Hootens.com

7A Rankings

Week 11, 2024

1. Bryant (10-0, 7-0)

2. Conway (9-1, 6-1)  

3. Bentonville (7-3, 7-0) 

4. Fayetteville (8-2, 6-1) 

5. Pulaski Academy (8-2, 5-2) 

6. Rogers (7-3, 5-2)  

7. Springdale (7-3, 4-3) 

8. Little Rock Christian (6-4, 4-3) 

9. Bentonville West (3-7, 3-4) 

10. Cabot (4-6, 3-4)

7A Central Unranked:

Little Rock Southwest (2-8, 2-5)

Little Rock Central (2-8, 1-6)

North Little Rock (0-10, 0-7)

7A West Unranked:

Springdale Har-Ber (2-8, 1-6)

Fort Smith Northside (2-8, 1-6)

Rogers Heritage (0-10, 0-7)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK 

No. 10  CABOT (4-6, 3-4) at No. 7 Springdale (7-3, 4-3): Springdale and Cabot have taken different roads to this Week 11 matchup. Springdale started 6-0, while Cabot struggled while playing as challenging a nonconference schedule as there was in 7A. Springdale enters off a 30-21 win over Fort Smith Southside, ending a 3-game losing streak. Cabot beat North Little Rock 44-3, sending the Charging Wildcats to their 10th loss. Cabot has scored at least 40 points in 3 of their final 4 regular-season games, the exception coming in a 56-6 loss to top-ranked Bryant Oct. 25. Cabot beat LR Central 47-7 and NLR 44-3 and scored 47 in a 9-point loss to Pulaski Academy Oct. 18. Springdale, meanwhile, allowed at least 5 touchdowns in consecutive losses to Rogers (48-9), Fayetteville (35-21), and Bentonville (38-0) before beating Southside last week. These teams have a common foe in Bentonville West. Cabot won 44-38 in overtime early in the season, while Springdale won 28-24 last week. Cabot, which appears to be peaking at the right time, wins this one on the road and heads to Bryant for the quarterfinals.

WEEK 11 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted in yellow) 

LAST WEEK Hootens.com correctly picked 7 of 8 games (88 percent) involving 7A teams and has correctly picked 94 of 104 games (91 percent) in 2024. 

TOP OF BRACKET

No. 1 BRYANT (10-0, 7-3) has a bye.

No. 10  CABOT (4-6, 3-4) at  No. 7 Springdale (7-3, 4-3): See Hootens.com Game of the week, above

No. 4 Fayetteville (8-2, 6-1) has a bye.

Springdale Har-Ber (2-8, 1-6) at No. 5 PULASKI ACADEMY (8-2, 5-2): Har-Ber yielded a combined 123 points in losses to Rogers and Fayetteville to close the regular season, which doesn’t bode well when going against a PA team that closed the 7A-Central season with wins of 46-14 over Little Rock Southwest and 40-9 over Little Rock Christian. The Bruins’ losses came to Bryant and Conwway, who have a combined 19-1 record. Joe B. Hatcher stadium has proven to be a difficult place to be in November, and Pulaski Academy handles Har-Ber and hits the road to Fayetteville in the quarterfinals. 

BOTTOM OF BRACKET

No. 3 Bentonville (7-3, 7-0) has a bye.

No. 9 BENTONVILLE WEST (3-7, 3-4) at No. 8 Little Rock Christian (6-4, 4-3): Bentonville West might be better than its record shows, with 3 of its 7 losses coming by a score or less. A 1-point win at Har-Ber on Oct. 18 ignited a 3-game winning streak before it dropped a 42-13 decision in the regular-season finale. Little Rock Christian ended the regular season with losses to Conway 42-10 and 40-8 to Pulaski Academy. Bentonville West travels to Little Rock to pull off the upset and heads to a quarterfinal matchup with 7A West foe Bentonville.

No. 2 Conway (9-1, 6-1)  has a bye.

Little Rock Southwest (2-8, 2-5) at No. 6 ROGERS (7-3, 5-2): Southwest is in the playoffs for the first time in the school’s brief football history. The Gryphons defeated Little Rock Central 33-9 last Friday in an elimination game. Rogers QB Jeff Regan has scored 10 TDs in the final 2 games, 3 in last week’s 50-0 win over Heritage and 7 in a 70-42 win over Har-Ber the previous week. Rogers wins at home and heads to face No. 2 Conway in the quarterfinals.