Hooten’s Arkansas Football Rankings
Class 7A, Week 11, 2023
Copyright Seventy Seven’s Football Publishing, LLC

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

KEVIN KELLEY'S COMMENTS

Went 6-2 last week with my picks to bring the season total to 75-20. There is a small shuffle at the top of the rankings with Fayetteville, the only undefeated 7A team, moving to No. 1 after Conway's loss to Bryant, which moved to No. 2. Best of luck to all teams moving forward into the playoffs! It’s the best time of the year!
With the playoff brackets set, it is fun looking forward to see who has what road to the championship. Getting a bye is a big deal in 7A, because if you do, you only have to win 2 games to get to War Memoria Stadium. Looking forward, it is not hard to see a final 4 of Fayetteville, Conway, Bentonville and Bryant. Bentonville West or Rogers hold the best chance at upsetting one of those.
On to this first week of the playoffs.

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
7A West (6) HAR-BER (2-8) at 7A-Central (3) Cabot (6-4)

My upset prediction of the first round is Har-ber beating Cabot. There are several reasons. First, Har-ber, which played a difficult out-of-state nonconference schedule, can score. Once the Wildcats got back in state, they averaged 38 points per game. They were tied late in the second quarter last week against No. 1 Fayetteville, when Drake Lindsey threw a TD to give the Purple Dogs at 28-21 lead at the half. Har-ber had a possible game-tying TD erased by penalty, and Fayetteville pulled away as Lindsey finished with 7 TD passes.
Coach Brent Eckley has seen some improvement in his team each week and it enter the playoffs with what I would think would be a little bit of confidence that it can beat this Cabot Panthers team. QB Braden Sprague threw for 267 yards with 2 TDs and no interceptions against Fayetteville. Sprague needs to play well and take care of the ball against Cabot. The Panthers haven’t seen a ton of complex passing teams, and I think that benefits the Wildcats. Receivers Hayden Wood, who had 79 yards last week, and Evan Curry, who had 135 yards and a TD, will be matchup problems for the Panthers defense. 
Cabot took care of North Little Rock 27-13 last week, and I watched 2 well-blocked TD runs – from 55 yards by  Keegan Vest and a 57-yard run from Amari Criner. Coach Scott Reed has the Panthers running the ball well, and TE Gavin Reardon is doing an awesome job in leading them into or through a hole from his H-back position. 
All that said, Har-ber has played tougher competition throughout the year, and because of that, I feel it will be more prepared in a situation like this. I do expect Reed’s Cabot guys to be ready to play and it will be a close game throughout.  Give me the Wildcats in a close one.

WEEK 11 PREDICTIONS
TOP OF THE BRACKET
7A-West (1) Fayetteville (10-0) has a bye.

7A-West (5) FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE (6-4) at 7A-Central (4) Jonesboro (5-5): The Mavericks continued to add to their season-long offensive highlight film for by beating Springdale 49-42. My favorite RB duo in the state – Isaac Gregory and Amari Tucker – had some video game runs, with quick cuts, stiff arms, 360-spin moves, and more. Gregory had 17 carries for 171 yards and 3 TDs while Tucker had 13 rushes for 124 yards and 2 TDs. QB Carter Zimmerman contributed with 97 yards passing and a nice rushing TD of his own. 
Jonesboro beat Little Rock Central 45-6 last week in a warmup game for the playoffs. The Hurricane have had an up-and-down year under first-year Coach Tyler George, but a late-season QB change that seems to have helped them. 
Jonesboro has the home-field advantage, but I think this Southside offense – a traveling highlight reel – is a little too much for Jonesboro. I think it stays close early, with the Mavericks taking control late.

7A-Central (2) Conway (9-1) has a bye

7A-Central (6) Fort Smith Northside (2-8) at 7A-West (3) BENTONVILLE WEST (7-3): The Grizzlies won their warmup for the playoffs – 34-20 at Little Rock Southwest. Isaac Wright (2 TDs) and Tamarius King (TD) ran the ball hard for Northside. 
Bentonville West lost at home to cross-town rival Bentonville 56-28. The Tigers jumped out to a 28-0 lead but the Wolverines kept fighting. Bentonville West totaled 443 yards, including 323 passing yards from quarterback Dalton Rice, who also had a 20-yard TD run. Rice completed passes to Jaxon Brust and Ethan Griggs for explosive plays. RB Cole Edmondson had a nice TD catch as well.
Bentonville West will probably be a little flat coming off the rivalry game, but it should be able to weather an early storm from the Grizzlies and win this game by double digits.

BOTTOM OF THE BRACKET
7A-Central (1) Bryant (9-1) has a bye.

7A-Central (5) North Little Rock (3-7) at 7A-West (4) ROGERS (7-3): North Little Rock owns wins over Little Rock Central, Little Rock Southwest, and Fort Smith Northside, the bottom 3 in the 7A-Central. Rogers owns a 50-point win over Little Rock Southwest; North Little Rock beat Southwest by 29 points. The Mounties also have a quality 5-point loss to undefeated Fayetteville, the state’s new No. 1 team. 
North Little Rock comes in after playing tough defense in a 27-13 loss to Cabot. The Panthers busted some big runs, but the Charging Wildcats kept fighting.
Rogers beat cross-town rival Rogers Heritage 41-0 last week. Jacob Jenkins had a TD run. My comeback player of the year, Graycen Cash, had a TD reception from Dane Williams, and Nesto Gonzales had an interception in the win. 
Rogers will win this by using its offensive balance. North Little Rock needs some turnovers to have a chance, but I don’t think it gets them. 

7A-West (2) Bentonville (7-3) has a bye

7A West (6) HAR-BER (2-8) at 7A-Central (3) Cabot (6-4): Hootens.com Class 7A Game of the Week, above