Class 6A Week 6 Rankings, Notes & Picks
Hootens.com Rankings
Class 6A, Week 6, 2017
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.
1. Greenwood (5-0)
2. El Dorado (4-1)
3. Pine Bluff (4-1)
4. West Memphis (5-0)
5. Jonesboro (4-1)
6. Searcy (4-1)
7. Benton (4-1)
8. Texarkana (3-2)
9. Marion (2-3)
10. Lake Hamilton (2-3)
11. Russellville (2-3)
12. Siloam Springs (2-3)
13. Mountain Home (0-5)
14. Sheridan (0-5)
15. Jacksonville (1-4)
16. LR Hall (1-4)
HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 5 Jonesboro at No. 3 Pine Bluff
Jonesboro
beat Pine Bluff (41-34) last year for the first time in school history
and the teams shared the 6A East title. Both are 4-1 this fall, 2-0 in the league. Pine Bluff sophomore quarterback Tyler Foots completed 11 of
13 passes for 149 yards and four touchdowns in last week's 36-14 win at
Mountain Home. Zebra receiver Diaundre Ellison collected six passes for
78 yards. Senior left tackle Cameron Crane anchors
Pine Bluff's improving offensive line (four new starters). Pine Bluff surrenders just 10.8 points
per week. Jonesboro averages 42 points per game. Jonesboro
senior QB A.J. Aycock completes 58 percent of his passes for 468 yards and six TDs and is now the full-time starter after classmate Tyson Williams was lost for the year last week with a broken fibula. Daishon “Chunky” Fountain moved to receiver from running back in the
spring and has caught 10 passes for 196 yards and a team-high four TDs
this year. Jonesboro's diverse offensive attack will challenge Pine
Bluff's talented linebacking corps (all-state selection Isiah Singleton
and all-conference pick Martavis Thompson). “Jonesboro makes you defend the
entire field at all times,” Pine Bluff coach Bobby Bolding says.
“They're big, strong and fast.”
LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly
predicted the winners in seven of eight games (88 percent) last week
involving 6A teams. For the season, hootens.com has correctly picked 41
of 48 games (85 percent).
TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football
airs 10:30 a.m. Saturdays on KATV (ABC Little Rock) Ch. 7, covering the
Razorbacks, high school teams and players to watch. Bismarck's Dylan
Clayton receives the prestigious Arkansas Air Guard Scholar Athlete of
the Week award on Saturday's show.
WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS (favored team in CAPS followed by point spread)
6A EAST
Jonesboro at PINE BLUFF (3): See Game of the Week.
SEARCY
(2) at Marion: Teams enter with matching 1-1 records in league play for
Marion's homecoming. West Memphis downed Marion Week 4 (37-27) and
Searcy Week 5 (36-21). Marion snapped a four-game losing streak to
Searcy last year 35-14 at Lion Stadium. Searcy surrendered 206 yards
rushing to West Memphis 'back Guren Holmes, but Marion averages just 3.9
yards per carry. Marion averages 479 yards per game the past four
weeks. This is Marion's homecoming game.
LR Hall at WEST MEMPHIS
(31): A tight West Memphis defense (allows 15 points per game) faces
Hall, the second-lowest scoring team in the 6A East (16 points per
game). West Memphis has won five straight meetings with Hall, including
shutouts in 2008 and 2016. At Searcy last week West Memphis recorded a
season-high 283 yards rushing, paced by Guren Holmes's 206 yards and a
TD in a 36-21 win. In a 55-19 loss to Marion, Hall's Kevin Durr recorded
his first career TD on a 66-yard run.
MOUNTAIN HOME (1) at
Jacksonville: Loser likely misses the playoffs. Mountain Home is the
lowest-scoring team in the 6A East (9.6 points per game) and
experimented with the Dead T in the first half last week of a 36-14 loss
to Pine Bluff. After trailing 36-0 at halftime, the Bombers shifted
back to the Flexbone and ripped off both of their scoring drives.
Jacksonville scored a season-best 31 points last week at Jonesboro, but
allowed the most points in the state this year in a 76-31 loss.
6A WEST
Siloam
Springs at GREENWOOD (33): Greenwood shut out Siloam Springs the past
two years by a combined score of 84-0, and the Bulldogs seek a fifth
straight win in the series. Greenwood dominated the first half last week
against El Dorado, outgaining the Wildcats 402-76 to lead 31-14.
Greenwood expects to play without receiver Josh Barlow Friday night,
which is the school's homecoming. Siloam Springs managed 208 total yards
and lost the turnover battle 2-1 against Benton last week in a 49-14
defeat.
EL DORADO (28) at Sheridan: Sheridan seeks its first win
over El Dorado, which won this matchup 15-14 last year. El Dorado has
not lost to a team other than Greenwood since Week 9 2016 (Russellville
35-7). Sheridan has lost 14 consecutive games and has not recorded a
conference win since Week 10 2015 (29-21 over Texarkana). El Dorado
middle linebacker Mon'Tre Marshall returned an INT 86 yards for a TD
last week at Greenwood. Sheridan senior Justin Pruitt has rushed for 375
yards (5 ypc) in three games with five TDs.
Texarkana at BENTON (6):
Benton owns five straight wins in this series, including a 56-7 road
conquest last year. Benton has won four straight this fall by an average
of 43-18, following a season-opening defeat to Class 7A No. 2 Bryant.
Benton scored 35 unanswered points last week at Siloam Springs to lead
42-7 at halftime. Texarkana's stout defense allows 18 points per game
following a 14-9 win at Lake Hamilton. Benton's size up front could
present issues for Texarkana's lighter linemen.
Russellville at LAKE
HAMILTON (3): Russellville ripped Lake Hamilton 47-23 a year ago. This
fall, Lake Hamilton's losses came to Class 7A No. 2 Bryant (56-7), No. 2
El Dorado (35-13) and Texarkana (14-9). Against Texarkana, Lake
Hamilton (2-3) lost the turnover battle 4-2, but posted 229 rushing
yards (second-most this year). Russellville snapped a two-game losing
skid with a 28-14 win over Sheridan. Four Russellville players have
taken snaps this year at QB, and those players have combined to complete
60 percent of their passes for 996 yards and 12 TDs with no
interceptions. Russellville has a talented (two Landers Auto Group Super
Teamers in Ryan Talley and Josiah Woodard) and experienced (four
starters return) secondary, but Lake Hamilton runs the ball 71 percent
of the time.
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