Hootens.com Rankings
Class 7A, Week 4, 2010
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

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

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 8 Cabot at No. 3 Conway.
Conway coach Clint Ashcraft tries to keep his undefeated Wampus Cats "humble and hungry" after outscoring non-conference opponents 143-65. "These guys haven't had a lot of success in the past so we have to be careful and not let them get content," the coach says. "They must keep working and improving." Conway last beat Cabot 30-14 in 2006.
Two turnovers helped the Wampus Cats score 20 points in the final seven minutes of last week's 34-14 win at Rogers Heritage. Conway's defense allows 338 yards weekly. It held Heritage to negative yards rushing but allowed 258 yards passing. A week earlier, most of Jonesboro's 278 yards passing came with Conway leading big and playing soft coverage. Conway's secondary returns just one starter.
Cabot rarely throws but often scores when it does. "They suck you in," says Ashcraft. Cabot's wins have been less impressive, beating Class 6A Jacksonville and 4A Pulaski Academy before losing to defending state champion Har-Ber 28-10 last week. Cabot ran only 57 offensive plays against Har-Ber after getting 90 snaps at pass-happy Pulaski Academy. Har-Ber moved its middle linebacker to noseguard in the second half last week to stymie Cabot's Dead T attack.
Conway QB Tyler Langley has completed 47 of 71 passes (66 percent) for 884 yards and 11 touchdowns with no interceptions.

TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football airs 11 a.m. Saturdays on Fox 16 and KFSM TV 5. Catch highlights of Fayetteville at Bentonville, LR Central at Van Buren, Bryant at LR Catholic, Cabot at Conway and West Memphis at LR Hall.

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly predicted 11 of 13 winners (85 percent) involving Class 7A members. For the season, Hootens.com has correctly predicted 32 of 41 games (78 percent).

WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
7A/6A CENTRAL
Cabot at CONWAY (14): Game of the Week.
LR Central at VAN BUREN (7): Two streaks continue. LR Central has lost 24 straight. Van Buren (1-8-1 in 2009) is 3-0.
NORTH LR (10) at Russellville: Young teams with losing records. Class 5A Alma used speed last week to beat Russellville 25-16 (fewest points allowed by Alma this season). North LR enjoys far more speed than Alma.
BRYANT (4) at LR Catholic: Both have good running backs but Bryant has more depth in the backfield and more overall speed.

7A WEST
Fayetteville at BENTONVILLE (14): Fayetteville's less-than-challenging Friday nights are over. Hooten's preseason No. 1 Bentonville blew out Texarkana, Texas 30-7 last week.
FS Northside at HERITAGE (21): Two of the four passing teams in the league meet with Heritage playing in Benton County for the fourth consecutive Friday. Diminutive FS Northside, pushed around in losses to Class 6A Pine Bluff and LR Catholic, faces its toughest opponent yet. Northside has seven seniors on its roster and starts five, including QB Tanner Knight. Knight has completed 100 of 164 passes for 1,237 yards (412 yards per game) and 10 TDs with three interceptions.
Rogers at FS SOUTHSIDE (18): Like crosstown rival Heritage, Rogers gave up late scores last week turning an 8-point game into a 30-9 loss to Harrisville, Mo. Rogers' Dead T attack can't match FS Southside running back Julius Jones (31 carries for 221 yards last week at West Memphis).
Springdale vs. HAR-BER (21): Undefeated Har-Ber is winning by a 43-14 margin this season. Although it didn't cover Hooten's 21-point spread, only winning at Cabot 28-10 last week. Har-Ber QB Ryan Luther, the 2009 state title game MVP, tallies 251 yards offense weekly and has run or passed for 13 TDs. The return of running back Gordon Welch and receiver Evan Johnson (Springdale transfer) bolsters Har-Ber attack.

7A/6A EAST
WEST MEMPHIS (35) at LR Hall: West Memphis begins run at its seventh staight conference championship. LR Hall's top player is running back Aaron Walton, brother of Baylor Bear basketball player A.J. Walton