Hooten’s Arkansas Football Rankings

Class 6A, Week 8, 2024

Copyright Seventy Seven's Football Publishing, LLC.

1. Greenwood (7-0)

2. Benton (6-1)

3. Shiloh Christian (5-2)

4. Marion (6-1)

5. LR Catholic (7-0)

6. Mountain Home (6-1)

7. Lake Hamilton (5-2)

8. Russellville (3-4)

9. Van Buren (3-4)

10. Fort Smith Southside (3-4)

NOT RANKED

6A East: Jonesboro (1-6), West Memphis (1-6), El Dorado (3-4), Sheridan (2-5) and Sylvan Hills (0-7).

6A West: Siloam Springs (2-5). 

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 6 Mountain Home (6-1, 3-1) at NO. 7 LAKE HAMILTON (5-2, 3-1): Lake Hamilton is 4-0 all-time against Mountain Home, including a 44-38 victory a season ago. 

Mountain Home's 6-1 start is its best since 1986, and the fourth time the Bombers have won 6 of their first 7 games in a season. Mountain Home outgained Siloam Springs 386-140 in last week's 45-7 victory, rushing for 368 yards. The Bombers got 292 yards and 2 TDs from tailback Jacob Chenoweth, and 101 yards and 2 scores from Barrett Miller. Mountain Home continues to play well despite missing starting quarterback Brantlee Phillips, who is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. 

Lake Hamilton lost 49-14 at Greenwood, the Wolves' first conference loss. Greenwood outgained Lake Hamilton 455-286, but the Wolves did not commit a turnover. The Wolves got a TD pass from Landon West to Carson Jackson to get within 21-7 in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs pushed ahead 35-7 by halftime. Dylan Murphy added a TD in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring. Seniors Dawson Trott (13 tackles at Greenwood), Hagan Tyler (11 stops), junior Hylton Mann (6 tackles) and sophomore Dylan Smith (6 tackles) led the Lake Hamilton defense. The winner of this matchup remains in the mix for the No. 2 playoff seed and a first-round bye, and Lake Hamilton's run defense makes the difference at home. 

WEEK 8 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted)

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly selected 6 of 8 games (75 percent) involving 6A teams a week ago and has correctly picked 66 of 79 games (84 percent) for the season.

6A EAST

W. Memphis (1-6, 1-3) at EL DORADO (3-4, 1-3): These teams have split their past 4 meetings with West Memphis winning 44-13 last September.

West Memphis avoided the possibility of its first winless season by rallying for a 13-10 win last week over Sylvan Hills. West Memphis intercepted a Sylvan Hills pass in the end zone to end the final Bears threat. Seniors Drew Jenkins and Taevion Dancy led the Blue Devils defense to their best showing of the fall. El Dorado trailed Benton 42-3 last week in the second quarter, but the Wildcats scrapped back in the second half of a 56-31 defeat. El Dorado QB Cannon Jacobs completed 14 of 26 passes for 192 yards and a TD, and he rushed for 25 yards and another score. Wideout Josiah Moore had 178 receiving yards.

NO. 2 BENTON (6-1, 4-0) at No. 5 LR Catholic (7-0, 4-0): These teams have split their past 2 conference meetings, with Benton turning away Catholic 49-42 in 2023. Catholic escaped Sheridan's upset bid a week ago, scoring last for a 51-48 win in Grant County. The Rockets are 7-0 for the second time in 3 seasons despite allowing almost 700 yards at Sheridan. Catholic QB Jackson England and tailback Noel Lewis spark the Rockets offense. Benton built a 35-3 first-quarter lead en route to a 56-31 win over El Dorado. The Panthers outgained the Wildcats 558-363 behind junior QB Drew Davis (16-26 passing, 228 yards, TD), tailback Luther Tucker (12-166 rushing) and WR Karson Collatt (6-76 receiving). The winner will have the inside track to the conference title. 

Sheridan (2-5, 1-3) at NO. 4 MARION (6-1, 4-0): Marion is 4-0 all-time vs. Sheridan, including 55-21 last season. Sheridan missed an opportunity to register its first major victory under Kevin Kelley last Friday night, losing at home 51-48 to LR Catholic in a game that featured 5 lead changes in the second half. Sophomore tailback Zay Stephens (28-228 rushing, 3 TDs; 10-202 receiving, 3 TDs), junior QB Dax McMellon (24-39 passing, 366 yards, 3 TDs) and Payton Sterritt (10-124 receiving) led the offense. Marion pulled away at Jonesboro in the fourth quarter to win 51-30. The Patriots got 2 interception returns for touchdowns from junior defensive back Kajeris Hill, while senior tailback Jalen Smith rushed for 126 yards and a TD, setting the school's all-time rushing record. Junior QB Zayden Walker completed 11 of 17 passes for 144 yards and a 48-yard TD toss to sophomore Jeremiah Dent, who shifted last week from tailback to wide receiver. Dent (4-77 receiving) also rushed for a TD in the third period. Senior defensive back Kendrick Cauley and junior linebacker Chris Byrd each had 7 tackles. Marion finishes its regular season with games against unbeaten LR Catholic Week 9 at War Memorial Stadium and Benton Week 10 at home.

JONESBORO (1-6, 1-3) at Sylvan Hills (0-7, 0-4): Jonesboro won 3 of 4 meetings with Sylvan Hills when the teams were league rivals from 2018-2021. Sylvan Hills just missed its first victory since 2022 last week, leading 10-7 in the fourth quarter of a 13-10 loss at West Memphis. The Bears are expecting the return of leading passer Tyler Hampton and top receiver Lakobe Brent, as well as three offensive line starters. Jonesboro battled Marion last week, trailing 28-23 in the fourth quarter, before falling 51-30. The Golden Hurricane committed 4 turnovers against Marion, 2 of which were returned for touchdowns. Jonesboro got TDs from tailback T.J. Brown, a TD pass from QB Asa Myers to Kelen Smith, and a field goal from Marco Cisneros in the defeat. Jonesboro rolled up 320 yards (171 passing, 149 rushing) against Marion.

6A WEST 

No. 6 Mountain Home (6-1, 3-1) at NO. 7 LAKE HAMILTON (5-2, 3-1): See Hootens.com Game of the Week. 

No. 10 FS Southside (3-4, 0-4) at NO. 8 RUSSELLVILLE (3-4, 1-3): Fort Smith Southside has won 5 of 8 meetings between these schools since 2002. Friday's winner will be in playoff position with 2 weeks left in the season. Russellville hung around in last week's 46-21 loss at Shiloh Christian, even outgaining the Saints 254-229, but the Cyclones were 4 of 15 on third down and committed 5 turnovers in the loss. Russellville owns the sixth and final playoff spot from the 6A West, and the Cyclones close with a home date with Siloam Springs Week 9 and a Week 10 road date at Lake Hamilton. A Southside win would be big as the Mavericks finish their schedule at home vs. Greenwood and on the road at Siloam Springs. The Mavericks trailed Van Buren 35-0 a week ago early in the third period before scoring 4 TDs in a 42-28 defeat. Backup QB Wilson Key (22-38 passing, 393 yards, 4 TDs) hit Jayden Webb twice, along with Peyton Zimmermann and Joaquin Fox for scores.

NO. 3 SHILOH CHRISTIAN (5-2, 3-1) at Siloam Springs (2-5, 0-4): These schools have not met since battling to a 35-35 tie in the 2013 season opener. Siloam Springs got a TD from Alec Person in a 45-7 loss to Mountain Home. The Panthers trailed 17-7 in the second period before the Bombers scored the final 28 points. Siloam Springs rushed for 112 yards against the Mountain Home. The Panthers' 2 victories this fall are their most since winning 4 games in 2020, and Siloam could return many of its statistical leaders for 2025 with just a handful of seniors on this year's club.

Shiloh Christian is tied with Mountain Home and Lake Hamilton at 3-1 in the 6A West. The Saints pulled away to win 46-21 last week at Russellville. Shiloh got 6.5 tackles and 2 interception returns for TDs from A.J. Ylanan, while Hudson Ball logged 5 tackles with 3 for losses. Shiloh held Russellville to 70 rushing yards. Shiloh Christian has its eye on the No. 2 playoff seed and a first-round bye, and the Saints know they can't afford to stub their toe.

NO. 1 GREENWOOD (7-0, 4-0) at No. 9 Van Buren (3-4, 2-2): Greenwood has won the last 6 games in this series, including 61-17 last year. Van Buren came up with a 42-28 victory over Fort Smith Southside last week. The Pointers led 21-0 at halftime, scoring 3 TDs in a 4-minute span of the second quarter. Van Buren QB Elijah Johnson returned to the lineup by completing 19 of 26 passes for 225 yards, while receiver Trenton Cooley caught 10 passes for 97 yards. Tailback Cameron Keller rushed for 150 yards and 5 TDs, Austin Riggs caught a TD toss, and Landon Evans came up with an interception. Top-ranked Greenwood, surging toward a conference title, built a 35-7 halftime lead en route to a 49-14 victory over Lake Hamilton. Greenwood (455 yards) scored on its first 7 possessions. Junior QB Kane Archer (192 passing yards, 4 TDs; 89 rushing) threw TD passes to Isaiah Arrington, Champ Davis, and Grant Karnes; tailback Wesley Raggio ran for 2 TDs in the first half.