Hooten’s Arkansas Football Rankings

Class 6A, Week 3, 2024

Copyright Seventy Seven's Football Publishing, LLC.

1. Greenwood (3-0)
2. Benton (1-1)
3. Shiloh Christian (2-1)
4. Fort Smith Southside (2-0)
5. Marion (2-1)
6. Mountain Home (3-0)
7. El Dorado (2-1)
8. Lake Hamilton (2-1)
9. LR Catholic (2-0)
10. Russellville (2-1)

NOT RANKED

6A East: Jonesboro (0-3), West Memphis (0-2), Sheridan (1-2), and Sylvan Hills (0-3).

6A West: Siloam Springs (2-1) and Van Buren (1-2).

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

Class 7A North Little Rock (0-2) at NO. 8 LR CATHOLIC (2-0): North Little Rock has won 11 of the past 21 meetings with Catholic, but the Rockets have gotten the best of the Charging Wildcats the past 2 seasons, including 17-7 last fall. 

It’s been a difficult start for North Little Rock after 20 players graduated in May and 17 players exited the program during the offseason. Eleven of the 17 were projected returning starters. North Little Rock has been outscored by a combined 85-13. The Charging Wildcats managed 112 total yards, including 28 in the first half, of last week's 42-13 loss at Benton. NLR got a 5-yard TD pass from Corey Marshall to Tony Wilkins last week. The Rockets topped Nolan Catholic (Texas) 41-7 last Saturday after leading 28-7 at halftime. Rockets QB Jackson England completed 9 of 12 passes for 169 yards and 2 TDs. Tailback Noel Lewis carried 17 times for 185 yards and 2 scores, leading the way for Catholic's 265 rushing yards. Junior Hayden Roaf caught 4 passes for 104 yards, while senior Braxton Burks caught 4 balls for 48 yards and 2 scores. Seniors Tobias DeSalvo and Sam Paladino anchor the offensive line as 3-year starters. Christopher Pace led the Rockets defense, recording a sack, while Brock Hatchett made 4 tackles and caused a fumble, and senior Bo Bradford recorded three stops. Catholic showed improvement in Week 2 after beating Arkansas High 21-15 in the Week 0 opener, and the Rockets top their Metro area rivals for the third time in a row.

WEEK 3 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted)

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly selected 10 of 14 games (72 percent) involving 6A teams a week ago and has correctly picked 34 of 42 games (80 percent) for the season.

6A EAST

NO. 2 BENTON (2-0) at Class 5A Harding Academy (1-1): Class 5A Harding Academy lost 37-7 two weeks ago at Marion, which plays in the 6A East, as does Benton. The Panthers exited their bye week last Friday night with a 42-13 victory over Class 7A North Little Rock. Junior QB Drew Davis completed 19 of 35 passes against North LR for 284 yards and 3 TDs. T.J. Williams rushed for 100 yards and 2 TDs. The Panthers led the Charging Wildcats 28-7 at halftime and Benton limited the opposition to 112 total yards.

Harding trailed Marion 12-7 late in the third quarter on Sept. 6 before Marion pulled away, and it could happen again here. Look for Benton and its explosive passing game to outlast the Wildcats.

Class 7A North LR (0-2) at NO. 8 LR CATHOLIC (2-0): See Hootens.com Game of the Week.

W. Memphis (0-2) at CLASS 7A LR CHRISTIAN (1-1): This is the first meeting of these schools. West Memphis is struggling offensively after last week's 35-6 loss to Class 5A Valley View. The Blazers led 13-0 at halftime and 35-0 in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils are scoring less than 7.0 points dating to the team's benefit scrimmage against Blytheville in late August. But the Blue Devils defense has proven competitive behind senior linebacker Taevion Dancy, who leads the team in tackles. West Memphis continues to improve up front, but LR Christian has too many options this week.

Watch Highlights of LR Christian vs Shiloh Christian

OPEN El Dorado, Marion, Jonesboro, Sylvan Hills and Sheridan.

6A WEST

Class 7A LR Southwest (0-2) at NO. 4 FS SOUTHSIDE (2-0): This is the first meeting between these schools. Southside built a 38-0 halftime lead last week en route to a 45-14 win. QB Blake Forsgen accounted for 251 yards and 6 TDs, including 13-of-21 passing for 242 yards and 5 TDs. Joseph Kincannon (5-151 receiving, 4 TDs) was the leading receiver for Southside, which tries to build off consecutive 2-0 starts for the first time since 2007-2008. Southside keeps rolling this week against a retooling Gryphons outfit. 

Rolla (Mo.) (1-1) at NO. 6 MOUNTAIN HOME (2-0): Mountain Home seeks its first 3-0 start since 2011, 2 weeks after it beat Harrison for the second consecutive season. The Bombers led 17-0 at halftime en route to a 30-14 win at Garrison Stadium. Mountain Home got 3 TDs from QB Brantlee Phillips, including a 79-yard scoring strike to Talan Palmer, and 2 TD runs. Barrett Miller added a 6-yard TD run, and Isaac Ballard hit a 33-yard field goal for the Bombers.

OPEN Greenwood, Shiloh Christian, Lake Hamilton, Russellville, Van Buren, and Siloam Springs