Hooten's Arkansas Football Rankings
Class 7A, Week 1, 2021
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.
 
1. Bryant (1-0)
2. Cabot (1-0)
3. Bentonville (1-0)
4. Fayetteville (1-0)
5. North LR (0-0)
6. Springdale Har-Ber (0-1)
7. Bentonville West (0-1)
8. Conway (0-1)
9. LR Catholic (0-1)
10. FS Northside (1-0)
11. Rogers (1-0)
12. LR Central (0-1)
13. Springdale (0-1)
14. FS Southside (0-1)
15. Heritage (0-1)
16. LR Southwest (0-1)
 
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 6 Springdale Har-Ber at No. 5 North LR.
ar-Ber had seven more first downs and 106 more yards but four turnovers in its 35-28 loss last Saturday at McKinney, Texas. Har-Ber started seven juniors on offense. Junior QB Luke Buchanan completed 48 percent passes for 325 yards and junior Hudson Brewer, Class 7A’s leading rusher as a sophomore last season, carried 27 times for 98 yards. North LR’s Randy Sandifer, an assistant coach at the school since 1983, makes his head coaching debut. North LR, state runner-up the past three seasons, returns just three starters on offense but led El Dorado 31-7 at halftime of last week’s scrimmage.
 
LAST WEEK
hootens.com correctly predicted the winners of all 13 games (100 percent) involving Class 7A teams.
 
WEEK 1 PREDICTIONS (favored teams in CAPS followed by points spread)
7A CENTRAL
Springdale Har-Ber at NORTH LR (2): Game of the Week.
Conway at BENTONVILLE (13): Bentonville’s smooth-operating offense sealed its 43-30 win over Liberty North, Mo., with a time consuming fourth-quarter scoring drive. “I bet we ran it 15 times in a row and used between six and eight minutes,” Coach Jody Grant says. Bentonville did not punt but had two interceptions. Conway’s diminutive senior speedster Manny Smith (5-7, 160) scored two TDs in last week’s 41-24 loss at Fayetteville, taking a direct snap 82 yards. Conway totaled 530 yards offense but gave up 605 yards and did not score in the second half. LR Southwest at LR PARKVIEW (15): Thursday night at War Memorial Stadium. Southwest held West Memphis to 10 yards in the first half but lost its opener 20-0. Parkview, one of the more talented teams in the state, opens ranked No. 6 in Class 6A.
Jonesboro at CABOT (15): Cabot rushed for more than 300 yards in its 38-7 win at Searcy and rotates seven quality D-linemen. Cabot speedster Braden Jay (4.5 speed) caught four passes for 60 yards and two TDs. Jay also rushed five times for 133 yards, including an 88-yard jet sweep. Cabot senior RB Mason Bell rushed for 105 yards and senior QB Grant Freeman completed 11 of 20 passes for 141 and three TDs. Ultra-talented Jonesboro jumped LR Catholic 37-7 last week. Jonesboro’s defensive front will be more formidable than Searcy,
Marion at BRYANT (35): Three-time defending state champion Bryant played 3-deep on defense and still beat Class 6A No. 3 Benton 42-3. Marion kicker Dylan Pieri kicked off to the end zone four times and booted a 40-yard field goal as time expired to beat rival Wynne 24-21. It was former Little Rock Christian defensive coordinator Lance Clark’s head coaching debut at Marion and the Patriots first win over Wynne since 2018.   
SYLVAN HILLS (8) at LR Central: Sylvan Hills led Maumelle 21-14 at half but lost six of eight fumbles in a 31-21 loss. Sylvan Hills senior safety Tyler Pearson made 9 tackles and T.J. Jasper starred at cornerback. LR Central looks to trim its mistakes, too, after losing at Class 5A No. 2 Little Rock Christian 41-8.
LR Catholic vs. FORT WORTH NOLAN CATHOLIC (9): 7 p.m. Saturday at The Star in Fort Worth, Texas. LR Catholic lost to ultra-talented Class 6A Jonesboro 37-7 last week. Nolan Catholic, which plays in the Texas private school league, is 28-4 over the past three seasons.
FS Northside is open.

7A WEST
Springdale Har-Ber at NORTH LR (2): Game of the Week.
Conway at BENTONVILLE (13): Bentonville’s smooth-operating offense sealed its 43-30 win over Liberty North, Mo., with a time consuming fourth-quarter scoring drive. “I bet we ran it 15 times in a row and used between six and eight minutes,” Coach Jody Grant says. Bentonville did not punt but had two interceptions. Conway’s diminutive senior speedster Manny Smith (5-7, 160) scored two TDs in last week’s 41-24 loss at Fayetteville, taking a direct snap 82 yards. Conway totaled 530 yards offense but gave up 605 yards and did not score in the second half.
Fayetteville at OWASSO, OKLA (7): Starring the fastest player in Arkansas high school football, Fayetteville looked deserving of Hooten’s preseason No. 4. ranking beating Conway 41-24. Isaiah Sategna scored three TDs in the first half, taking a reverse handoff 80 yards on the season’s first play. Fayetteville QB Bladen Fike passed for three TDs and rushed for another. Owasso coach Bill Blankenship coached one season at Fayetteville, leading the Bulldogs to the 2016 state championship.
BENTONVILLE WEST (8) at Muskogee, Okla.: West led 21-7 last week before losing 28-21 to Mansfield, Texas. West returned an interception for a TD then Ty Durham (three catches for 104 yards) took Jake Casey’s pass 80 yards on the Wolverines first offensive play. West ran just 17 plays in the first half while Mansfield had 56 snaps. West lacks linemen, rushed 16 times for 18 yards.  
FS Southside at GREENWOOD (28): Greenwood mauled Muskogee, Okla. 63-21 with QB Hunter Houston passing for 381 yards in his debut. Chris Young is 15-0 as head coach at Greenwood. The Bulldogs have won nine in a row over FS Southside. FS Southside lost last Thursday to rival FS Northside 31-16. Two Northside running backs top 100 yards rushing.
Springdale at CHOCTAW, OKLA. (18): Springdale lost to Van Buren 36-24 last Friday. Springdale surprised an unexpecting Choctaw (46-18) in this matchup last season. Choctaw should be ready for the rematch with most of its starters returning this season.
Stilwell, Okla. at ROGERS (35): CANCELLED on Wednesday due to covid quarantines. Improved Rogers beat Class 6A Siloam 51-40 last week. Rogers won at Stilwell 42-7 a year ago. Stilwell beat Class 4A Gentry 32-8 last fall for its only victory in three seasons. 
ROGERS HERITAGE are open.