Hootens.com Rankings
Class 4A, Week 15, 2016
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.
1. Warren (14-0)
2. Pea Ridge (13-1)
3. Prairie Grove (12-1)
4. Shiloh Christian (11-3)
5. Joe T. Robinson (11-2)
6. Hamburg (9-4)
7. Gosnell (11-2)
8. Dardanelle (10-3)
9. Nashville (11-1)
10. Ozark (7-5)
11. Heber Springs (6-5)
12. Stuttgart (8-4)
13. Dumas (8-4)
14. CAC (8-4)
15. Southside Batesville (8-4)
16. Gravette (7-5)
17. Ashdown (7-4)
18. Pocahontas (8-3)
19. Booneville (6-5)
20. Mena (6-5)
21. Arkadelphia (5-6)
22. Trumann (7-4)
23. Monticello (4-7)
24. Dover (7-4)
25. Pottsville (5-6)
26. Crossett (4-7)
27. Malvern (4-6)
28. West Helena (5-6)
29. Highland (5-6)
30. Jonesboro Westside (5-6)
31. Huntsville (4-7)
32. Waldron (5-5)
33. Fountain Lake (2-8)
34. Riverview (4-6)
35. Cave City (4-6)
36. Star City (3-7)
37. Lincoln (3-7)
38. Brookland (3-7)
39. Dollarway (1-8)
40. Lonoke (2-8)
41. Berryville (3-7)
42. Gentry (2-8)
43. Bauxite (0-10)
44. DeWitt (0-10)
45. Baptist Prep (0-10)
46. West Fork (1-9)
47. Subiaco Academy (0-10)
48. Harrisburg (0-10)

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
No. 1 Warren vs. No. 2 Pea Ridge
Pea Ridge advances to its first state title game. The Blackhawks went to the semifinals last season, but former coach Tony Travis took over at Class 7A Rogers Heritage in the spring. Former Tulsa (Okla.) Union defensive coordinator Stephen Neal took over in April, but didn't change schemes or terminology. “We want continuity and stability,” Neal says.

Pea Ridge's Dead T gains 369 yards weekly. Senior fullback Zaine Holley (5-7, 180) batters interior defenses, while junior Drew Winn (5-11, 170) makes plays on the perimeter. Holley has 267 carries for 1,483 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and 19 touchdowns, while Winn has 107 carries for 1,307 yards (12.2 yards per carry) and 21 TDs. Junior Jakota Sainsbury (5-11, 180) shreds defenses when they pack the middle to stop the run. Sainsbury completes 111 of 187 passes (59 percent) for 1,940 yards and 17 TDs this year, with nine interceptions. Sainsbury also has five TD runs. Junior playmaker Hayden Holtgrewe (6-1, 160) has 66 catches for 1,059 yards and nine TDs. Holtgrewe averages 27 yards per kickoff return and almost 17 yards per punt return. He returned a punt 83 yards for a TD in the quarterfinal win against Hamburg. Senior tight end Britton Caudill (6-2, 215), linemen Kamden Boyd (5-10, 185) and Seth Trammell (5-8, 210) and junior Denver Yates (6-3, 250) are keys up front. “They present different problems because we don''t see a lot of Dead T teams,” Warren coach Bo Hembree says. “They are fast and physical, and the running backs don't want to be tackled.”

The Blackhawks allow 18 points per game. Senior linebacker Duncan Truesdell made 63 tackles before getting a season-ending injury Week 10 against Shiloh Christian. Junior Robbie Pickthall (101 tackles) and sophomore Tristin Brewer (89 tackles) have played well at linebacker, while lineman Trammell has 77 tackles and eight sacks.

Warren makes it to the title game for the fifth time since 2002. The Lumberjacks beat Mena 48-14 in the 2014 championship game, but senior cornerback D'Shawn Jackson was the only sophomore to start. The offensive cogs for Lumberjacks the past two years, quarterback Hayden Lassiter and running back Dennis Daniels, played mostly special teams against Mena (Daniels ran three times for 11 yards). Lassiter has completed 162 of 276 passes (59 percent) for 3,097 yards and and 37 TDs, and he's rushed for 1,049 yards and 15 TDs. Lassiter plays outside linebacker and safety on defense, and on most special teams. Daniels has been hobbled the past six weeks, but rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 15 TDs. Sophomore Treylon Burks caught eight passes for 202 yards and four TDs in last week's 48-28 win at Prairie Grove, while sophomore Keemontrae McKnight caught six passes for 143 yards and two TDs. Senior linebacker Byron Person (5-7, 175) and sophomore lineman Marcus Miller (6-3, 290) have played well the past month.

Hamburg lost to Warren 61-24  in Week 9 and at Pea Ridge 36-24 in the quarterfinals. “Pea Ridge's defense pursues the ball as well as any I've seen,” Hamburg coach Cecil Ray Cossey says. “But Warren's trio of Lassiter, Daniels and Burks are the best in Class 4A and maybe the state.”

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com went 1-1 in semifinal games. For the season, Hootens.com has predicted 277 of 322 games (86 percent).

WEEK 15 PREDICTION (favored team in CAPS followed by point spread)
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Pea Ridge vs. WARREN (10)