Hootens.com Rankings
Class 7A, Week 12, 2011
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

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

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 3 Springdale Har-Ber at No. 5 North LR.
Both teams are ranked right where they were when Hooten's Arkansas Football hit newsstands in June.
North LR had a first-round bye last week while Har-Ber survived a scare, beating LR Central 21-16. Har-Ber, which beat LR Central 38-0 in the first round last season, led 21-3 at halftime last week and finished with 358 yards (237 rushing). Har-Ber scores 35.1 points with 188 yards rushing and 199 yards passing per week.
North LR beat LR Central 35-14 three weeks ago and welcomes the return of highly recruited junior running back Altee Tenpenny (broken foot in preseason) to its loaded backfield for the postseason. Senior all-conference quarterback Kaylon Cooper guides an attack that scores 32.2 points with 403 yards per game (255 yards rushing). Cooper completes 57 percent of his passes for 1,484 yards and has 705 yards rushing. Senior running back Kendall Williams has 1,055 yards, gaining 8.4 yards per carry. North LR used its open date to prepare an extra week for Har-Ber, Coach Brad Bolding says.
"(North LR) is real talented," says Har-Ber coach Chris Wood. "They've got all the pieces on both sides of the ball. On defense, the down linemen are real good. Those bookends can play down or drop back into coverage. They're so athletic. They've got great linebackers and the best safety in the state."
Har-Ber, in just its sixth year of football, looks to advance to the semifinals for the fifth straight season. Har-Ber played for a state title in 2007 and won it all in 2009. North LR advanced to the semifinals in 2009.
North LR lost its opener to Bentonville (49-14) and Week 5 at Conway (20-17). Har-Ber lost at Class 6A El Dorado (27-20) in September, to FS Southside (28-21) four weeks ago and at Bentonville (28-14) in the regular-season finale.

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly predicted three of four winners (75 percent) in games involving Class 7A schools. For the season, hootens.com is 88-21 (81 percent).

WEEK 12 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
TOP HALF OF THE PLAYOFF BRACKET
FAYETTEVILLE (4) at Conway: Fayetteville mercy ruled LR Catholic 42-13 last week, just eight days after LR Catholic pushed Conway 23-13. Junior quarterback Austin Allen and classmate Brice Gahagans make big plays. Gahagans (4.5 speed) totaled 184 yards, including a 79-yard run on Fayetteville's second play. Conway, which had a first-round bye last week, used a 52-yard pass with six seconds left to beat Fayetteville in the first round two years ago 45-42.
FS Northside at FS SOUTHSIDE (28): FS Southside won this rivalry game 56-7 just two weeks ago. FS Northside receiver Shaquille Jones, the state's all-time reception leader, caught eight passes for 100 yards last week at Bryant and was especially phenomenal late in the Grizzlies' 42-35 win.

BOTTOM HALF OF THE PLAYOFF BRACKET
West Memphis at BENTONVILLE (21): West Memphis has beaten two teams from the West, winning Sept. 16 at FS Southside (26-17) and knocking off Springdale (41-17) last week.
Springdale Har-Ber at NORTH LR (1): Game of the Week.