridge out of the end zone in another quarter which resulted in a 7-0 victory at Blackhawk Stadium.
Rogers quarterback Hunter Loyd completed 14 of 19 passes for 174 yards and threw a pair of touchdowns in the opening scrimmage against the Panthers.
Loyd, a college prospect, hit a 69-yard pass to Christian Francisco on the Mounties' opening drive.
Loyd then converted a pair of fourth downs on Rogers' second drive to keep possession and threw a 12-yard pass to Francisco for the second TD.
The Mounties were on the march again on their third drive but opted to let the final minute run off the clock with the ball at the 12-yard line.
"We just saw a guy that's a college-level quarterback," Siloam Springs coach Brandon Craig said. "I don't know what level he's going to play at, but he's really solid. He kind of got after us a little bit, made some great throws. Our kids are going to see that during the season, so it gives us a little bit of a barometer of what we're looking at. It's a lot better to scrimmage people that are better and are going to give you that honest look what you need to do and it gives our kids something to focus on."
Offensively against Rogers, the Panthers picked up 68 yards of offense, most of which came on their second drive. Taylor Pool hit 4 of 8 passes for 56 yards, including a 35-yard strike to Tate Criner into Rogers territory. The drive stalled at the Mounties' 17-yard line, and Siloam Springs lined up a 34-yard field goal, but Harrison Losh's kick missed.
Against the Blackhawks, Siloam Springs' offense came up empty on its first three possessions and was held to a total of minus 4 yards.
But on the Panthers' fourth possession, Pool found Criner for a 43-yard touchdown pass with 2:38 remaining for the game's only score.
Pool finished the scrimmage 5 of 17 for 99 yards combined against Rogers and Pea Ridge, but the Panthers only rushed for 14 total yards on 14 carries.
"In the early season you're still trying to find the right chemistry with the offensive line," Craig said. "It's still not there yet. We may have to make some tough decisions there, but it's one of those things where we've got to keep working to find the right five guys."
Defensively against the Blackhawks, Siloam Springs gave up 51 yards on Pea Ridge's opening drive before forcing a turnover on downs. The Panthers' defense then came up with four more stops and only allowed the Blackhawks to gain 32 yards combined the rest of the way.
"Yeah we just had to make one minor adjustment, but I thought the kids played really well against the run game," Craig said. "There's still some areas we need to work on obviously, but we're tough. I think we're physical. I think we're going to be a team that can get after some people. We're still a work in progress."
Prior to the one-quarter scrimmages, all three teams participated in a team-camp like format, getting consecutive reps on offense and defense with the varsity and junior varsity squads.
There also was an overtime period where the ball was placed at the 10-yard line like in a high school overtime period.
The Panthers will open their season at 7 p.m. Friday against Class 7A Van Buren.
Sports on 08/25/2019