July is nearly on us and the rumblings are just beginning for the 2017 high school football season.
The annual Hooten's Arkansas Football guide is on the newsstands which reveals that venerated magazines picks for the fall campaign as well as the rankings compiled by coaches polls in each individual conference. Pea Ridge has perhaps the brightest outlook that magazine has ever had in its publication's history.
After a scintillating 2015 season which saw the Blackhawks rise all the way to the 4A state semi-finals, everyone expects the 'Hawks to be a legitimate contender for district and state honors for the season at hand.
Hooten's ranks the Blackhawks district (1-4A ) the states' second most powerful conference behind the 7-4A league which boasts the defending state champion Nashville Scrappers as their headliner. The 'Hawks are ranked in the state's top 10 in the No. 9 slot with conference rival Shiloh heralded as the state's third best team, the ranking that Pea Ridge held at the conclusion on the 2015 campaign.
While the Hooten's people rank the 'Hawks ahead of Prairie Grove in the state poll, the coaches poll voters rank the Tigers in front of the Blackhawks in the conference poll. The coaches list Shiloh as the team to beat, with Prairie Grove the likely runner-up and Pea Ridge third. Gravette is a distant fourth, holding the 23rd position in the state poll.
Last season, there was a big gap between the league's top four teams and the bottom four teams and the scenario looks to be very similar this year. Gravette lost heavily through graduation, returning but eight starters from last year. Media experts and coaches alike believe that the top three will be Pea Ridge, Shiloh and Prairie Grove.
The bottom four teams in the league (Gentry, Lincoln, Huntsville and Berryville) lost most of their starters from a year ago and rank among the worst 12 teams in the state. Hooten's listed Gravette's weaknesses as linemen, defense, quarterback, running backs and depth. The Lions list a 49-man roster with 14 seniors playing this year.
Pea Ridge has a record 32 seniors on their fall roster, and for the first time ever will suit up more senior players than Prairie Grove. The Tigers have 19 seniors on their squad, two more than Shiloh's projected 17.
In Hooten's pre-season Steve Landers Auto Group 4A Super Team player selection, the 'Hawks had one athlete among the group. Senior running back Zaine Holley was listed among the best three in his position in the state, and his full page photo was selected for the 1-4A Coaches Poll intro page.
In the unheralded stars section, three Blackhawks were listed as potential all-state performers. Lineman Beau German, linebacker Duncan Truesdell and defensive back Britton Caudill were tabbed for this honor.
One of the stats that led poll voters to rank Shiloh so highly was the return of senior running back John Marcus Carruthers. Carruthers is considered a collegiate possibility as a talented back and was being counted on to be a big part of the Shiloh offense this year.
The clod in the Shiloh churn is that Carruthers recently announced his decision to leave Shiloh and attend his senior year at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The IMG is an athletics school that prepares its athletes for a career in collegiate athletics and a possible career in the professional ranks. The football program is run by former NFL quarterback Steve Walsh and is a multiple time state champion in the state.
Although a Shiloh student/athlete since kindergarten, Carruthers cited God's will in his decision to leave Shiloh and go with the pros in Florida. In case you weren't aware of this former Shiloh athlete's awesomeness, he even has his own website to extol his greatness at johnmarcuscarruthers.com.
Shiloh does retain a very good quarterback and several talented receivers but the 'Hawks can counter with some outstanding pass defenders. If the the 'Hawks can get by Prairie Grove on the road, and handle the rest of the conference schedule, the season may well turn on the last day of the regular season when Pea Ridge hosts Shiloh on Nov. 4.
While Prairie Grove lost a ton of talent this spring, they always have talent waiting on the shelf. The Tigers will never be bad or even average due to their outstanding program, but this year they might be the underdog to Pea Ridge for the first time ever when they meet Oct. 14.
All in all, the season holds a lot of promise under new head coach Stephen Neal. The former Tulsa Union coach has been a part of several state champion teams and brings a lot of experience to the Ridge.
Hooten's 2016 4A State Football poll
1. Nashville
2. Warren
3. Shiloh
4. Central Arkansas
5. Pocahontas
6. Ashdown
7. Hamburg
8. Robinson
9. Pea Ridge
10. Stuttgart
13. Prairie Grove
23. Gravette
35. Gentry
37. Lincoln
40. Huntsville
48. Berryville
Pea Ridge a force at state All-Star football game
Led by former Pea Ridge head football coach Tony Travis, the West All-Stars were able to best the East All-Stars 31-21 in the 61st annual Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star football game in Conway at Estes Stadium on the University of Central Arkansas campus.
The game, composed of recently graduated seniors, was mostly accentuated by passing offenses. Former Blackhawk kicker Jake Edwards scored what proved to be the winning points when he booted through a 20-yard field goal late in the third quarter to boost the West lead from 21-7 to 24-7. The East would score two more touchdowns but had to settle for 21 points for the evening.
Former linebacker Bradley Beaver was slated to play in the West defense.
Travis was joined on the All-State staff by Lafe Caton, the current 'Hawks defensive coordinator. Wyatt Weber and Duncan Truesdale, current Blackhawk athletes, served as managers for the West squad.
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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 06/29/2016