The 2016 football Hawks have cracked the top 10 in MaxPreps pre-season rankings, grabbing the No. 7 spot.
As opposed to other football polls which rely on either coaches voting or by panels of experts, MaxPreps (a subsidiary of CBS sports) depends on computer programming to come up with their rankings. They factor in history, strength of schedule, returning players and other data to get a clearer picture of where an individual team may finish in any particular campaign. MaxPreps does this all over the United States with computerized algorithms, the only method the polling data can be gathered and disseminated on a weekly basis for some many states.
The Arkansas Activities Association signed a partnership with MaxPreps last year to be the official website for the playoffs and the site which all teams in the state are required to post their rosters and game scores.
Nashville, the defending state champion, will start the season on top of the 4A classification with Warren right behind in the No. 2 spot. Personally, I would flip the two positions as Nashville lost a lot of key players through graduation while Warren returns the bulk of their playmakers. Last year's Warren/Nashville game ended with Nashville barely on top 42-37, a game that had several lead changes with a disastrous third quarter by Warren costing the Lumberjacks the game.
The Hawks' 4A-1 District had a good showing with conference members claiming the fifth through seventh spots. The strength of Pea Ridge, Shiloh and Prairie Grove were the main impetus for Hooten's Football Guide naming the local conference the second strongest league in the state. The strongest 4A district in the state is the 4A-7, a league which boasts six members who were ranked in the top 10 at one time or another last year.
Shiloh is the highest ranked team in our league with a No. 5 state ranking. Shiloh recently took third in the 32-team 7-on-7 football tournament in Springdale. The teams came from seven different states and boasted a number of state champions. Shiloh finished ahead of all the other schools in Arkansas including a large number of 7A schools like Bentonville, Rogers and Springdale. They defeated Oklahoma football powerhouse Jenks along the way.
Most folks know that Shiloh will have an excellent senior quarterback this season along with some really good receivers. However, 7-on-7 allows no tackling and the game is a good bit different with a whole team on the field with pads on. Still, if anyone hoped to whip the private school boys from Springdale this year, they had better have a good secondary.
Prairie Grove is ranked No. 6 in the survey with the Blackhawks right behind in the seventh position. With the Tigers' outstanding history and storied program, a lot of their ranking comes from previous achievement. The Hawks got highly ranked due to their break out seasons the past two years and with so many players returning in 2016. It is almost a certainty that the aforementioned will be the class of the season to come.
One interesting thing to note is the fact that the Hawks have not lost a regular season road game since 2013. While most teams nearly always have a better home record that when they are away. Pea Ridge has gone 10-0 on the road the last two regular seasons while posting a 8-2 home mark.
The Hawks will be playing at Prairie Grove this year, a place they have played well at since 2011. In the '11 campaign, they shut the Tigers out until late in the game before losing a close one. In '13, the Hawks were about to score the winning score at Tiger Field until a field judge made an abysmal call to hand Prairie Grove a victory. In '14, the Hawks defeated the Tigers convincingly on their way to an undefeated conference season. If the tracking holds true, the Hawks should come out again on top of the state's second best team in 2015.
MaxPreps/CBS State 4A football poll
1. Nashville
2. Warren
3. Ashdown
4. Central Arkansas
5. Shiloh
6. Prairie Grove
7. Pea Ridge
8. Dardanelle
9. Pocahontas
10. Arkadelphia
23. Booneville*
24. Gravette
33. Lincoln
36. Gentry
37. Huntsville
44. Berryville
* The Hawks' opening game opponent
Cardinals looking at disappointment
While the Chicago Cubs are playing true to form and as predicted, the St. Louis Cardinals have had a decent though disappointing season.
The Cubs suffered a July slump but still have a comfortable lead over the rest of the National League Central Division. The Cards are leading the league in home runs and have had plenty of offense, but the lack of pitching success has kept them hovering around the .500 all season.
Incredibly, the Cardinals have the second best won-loss road record along the 30 teams in major league baseball but have lost most of their home games. Starting pitchers have put the team in the whole early and relievers have often been unable to hang onto leads.
On the bright side, starting pitchers Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez have been pitching well since June. Wainwright missed all of 2015 due to injury and started this season 0-3 with a high ERA. He has gradually been getting better and in July, has only allowed in couple of runs while improving his mark to 9-5. His last game was a complete game shutout.
St. Louis is only a game or two away playing for a playoff spot so a late season rally could get them a shot at a World Series berth. If they could play all the playoff games on the road, they could go all the way.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. Mr. McGee can be contacted through The Times at [email protected]
Sports on 07/20/2016