Class 7A, Week 2, 2023
Copyright Seventy Seven’s Football Publishing, LLC

1. Conway (1-0)
2. Bryant (2-0)
3. Fayetteville (2-0)
4. Bentonville (1-1)
5. Rogers (2-0)
6. Cabot (1-1)
7. FS Southside (2-0)
8. Bentonville West (1-1)
9. North Little Rock (0-2)
10. Jonesboro (1-1)
11. Har-ber (0-2)
12. Springdale (1-1)
13. Little Rock Southwest (0-1)
14. Fort Smith Northside (0-2)
15. Heritage (1-1)
16. Little Rock Central (0-2)
KEVIN KELLEY'S COMMENT: I felt like Conway deserved to jump over Bryant after it went into a hostile environment and beat then-No. 3 Bentonville 42-39. Fayetteville improved to 2-0, and its win over Cabot looks better after Cabot beat a good Bentonville West team. The Springdale teams both won in the same week, which has not happened in a while, so they moved up as well.

LAST WEEK

Kevin Kelley selected 7 of 12 games correctly after going 11-1 in Week 0. Kelley is 18-6 (75 percent) after 2 weeks in games involved 7A teams

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
5A No. 1 LR Parkview (1-0) at 7A NO. 2 BRYANT (2-0) Parkview and the Bolding Brothers come in off a bye week, and I know defensive coordinator Bobby Bolding will have that defense ready for a Bryant team that scored 45 on Christian Brothers (Mo.) last week. James Martin rushed for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jordan Walker (11 of 23 passing, 282 yards, 2 TDs) helped Bryant to a 38-21 halftime lead. Bryant Coach Quad Sanders remarked that the Hornets did not get the ball to their main WR, Mytorian Singleton, enough in the Salt Bowl vs. Benton in Week 0. Bryant fixed that, as Singleton caught 6 passes for 155 yards and 2 TDs. The early bye week could benefit Parkview by giving the talented team 2 weeks to get ready and to have an extra game on film more than Bryant has on the Patriots. That will be a big thing for the coaches on both sides as they prepare for this week. Bryant has to stop RBs Jaden Ashford and Monterrio Elston, who both had long runs against Har-ber in Week 0. Parkview's defense will need to slow down both facets of Bryant's offense — passing and running — as they Hornets have shown they are very effective at both. This should be a really good one early, but I think Bryant takes over in the second half and extends its winning streak to 24 overall, and 54 consecutive over in-state opponents.

No. 12 Springdale (1-1) at NO. 1 CONWAY (1-0) Springdale comes off a 42-38 win over 5A opponent Farmington. QB Jack Pounders scored the game's first TD out of Springdale new Flexbone scheme and the Bulldogs scored the final TD with 38 seconds left to win it. Springdale moved up a couple of spots in the poll as a result. The Bulldogs will need every ounce of confidence from that win against new No. 1 Conway, which impressively went up to NWA and beat Bentonville 42-39. Conway had big plays in the run and pass game, and also did what Coach Buck James defenses do — pressure the QB. Conway had 581 total yards against a solid Bentonville defense. Conway should control this game from start to finish. The only weakness Conway showed last week was allowing a kickoff return for a TD.

No. 14 FS Northside (0-2) at NO. 3 FAYETTEVILLE (2-0) The Grizzlies appeared to be emotionally spent — a week after losing to crosstown rival Northside — as they lost to Greenwood last week 49-0. Greenwood had its way from the outset and friends that watched tell me QB Kane Archer is turning out to be as good as advertised. Fayetteville took it to North Little Rock winning 58-20. Fayetteville led 30-20 at halftime and then shut out the Charging Wildcats in the second half. QB Drake Lindsey had another nice game for the Purple Dogs. Fayetteville comes in hot while Northside has to be down a little after 2 tough games. I look for Coach Casey Dick's Fayetteville team to score an easy win.

7A NO. 5 ROGERS (2-0) at 5A No. 8 Farmington (1-1) Farmington, playing 7A opponents back to back, lost a close game to Springdale last week and hosts Rogers this week. Farmington scored 38 on the 7A Bulldogs and more than likely will have to do the same this week to have a chance against the Mounties. Rogers easily beat Bishop Kelley (Okla.) 35-7 last week. The Mounties got a TD pass from Dane Williams to Caleb Hudgins as well as TD runs from Isaac Chapman and Jacob Jenkins. Rogers looks to go 3-0 for the second year in a row, and I believe the Mounties will do so with a win over Farmington.

NO. 7 FS SOUTHSIDE (2-0) at 5A Wynne (0-1) Southside comes in off 2 big wins — Week 0 vs. crosstown rival Northside and last week 55-28 over Van Buren, a school a little ways down I-40. The Mavericks scored on 7 of 9 possessions and gained 528 yards in the first half. Amari Tucker set the tone with an 80-yard TD run on the game's first play. Isaac Gregory added a rushing TD later as the Mavericks took over early and never really allowed the Pointers to be close. Wynne lost to Marion 27-7 in Week 0 and was off this past week. The Yellowjackets look to get back on track with that extra week to prepare, but they will have their work cut out for them against a hot FS Southside team.

No. 16 LR Central (0-2) at NO. 8 BENTONVILLE WEST (1-1)

The Central Tigers walk into Week 2 looking for their first win after losing last week to Pine Bluff 45-13. The Tigers scored this past week after being shut out in the opener by LR Christian Academy. Jaymion Hardin scored Central's first TD early in the game to give the Tigers a lead before Pine Bluff took over. Bentonville West went to Cabot to play a team that did not lose a home game last year and still has not. The Wolverines lost 21-18 to the Panthers after an easy win in Week 0. QB Dalton Rice was stopped on a fourth-and-1 run early, and that really set the tone in what turned into a defensive battle. The Wolverines will move back into the win column this week, and it’s a great time for Coach Bryan Pratt to make some adjustments before heading into conference play.

Desoto Central, Miss. (0-2) at NO. 10 JONESBORO (1-1) Jonesboro beat West Memphis in Week 0, but the Hurricane started off slow and Class 6A Lake Hamilton held on to win 27-20 last Friday. A preview of things to come in that game occurred early when Jonesboro QB Terrance Brown completed a long pass to Kellen Smith, who fumbled to give the Wolves the ball. The Wolves jumped out to a 21-7 lead and the Hurricane fought back to a 7-point deficit but couldn’t get the final score to tie or take the lead. Desoto Central is looking for its first win, but as always, I love Arkansas teams playing out-of-state teams, and I think Jonesboro shows another state what kind of football we can play here.

NO. 13 LR SOUTHWEST (0-1) at No. 15 Rogers Heritage (1-1) The Gryphons of LR Southwest have had 2 weeks to recover from a loss to Rogers in Week 0. Rogers Heritage won its opener but lost last week to Louisburg (Kan.) 38-14. Southwest, which got beat by Heritage's crosstown rival Rogers in Week 1, looks to be improved this year. I think the week off did it some good and I look for a hard-fought game and a win by the Gryphons.