Hootens Arkansas Football Rankings

Class 6A, Week 11, 2023

Copyright Seventy Sevens Football Publishing, LLC.

1. Greenwood (10-0)

2. Benton (9-1)

3. LR Christian (8-2)

4. Pulaski Academy (8-2)

5. Marion (8-2)

6. West Memphis (7-3)

7. LR Catholic (7-3)

8. Greenbrier (5-5)

9. Searcy (6-4)

10. Mountain Home (5-5)

11. El Dorado (6-4)

12. Van Buren (4-6)

13. Russellville (4-6)

14. Lake Hamilton (3-7)

15. Sheridan (3-7)

16. Jacksonville (2-8)

17. Greene County Tech (2-8)

18. Sylvan Hills (0-10)

19. Siloam Springs (0-10)

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly picked 8 of 9 games (89 percent) involving Class 6A teams last week and 92 of 108 games (85 percent) on the season.

WEEK 11 PREDICTIONS (favored team in All Caps and highlighted)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

East-6 El Dorado (6-4)  at West-3 PULASKI ACADEMY (8-2)

These schools have combined for 19 state football championships all time. El Dorado earned the 6A title in 2021, while Pulaski Academy has won state titles in 8 of the past 9 years, including last year's 6A title. This is the first meeting of these schools in the modern playoff era (since 1970), with Pulaski Academy fielding its first team in 1973. The winner of this game advances to play at Marion in the playoff quarterfinals. 

El Dorado enters the playoffs on a 4-game winning streak, including a 46-27 rout last week of Jacksonville. The Wildcats surrendered 348 rushing yards to the Titans a week ago, leading 21-7 at halftime. J. Prince Roberson paced the Wildcats attack, catching 5 passes for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns. El Dorado sophomore quarterback Mitchell Polk accounted for 4 scores against Jacksonville, while Cannon Jacobs also threw a TD pass. A.J. Gilmore returned a kickoff 70 yards for a Wildcats TD.

Pulaski Academy capped its 2023 regular season last week with a 26-21 victory at Lake Hamilton. The Bruins led 19-7 at halftime and 26-14 with less than 5 minutes left. PA QB Brandon Cobb completed 23 of 33 passes at Lake Hamilton for 208 yards and a touchdown, and the Bruins rushed for 88 yards, led by Charlie Cotros' 39 yards, while Ronan Rutherford and Nate Thomas rushed for scores. Seven Bruins caught passes at Lake Hamilton, with Walden Culpepper (4-74 receiving, TD) leading the way. Four PA defenders racked up 10 tackles or more, led by Patton Whicker's 15 stops, while Walt Smiley, Kaden Nash, and Peyton Adams each had 10.

El Dorado will invade Hatcher Stadium with momentum on Friday night, but the Bruins have not lost a home playoff game since 2013, and we expect that trend to continue this week.

TOP OF BRACKET 

East-1 BENTON (9-1) has a first-round bye.

East-5 Searcy (6-4) at West-4 GREENBRIER (5-5): These schools have not met since Searcy gashed Greenbrier 31-7 in 2001. The winner travels to play second-ranked Benton in the state quarterfinals. Searcy recorded its first winning record this fall (6-4 overall) since winning the 2019 Class 6A state title with a 12-1 mark. Searcy led 7-0 and 14-7 last week in the regular-season finale against West Memphis before falling 42-20. The Lions allowed 330 yards to the Blue Devils, including 225 yards on the ground. Searcy senior QB Tye Strickland (230 total yards, 2 TDs) led the offense against West Memphis, while sophomore tailback Rickey Love rushed for 54 yards and a score. Four Lions caught passes, led by freshman Deandre Shockey (6-90 receiving, TD). Junior Wade Moore (5-37 receiving, TD) contributed. Sophomore Lawson Wimberly (16 tackles), senior Dash Stevenson (10), and sophomore Jackson Dillon (9) bolstered the defense. Greenbrier earned its first-round home playoff game with last week's 34-20 conquest of visiting Mountain Home. The Panthers led the Bombers 21-7 at halftime. Look for Greenbrier to utilize senior Kane Griffin (928 yards passing, 11 TDs) and junior Kane Richardson (69-121 passing, 1,076 yards and 11 scores) at QB this Friday night. Sophomore Enoch Assan has rushed for 547 yards and 5 TDs, while Richardson has added 240 yards and 5 scores of his own. Senior Miles Miller paces Greenbrier in receptions (66), receiving yardage (1,010), and receiving touchdowns (12). Classmate Lawson Worthey has caught 28 balls for 531 and 5 scores. Eli Weaver and Eric Huett led the Greenbrier defense, and have earned praise from opposing coaches for their play this fall. This could prove to be the most evenly-matched game of the first round, and we'll take Greenbrier with home-field advantage this week.

West-2 LR CHRISTIAN (8-2) has a first-round bye.

West-6 Van Buren (4-6) at East-3 W. MEMPHIS (7-3): This is the first meeting of these schools since the beginning of the playoff era (1970). The winner travels to play LR Christian in the state quarterfinals. Van Buren finished in a 3-way tie for fifth place in the 6A West, and the Pointers earned the final playoff slot by vanquishing Siloam Springs 50-13 last Friday night. Van Buren qualified for the postseason after earning the head-to-head tiebreakers over Lake Hamilton (49-28) and Russellville (28-27). It's the first time the Pointers have qualified for the playoffs since 2020. The Pointers led Siloam Springs 22-7 after a quarter, 29-7 at halftime, and 43-7 after 3 quarters last week. Van Buren senior QB Bryce Perkins completed 25 of 29 passes last week for 398 yards and 4 TDs. Junior tailback Cameron Keller rushed for 60 yards and 3 scores. Junior Trenton Cooley caught 11 passes against Siloam Springs for 237 yards and 3 TDs, while junior Jadyn Johnson snagged 6 balls for 62 yards. Senior Peyton Pschier and juniors John Fisher and Alex Wellborn led the defense with 8 tackles apiece. West Memphis capped off its best regular season since 2019 in last week's 42-20 victory at Searcy. Blue Devils junior QB Andrew Jenkins, making his third start in relief of the injured Keland Mills, completed 9 of 11 passes at Searcy for 105 yards and 2 TDs. Tailback Amaurion Pulliaum led the team in rushing and recorded 2 rushing TDs. West Memphis senior Dylan Greer is regarded as one of the better pass-catchers in 6A. Blue Devils tackle Mason Barton anchors the West Memphis offensive line. Blue Devils defensive linemen Marquaze Parker, a Cincinnati commit, and Scotty Dobbins generate pressure against the best of offensive lines. Pulliaum makes big plays at linebacker. Van Buren's 4 wins this year came against teams with a combined 13-27 record, and that does not bode well on the road against a senior-laden West Memphis group.

BOTTOM OF BRACKET

West-1 GREENWOOD (10-1) has a first-round bye.

West-5 Mountain Home (5-5) vs. East-4 LR CATHOLIC (7-3) Friday at War Memorial Stadium: The winner of this game plays at 6A West champion Greenwood in the quarterfinals. Mountain Home has won an opening-round playoff game the past 3 seasons, including 23-6 last year at Marion. Mountain Home lost 34-20 last week at Greenbrier in a battle for the No. 4 playoff seed after trailing 21-7 at the half. Bombers senior QB Cade Yates (9-19 passing, 217 yards, 2 TDs) led the offense, with help from senior tailback Chris Hubbard (139 rushing, TD; 3-78 receiving, TD)  and junior Jacob Chenoweth (64-yard TD reception). Four Bombers played a big role on defense, led by sophomores Caden Delsoto (15 tackles) and Barrett Miller (12), and senior Robert Dover (11) and junior Eli Jones (11). Mountain Home racked up 6 sacks at Greenbrier, led by junior Aiden Setzer's 2. LR Catholic logged its best win to date in last week's back-and-forth 38-34 conquest at 6A runner-up Marion. The Rockets led 17-0 at halftime, trailed 21-17 after 3 quarters, and fell behind 27-24 in the fourth quarter. Catholic clung to a 31-27 lead late in the fourth quarter as Marion drove inside the Rockets 10 when Catholic safety Cade McConnell intercepted a pass on fourth down and returned it 96 yards for the decisive TD. LR Catholic QB Jackson England (14-29 passing, 206 yards, 3 TDs; 73 rushing, TD) spearheaded the offense. Catholic senior receiver Brooks Ward (5-59 receiving, 2 TDs) and Alex Beranek (2-82 receiving, TD) were his top targets. McConnell (9) was the Rockets’ leading tackler, while Jake Black-Ocken, Christian Potts, and Jake Hatchett intercepted passes. Mountain Home has made a habit of winning in November, but the Rockets are getting healthier and playing with more confidence than it has all year long.

East-2 MARION (8-2) has a first-round bye.