Like last year, the top four ranked teams in the district took on the bottom four ranked teams in the district with about the same results. The four winners defeated the others by an overall 163-39 mark, or by an average 41-10 score.
The biggest surprise to some was the 40-7 pasting the Gravette Lions put on the Lincoln Wolves. Some sports prognosticators thought the game could be close with a small few allowing for an upset. The Lions' Austin O'Brien was unstoppable, rushing for 253 yards and five touchdowns. The Wolves were hoping to mount an air attack, but four sacks, two interceptions, and a lot of quarterback hurries derailed any hope of that being effective.
Huntsville put a mild scare into Prairie Grove before falling by a 41-14 count. The Eagles looked like maybe they were setting up for an upset when they scored twice in the second quarter to close to within 21-14 with 33 seconds left in the half. However, the Tigers ran the ensuing kickoff back 94 yards to push the lead back to 14, at 28-14 by intermission. Huntsville then suffered an interception early in the third period that the Tigers ran back to boost the score to 35-14 and the game was essentially over.
Shiloh blitzed Berryville early in their 35-0 blanking of the Bobcats. The private school boys played their whole roster in their easy win in Carroll County.
This week, Prairie Grove takes step number two up the 4A-1 ladder. The top seeded team from the 2016 campaign, the Tigers played the No. 5 seed from '16 (Huntsville) and they will play the former No. 4 seed Gravette this week, to be followed by the No. 3seed (Shiloh) and No. 2 seed (Pea Ridge) in successive weeks. They will finish the season with the bottom three seeds.
Gravette has a chance against the heavily favored Tigers. No one has stopped the Lions' top running back O'Brien this season and he will pose a threat to the Tiger defense. Gravette's passing game is not much of a threat which could allow the Tigers to pack the box to stop O'Brien. Prairie Grove should prevail but it won't likely be a blowout.
Pea Ridge is playing a Lincoln team that has developed a porous defense which has allowed a lot of points lately. Mired in a 1-3 campaign to date, having a home field advantage could prove to help them, though it didn't do much for them in their blowout loss to Gravette. The Lincoln game is an important one as it is the last one before the two home games against conference contenders Gravette and Prairie Grove, with those games having much to say about how the 'Hawks will do in post season play.
Lincoln will try to air it out, but the 'Hawks have developed a pretty solid defensive backfield with depth. Gravette didn't test the Wolves with a formidable air attack while the 'Hawks will certainly have the weapons to score. While it looks like an easy 'Hawk victory, the Wolves have had a lot of adversity bite them this year, and they could bow up and make a supreme effort to save their season.
Huntsville and Shiloh will hook it up for the last time before the Eagles move back up into 5A next season. The Springdale boys shouldn't have a problem with Huntsville but the private schoolers likely won't run the score up if they get the chance. Their former coach had a penchant for that, and it led to lots of later difficulties for them. Shiloh will win, but they will probably clear their bench again.
Gentry will get back on the winning side this week by hosting Berryville. Quarterback Jon Faulkenberry is a threat to pass or run, as Blackhawk fans noted, and the Bobcats don't possess the speed to rein him in. I beleve that Gentry has the inside track to take the fifth seed this year and get into the playoffs. They need three wins for that, and win No. 1 comes this week.
Other games around the state
The biggest game across the state may be the 7-4A matchup between the fourth-ranked Arkadelphia Badgers and the seventh-ranked Robinson Senators. Both teams are undefeated and both entertain thoughts of a state championship this season. I would give Arkadelphia the nod on this one as they have played awfully well on defense this season, disposing of long time conference champion Nashville 34-24 in last week's opener. Robinson always seems to have great talent, but an inability to win the big games.
Another biggie is the battle between No. 8 -ranked Booneville and No. 10 -ranked Ozark. The winner will have the inside track to the 4-4A District championship. Their district has the state playoff top bracket slot for their league champion which would mean home field advantage all the way to the state championship. I think Booneville will be favored to win this contest and justifiably so.
Another game that might be ignored by most pundits is the Batesville Southside/Riverview matchup. Both teams are undefeated at 4-0 with Riverview ranked 11th in state with Southside close behind in the No. 13 slot. Southside is coming off a big 21-7 win over perennial power Stuttgart last week, in a upset game that almost no one (except me) saw coming. The Southerners of Southside have only played football for a decade and last year was their first winning record, and they went two deep into the playoffs. They had a very young team in 2016 and they are chomping at the bits to get farther this season and I don't believe that Riverview will be a match. Look for the Southerners to crack the top 10 this season.
New state No. 1 in the rankings
Ashdown jumped from No. 5 to No. 1 with a thorough 49-10 beat down of a very good Mena team last week. Mena was ranked No. 7 before the battle. Ashdown has won all four games this season by an average 50-6 score. In the tough 7-4A Conference, they are now the highest ranked team, the third team this season to have that distinction.
The 'Hawks dropped down from first to second following their 29-point win over the state's 36th-ranked team. The loss to Pea Ridge actually boosted the Pioneers two spots higher in the polls this week, after suffering a less expansive loss than sportswriters predicted. The 'Hawks' power ranking improved a little over last week, but Ashdowns very strong showing stoked the computers used to figure the rankings.
As I have said in the past, the only poll that really counts will be the one the week after the state championship. That one will be set in stone, while through this 2017 season, the rankings will be quite fluid.
In the new poll, Gravette moved up a spot with Shiloh holding form. Huntsville's closer than expected game with Prairie Grove moved them up two spots but the dismal showing by Berryville and Lincoln dropped them into the bottom eight teams in the poll.
Both Ashdown and Pea Ridge will be playing teams ranked near the bottom of the 4A this week so the rankings won't change much at the top. However, two weeks hence will see the 'Hawks take on third-ranked Prairie Grove at home while at the same time, No. 1 Ashdown will be facing down No. 4 Arkadelphia down south. Kind of a quirk in scheduling that would have the top four teams in the state take each other on on the same night of a regular season. That will be something to see.
The state's 4A teams have only nine teams left that are undefeated, including the Blackhawks.
MaxPreps/CBS State 4A football poll
1^Ashdown^4-0
2^Pea Ridge^4-0
3^Prairie Grove^4-0
4^Arkadelphia^4-0
5^Warren^3-1
6^Shiloh Christian (Springdale)^3-1
7^Robinson (Little Rock)^4-0
8^Booneville^3-1
9^Dardanelle^3-1
10^Ozark^3-1
11^Riverview (Searcy)^4-0
12^Central (West Helena)^4-0
13^Southside (Batesville)^4-0
14^Mena^3-1
15^Trumann^4-0
16^Gravette^2-2
17^Nashville^2-2
18^Bauxite^3-1
19^Hamburg^2-2
21^Pottsville^2-2
22^Monticello^2-2
23^Heber Springs 2-2
24^Fountain Lake (Hot Springs National Park)^2-2
25^Gosnell^1-3
26^Dumas^2-2
27^Dover^3-1
28^Star City^1-3
29^Westside (Jonesboro)^3-1
30^Malvern^1-3
31^Pocahontas^1-3
32^Waldron^2-2
33^Brookland^3-1
34^Gentry^2-2
35^Huntsville^1-3
36^Lonoke^1-3
37^Harrisburg^3-1
38^Crossett^0-4
39^DeWitt^1-3
40^Dollarway (Pine Bluff)^0-3
41^Central Arkansas Christian (North Little Rock)^0-4
42^Highland (Hardy)^0-4
43^Lincoln^1-3
44^Berryville^1-3
45^Baptist Prep (Little Rock)^0-4
46^Cave City^0-4
47^Subiaco Academy (Subiaco)^2-2
48^West Fork^0-4
•••
Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools and writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 09/27/2017