Hootens.com Rankings
Class 7A, Week 7, 2012
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

1. Bentonville (6-0)
2. North Little Rock (5-1)
3. Fayetteville (4-2)
4. Springdale Har-Ber (3-3)
5. Conway (5-0)
6. Fort Smith Southside (4-2)
7. Rogers Heritage (4-2)
8. Bryant (3-2)
9. West Memphis (4-2)
10. Rogers (5-1)
11. Cabot (4-2)
12. Springdale (3-3)
13. Van Buren (1-5)
14. Little Rock Central (1-5)
15. Little Rock Catholic (1-5)
16. Fort Smith Northside (0-6)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 5 Conway at No. 6 Fort Smith Southside
Both on cruise control lately. Southside smoked Little Rock Hall, LR Parkview and LR Catholic by a combined 150-40 the past three weeks while Conway crushed Hall and winless FS Northside 110-19 the past two Fridays.
"The speed of the game changes this week," says Southside coach Jeff Williams. "The more competitive games you play, the better you get. That's why we scheduled Heritage, El Dorado and Har-Ber for non-conference."
Williams says Conway senior Jeff Anderson (6-0, 220) runs like Herschel Walker. Anderson has rushed for 810 yards on 106 carries (7.6 yards per carry) this fall, including 189 yards last Friday against FS Northside. He scored three touchdowns in the first half, including a 96-yard kick return two weeks ago at Russellville.
Conway guard Brannon Kotch (6-2, 254), ranked as the state's No. 19 overall recruiting prospect by hootens.com, takes direct snaps as a "Wildcat" quarterback and bulled for three TDs plus three conversions on fourth- and third-and-short situations last week.
It's a three-team race between these two and Greenwood for the 7A/6A Central title this fall. Conway has lost five of the past six years to Southside, winning 53-35 in the 2010 season opener. A year ago, Southside won 32-27 despite giving up two punt returns for TDs and another to set up a score. Southside's special teams coverage has been stellar this fall. If Conway runs effectively on first down, the Wampus Cats could earn a rare win in the series.

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly predicted the winner of all 11 games involving Class 7A teams. For the season, hootens.com has correctly predicted 59 of 73 games (81 percent).

TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football airs 8:30 a.m. Saturdays on KARZ 42 (Little Rock) and Fox 24 (Fayetteville/Fort Smith) and 11 p.m. Sundays on KAIT 8 (ABC, Jonesboro), featuring the top players and teams from across the state.

WEEK 7 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
7A/6A CENTRAL
Conway at FS SOUTHSIDE (1): See Hootens.com Game of the Week.
FS Northside at LR PARKVIEW (9): Northside likely plays without starting QB Gray Stanton and starting center Cody Lee this Friday. Meanwhile, athletic Parkview QB Caelon Harden returns from injury.
GREENWOOD (50) at LR Hall: Coach Rick Jones' record improves to 100-16 (86.2 winning percentage) at Greenwood. The Bulldogs ride a 30-game win streak. Hall rides a 12-game losing streak, last winning on Sept. 16, 2011 over Arkadelphia 35-21.
RUSSELLVILLE (7) at LR Catholic: The Rockets have ripped Russellville by an average score of 52-21 the past two seasons, but their only win this season was over hapless LR Hall (0-5). Class 6A Russellville continues to play good defense, beating LR Parkview 35-7 last week.

7A/6A EAST
CABOT (8) at LR Central: Not much of a cat fight. Central's Tigers ride a 5-game losing streak. Cabot's Panthers are 1-2 against 7A teams this fall. Central won at Cabot 41-36 last year. Cabot had won the previous three meetings by a combined 113-33.
NORTH LR (14) at Searcy: North LR trailed Class 6A Jonesboro all night until Gary Vines' interception setup Juan Day's game-winning TD with 1:03 left last week. Searcy has beaten three conference teams with a combined 4-14 record by an average of 8.3 points.
WEST MEMPHIS (8) at Marion: Both teams have lost two of their past three games. West Memphis has beaten Marion in six straight years. The last two meetings have been decided by a total of 22 points.

7A/6A SOUTH
Sheridan at BRYANT (35): Bryant celebrates homecoming with date Sheridan and likely won't be tested again until November, but the Hornets probably lost their shot at winning a third straight conference title two weeks ago at Pine Bluff. Sheridan sophomore Tyler Raney caught eight passes for 117 yards in a 17-14 win over Benton last week. The Yellowjackets own Benton, winning five of the past six meetings. Class 6A Sheridan allows 32.1 points while scoring 16.5 this season.

7A/6A WEST
Rogers Heritage at BENTONVILLE (28): Bentonville has never lost to Heritage, hammering the War Eagles by a 55-17 average. Bentonville linebacker Garrett Kaufman, on the Farm Bureau Awards watch list for Class 7A/6A Defensive Player of the Year, leads the state's best defense. Kaufman also scored his first offensive TD of 2012 last week while Tearris Wallace rushed for more than 200 yards for the first time this season. Heritage won its first four games but lost the past two Fridays by a combined 112-41, managing less than 200 yards offense last week against Fayetteville.
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (35) at Siloam Springs: Just 19 miles separate these two, but they're worlds apart. Har-Ber mercy ruled Heritage a week after Heritage hammered Siloam 70-21. Handsome Har-Ber tight end Nick Byrne (6-4, 215), ranked as the state's No. 8 overall recruiting prospect, caught a career best three TD passes last Friday.
FAYETTEVILLE (12) at Rogers: Rogers got a reality check at Bentonville (35-6) last Friday while Fayetteville's Austin Allen completed 36 of 48 passes for 419 yards and five TDs in a 52-21 win over Rogers Heritage. Rogers standout QB Nick Wary, the team's leading rusher, likely misses the next three weeks with injury.
Van Buren at SPRINGDALE (1): Gritty Van Buren moves up two spots in this week's rankings and braces for another trip over the mountain, where it has played well at Fayetteville and at Springdale Har-Ber. Springdale junior running back Andre Murray (5-10, 165; 4.4 speed) presents problems for the Pointers. Springdale likely must win to avoid its fifth losing season in six years.