No. 1
Bryant
COACH Buck James
CONFERENCE 7A-Central
2018 RECORD 11-2, 6-1
KEY RETURNERS QB Austin Ledbetter (Jr., 6-1, 190); WR Jake Meaders (Sr., 5-10, 175); LB Catrell Wallace (Sr., 6-6, 225)
NOTEWORTHY Bryant won its first state championship last season, defeating 7A-Central rival North Little Rock. ... Hornets Coach Buck James has won state championships at two schools -- Bryant and Camden Fairview. ... Bryant faces four of the other five teams ranked in the Class 7A Super Six this season. The Hornets host Bentonville West (Sept. 13) and North Little Rock (Nov. 1), and travel to Fayetteville (Sept. 20) and Conway (Nov. 8).
SCHEDULE
DATE;OPPONENT
Aug. 30;Benton^
Sept. 13;Bentonville West
Sept. 20;at Fayetteville
Sept. 27;at Fort Smith Northside*
Oct. 4;LR Catholic*
Oct. 11;LR Central*
Oct. 18;Fort Smith Southside*
Oct. 25;at Cabot*
Nov. 1;North Little Rock*
Nov. 8;at Conway*
^At War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock
*7A-Central game
No. 2
North Little Rock
COACH Jamie Mitchell
CONFERENCE 7A-Central
2018 RECORD 12-1
KEY RETURNERS QB Kareame Cotton (Jr., 6-2, 185); OL Mason Carlan (Sr., 6-3, 295); SS David Smith (Sr., 5-10, 175)
NOTEWORTHY North Little Rock is 37-2 in its past three seasons, with its two losses coming in the Class 7A state championship game to Fayetteville in 2016 and Bryant in 2018. ... The Charging Wildcats have won all 30 7A-Central games since it joined the conference in 2016. ... Senior RB Brandon Thomas, who rushed for 1,805 yards and scored 14 touchdowns in 2018, is out indefinitely because of an off-the-field fireworks incident on the Fourth of July.
SCHEDULE
DATE;OPPONENT
Aug. 31;Tulsa Booker T. Washington^
Sept. 6;Memphis Whitehaven
Sept. 13;Baton Rouge Catholic#
Sept. 27;at LR Central*
Oct. 4;Conway*
Oct. 11;at Fort Smith Southside*
Oct. 18;LR Catholic*
Oct. 25;Fort Smith Northside*
Nov. 1;at Bryant*
Nov. 8;at Cabot*
^At Tiger Stadium, Bentonville
#At Independence Stadium, Shreveport
*7A-Central game
No. 3
Bentonville
COACH Jody Grant
CONFERENCE 7A-West
2018 RECORD 7-4
KEY RETURNERS RB Preston Crawford (Sr., 5-11, 180); OL Jack Burgess (Sr., 6-0, 240); CB Levi Bennett (Sr., 5-10, 170)
NOTEWORTHY Bentonville began last season 0-3, but rebounded to win its final seven games and won the 7A-West Conference. The Tigers were bounced early in the Class 7A playoffs by Fort Smith Northside in the quarterfinals. ... Senior RB Preston Crawford returns for his third season as the Tigers' starter. He rushed for 959 yards and 11 touchdowns on 155 carries last season. ... Bentonville did not post a 10-win season for the first time since 2014. That 2014 Tigers team won the Class 7A state championship with a 9-4 record.
SCHEDULE
DATE;OPPONENT
Aug. 31;Midwest City, Okla.
Sept. 6;Conway
Sept. 13;at Tulsa Booker T. Washington
Sept. 27;at Springdale Har-Ber*
Oct. 4;Van Buren*
Oct. 11;Rogers Heritage*
Oct. 18;at Fayetteville*
Oct. 25;at Rogers*
Nov. 1;Springdale*
Nov. 8;at Bentonville West*
*7A-West game
No. 4
Fayetteville
COACH Casey Dick
CONFERENCE 7A-West
2018 RECORD 9-3
KEY RETURNERS WR Connor Flannigan (Sr., 5-11, 170); WR Beau Stuckey (Sr., 6-0, 180); LB Quade Mosier (Sr., 6-2, 220)
NOTEWORTHY Casey Dick led Van Buren to the Class 7A playoffs in his first season as Pointers coach, but he left after one season to take over for Billy Dawson at Fayetteville. ... Dick is Fayetteville's third coach since the start of the 2016 season, along with Bill Blankenship (2016) and Dawson (2017-18). ... Senior WR Connor Flannigan caught 102 passes for 1,695 yards and 20 touchdowns last season for the Bulldogs, who advanced to the Class 7A quarterfinals and lost to eventual state champion Bryant.
SCHEDULE
DATE;OPPONENT
Aug. 30;Kirkwood (Mo.) Vianney
Sept. 6;at Owasso, Okla.
Sept. 20;Bryant
Sept. 27;at Bentonville West
Oct. 4;Rogers*
Oct. 11;at Van Buren*
Oct. 18;Bentonville*
Oct. 25;at Springdale*
Nov. 1;at Rogers Heritage*
Nov. 8;Springdale Har-Ber*
*7A-West game
No. 5
Conway
COACH Keith Fimple
CONFERENCE 7A-Central
2018 RECORD 9-3
KEY RETURNERS RB Bryce Bohannon (Jr., 5-10, 160); OL Robert Scott (Sr., 6-7, 295); DL Korlin McKinney (Sr., 5-10, 275)
NOTEWORTHY Conway started 3-0 in nonconference last season under first-year Coach Keith Fimple, then went 5-2 in the 7A-Central. ... The Wampus Cats won two overtime games in 2018, a 48-41 victory in two overtimes against El Dorado and a 34-28 triumph at Cabot. ... Fimple was a longtime assistant at several schools in the state, including Fayetteville and Springdale Har-Ber, before being hired at Conway in 2018 to take over for Clint Ashcraft, who is now the school's athletic director.
SCHEDULE
DATE;OPPONENT
Aug. 30;at El Dorado
Sept. 6;at Bentonville
Sept. 13;Jonesboro
Sept. 27;Fort Smith Southside*
Oct. 4;at North Little Rock*
Oct. 11;Cabot*
Oct. 18;at Fort Smith Northside*
Oct. 25;LR Central*
Nov. 1;at LR Catholic*
Nov. 8;Bryant*
*7A-Central game
No. 6
Bentonville West
COACH Bryan Pratt
CONFERENCE 7A-West
2018 RECORD 7-5
KEY RETURNERS QB Dalton McDonald (Jr., 6-0, 165); OL Ben Gann (Sr., 6-0, 255); SS Maddux Thornton (Sr., 6-1, 185)
NOTEWORTHY Bentonville West advanced to the Class 7A semifinals for the first time last season. The Wolverines defeated Conway in the 7A quarterfinals before falling at North Little Rock 48-17. ... Junior QB Dalton McDonald started six games in place of Will Jarrett (knee) last season and finished with 1,233 yards and 13 touchdowns. ... The Wolverines get Class 7A Super Six teams Fayetteville and Bentonville at home on Sept. 27 and Nov. 8, respectively.
SCHEDULE
DATE;OPPONENT
Aug. 30;Owasso, Okla.
Sept. 6;at Fort Smith Southside
Sept. 13;at Bryant
Sept. 27;Fayetteville*
Oct. 4;at Springdale*
Oct. 11;at Rogers*
Oct. 18;Springdale Har-Ber*
Oct. 25;Rogers Heritage*
Nov. 1;at Van Buren*
Nov. 8;Bentonville*
*7A-West game
Sports on 08/25/2019