Hootens.com 7A Rankings

Week 7, 2024 

1.  Bryant (5-0, 2-0) 

2.  Fayetteville (4-1, 2-0)  

3.  Conway (5-0, 2-0)   

4. Pulaski Academy (5-0, 2-0)  

5. Bentonville (2-3, 2-0)  

6. Springdale (5-0, 2-0)  

7. Rogers (3-2, 1-1)   

8. Little Rock Christian (3-2, 1-1)  

9. Cabot (2-3, 1-1)  

10. Bentonville West (0-5, 0-2)  

7A Central Unranked: 

Little Rock Southwest (0-5, 0-2) 

Little Rock Central (1-4, 0-2) 

North Little Rock (0-5, 0-2) 

7A West Unranked: 

Rogers Heritage (0-5, 0-2) 

Springdale Har-Ber (1-4, 1-1) 

Fort Smith Northside (1-4, 0-2) 

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK  

No. 4 Pulaski Academy (5-0, 2-0) at NO. 1 BRYANT (5-0, 2-0) A big-time battle of undefeated teams takes place this week in Saline County. No. 1 Bryant dominated Little Rock Christian last week with a 5-TD performance from senior QB Jordan Walker (3 pass, 2 rush). The Hornets were also physical defensively, allowing 146 yards of offense from the Warriors. 

Bryant Coach Quad Sanders continues to keep his ballclub focused by finding little things to fix in big wins. “We have done a good job at execution at times on both sides of the ball," Sanders says. "We have some mental errors that have gotten away with that we won’t continue to get away with.”  About the Bruins, Sanders says: “PA is great at what they do. They play with a lot of confidence on both sides of the ball and make the game look easy.” 

Coach Anthony Lukas' No. 4 Pulaski Academy averages 54 points per game with senior QB Brandon Cobb putting up video game numbers. PA leads the state in passing and Cobb is averaging 450 yards of total offense per game, accounting for 22 total touchdowns. PA's defense has been solid, allowing 2 scores in 2 conference games. Bryant wins this to maintain its No. 1 ranking. 

WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted in yellow)  

LAST WEEK Hootens.com correctly picked 8 of 8 games (100 percent) involving 7A teams and has correctly picked 56 of 64 games (88 percent) in 2024.  

7A CENTRAL 

No. 3 CONWAY (5-0, 2-0) at No. 9 Cabot (2-3, 1-1): Conway Coach Buck James has the Wampus Cats playing at a high level on both sides of the football, ranking No. 2 in 7A with 53.0 ppg and No. 1 in defense (15 ppg). Cabot improved its conference record to 1-1 after a win over Southwest Little Rock. QB Maddox McCrory had 3 touchdowns (2 pass, 1 rush) and the Panthers offense looked sharp and balanced. Conway senior QB Grayson Wilson and No. 1 Conway win this week at No. 9 Cabot. 

No. 8 LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN (3-2, 1-1) at Little Rock Central (1-4, 0-2): Little Rock Christian looks to bounce back after a big loss to Bryant. The Warriors couldn’t get much going on offense and gave up too many explosive plays on defense. Bryant racked up nearly 450 yards of offense last week. Little Rock Central dropped their second consecutive conference game 63-14 to No. 1 Pulaski Academy. Little Rock Christian gets back in the win column this week by defeating the Tigers at historic Quigley Stadium.  

LITTLE ROCK SOUTHWEST (0-5, 0-2) at North Little Rock (0-5, 0-2) LR Southwest has been competitive in 3 of its 5 losses, while showing offensive improvement. North Little Rock, also winless, is last in Class 7A in scoring offense. Southwest QB Chase Forte leads the Gryphons to victory at North Little Rock.  

No. 4 Pulaski Academy (5-0, 2-0) at NO. 1 BRYANT (5-0, 2-0):See Game of the Week, above. 

7A WEST 

NO. 7 ROGERS (3-2, 1-1) at No. 10 Bentonville West (0-5, 0-2) No. 7 Rogers came up a few yards short of winning a thriller over No. 2 Fayetteville. QB Jeff Regan kept the final drive alive with a clutch fourth-down conversion to junior WR Dracen Voak but the Mounties ran out of time. No. 10 Bentonville West is winless but battle-tested after playing a tough nonconference schedule. Dual-threat QB Tre Thompson makes plays every week, and the Wolverines should put a good fight at home. It probably won't be enough.  

Fort Smith Northside (1-4, 0-2) at NO. 1 FAYETTEVILLE (4-1, 2-0): QB Garyt Odom, an UNLV commit, hit senior WR Charlie Graves with the game-winning 28-yard TD pass with under a minute to play. The Purple Dogs escaped Rogers and improved to 2-0 in conference. Fort Smith Northside dropped to 0-2 in conference after a 35-14 home loss to Bentonville. The Grizzlies were without starting QB Dorian Bowers but backup QB Derrick Clarke stepped up and played well. The Purple Dogs win this game at home and move to 3-0 in 7A West play. 

No. 5 BENTONVILLE (2-3, 2-0) at Rogers Heritage (0-5, 0-2): Bentonville senior QB Trevor Grant (240 passing, 4 TDs) led the Tigers (2-0 in 7A West) to a road victory last week. Rogers Heritage remained winless after a 63-32 loss to Springdale Har-Ber. Heritage looked better than previous weeks offensively but was not able to keep Har-Ber out of the end zone.

Springdale Har-Ber (1-4, 1-1) at No. 6 SPRINGDALE (5-0, 2-0) Har-Ber won convincingly over Heritage last week, scoring 63 points to even its conference record. Springdale is 5-0 for the first time in nearly 20 years. (The Bulldogs started 5-0 in 2005 when Gus Malzahn’s team ended up winning the state title.) Senior QB Jack Pounders scored a late TD to give his team the lead and the defense stood tall in the end.