Here are some questions regarding high school football in Northwest Arkansas for the 2016 season.
Will Springdale Har-Ber repeat as 7A-West Conference champions?
Har-Ber will definitely challenge, although Fayetteville is regarded as the team to beat in the 7A-West. Har-Ber’s biggest hole is at quarterback, where Fuller Chandler signed with Henderson State after leading the Wildcats to an 11-2 record and a berth in the 7A state finals.
Har-Ber coach Chris Wood, always the optimist, likes the potential of Aaron Pennington and Payton Copher at quarterback this season. Copher is a track star who started at cornerback last year for the Wildcats.
Can Bentonville West make the playoffs in its first season in the league?
That’s not hard to do in Arkansas, where six of the eight teams in the 7A-West and 7A-Central advance to postseason play. The bigger question is will the Wolverines will finish with a winning record?
It’s doubtful, considering inexperienced sophomores and juniors will be lining up against large schools with plenty of seniors. That’s a big difference on the high school level, but the disparity won’t last long.
Har-Ber reached the state championship game in 2007 after going 2-8 in its first year of varsity football.
Outside of Class 7A, who are the best teams in the area?
Teams from the 7A-West have won 11 consecutive state championships, but that stranglehold could end this season with a league that appears a little down. In Class 6A, Greenwood is always a threat to win a state championship and Shiloh Christian appears to be on the rise again in Class 4A. Charleston coach Greg Kendrick has made some subtle changes to ensure the Tigers are title-contenders again after falling to 7-5 last year.
Where are most of the top college prospects located in Northwest Arkansas this season?
Fayetteville has been a recruiting hotbed in recent years and that’ll continue this season.
Quarterback Taylor Powell is committed to Wake Forest while defensive tackle Akial Byers recently pledged to Alabama, which already has former Har-Ber standout Josh Frazier on its two-deep roster. Running back Terrance Rock is also a top prospect for the Bulldogs.
Arkansas fans will want to keep an eye on Greenwood quarterback Connor Noland, who committed to the Razorbacks following his sophomore season.
Rogers High coach Mike Loyd’s name sounds familiar. Where do I know him from?
Loyd has been a successful high school coach in Oklahoma and he led a start-up program in Florida that played for a state championship four years later.
But older football fans in the area may remember Loyd for his college career at Missouri Southern or his brief career in the NFL. The Joplin, Mo., native played in five games and started one for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980. Yes, boys and girls, St. Louis used to be home to the Cardinals, before they moved to Arizona, and before the Rams moved to St. Louis, then back to Los Angeles.
Har-Ber went from 3-8 to 11-2 while playing for a state championship in Class 7A. Is there another team in the area capable of making such a turnaround?
Probably not, although Alma could contend for a championship in Class 5A after finishing third in the 7A/6A-Central last season. The Airedales return six offensive starters from a team that finished 7-5 in the higher classification, including allstate quarterback Noah Dotson.
Charleston appears to be rounding into championship form again three years after going 14-0. The Tigers went 7-5 last year, but that’s disappointing for a program that’s won five state championships since 2005.