Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

7/12/2010 at 12:00am

Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, and no, there hasn’t been a letterpress problem that caused 7A and 6A to be printed at the top of each page of this classification preview.

Administrators of the Class 7A and 6A conferences decided for the 2010-2012 school cycle to combine efforts under the 7A/6A moniker.

But don’t confuse this with the 32-team alignment that was in place just a few short years ago, before the further shrinking of the top classes to 16 teams in each of the larger two levels. You know, the silliness that eventually led to 12 teams out of 16 teams qualifying for playoffs, even if some of those teams were 3-7 in the regular season.

(Click here to see ArkansasSports360.com's Class 7A/6A rankings, top players and games to watch.)

For the regular season, 7A/6A will consist of four divisions. But, so as to keep some of those natural rivalries, each league will look awfully close to how it appeared the past two years. It’s important to keep those close-by teams playing each other — which is why Van Buren is about a season-passing-yardage total by, say, Fayetteville’s Brandon Allen, from nearby Fort Smith Northside and Southside, but will continue to make a handful of trips to play 7A-Central rivals. And who doesn’t see the natural rivalry built up between Little Rock Hall and Mountain Home or Marion?

Hall play Little Rock Central? Hey, when they did away with the annual Turkey Day classic when all classes started having playoffs, back in 1983, who really cares anymore about Hall-Central?

The oldest rivalry in Arkansas, Little Rock Central vs. Pine Bluff, will resume after a couple of years hiatus, but the Tigers and Zebras still aren’t in the same league anymore, just the same “classification” of 7A/6A.

And when playoff time comes, neither will meet in the playoffs, even if Central manages to end a losing streak that reached 21 games last year and led to the resignation of Hall of Fame Coach Bernie Cox after 35 years of running things at Quigley-Cox Stadium.

For when the regular season ends, half the classification will go one way (7A) and half the other (6A) for playoffs and more rematches of regular-season games. In an attempt to somewhat copy Texas, where the biggest of the big schools and the smaller of the big schools split into their own playoffs, 7A/6A will have an interesting jumble in two leagues, where two teams in a league will NOT be playing in the same playoffs with six of their regular-season rivals.

In 7A/6A-Central, Russellville and Van Buren will vie for spots in the 6A playoffs. In 7A/6A-East, West Memphis and Little Rock Hall will be vying for spots in the 7A playoffs, even though they will play no conference games against 7A-level teams. The seedings will be handled by a committee of athletic directors and based on how results in their respective leagues are judged.

Best guess here is that it won’t matter for Van Buren or Little Rock Hall. But Russellville could find itself in the middle of the pack in 7A/6A Central but successful in the 6A playoffs. And West Memphis, always a contender in 6A, will now give the 7A schools something to think about.

Several key early-season matchups will feature the best of 7A against the best of 6A. We can’t wait for El Dorado’s visit to Springdale Har-Ber on Sept. 10.

The combined classifications will also bring more attention to the programs that have dominated below 7A recently. And for El Dorado Coach Scott Reed and West Memphis Coach Lanny Dauksch, the names of the players change but the results seem to stay the same.

While Dauksch is entering his 10th season at West Memphis compared to just the fifth season at El Dorado for Reed, they both have outstanding records at their respective schools. Dauksch is 87-25-1 and Reed is 31-9, which both average out to just under a 78 percent winning percentage.

For this season, they both have their teams poised to win their respective conferences and compete for a state title yet again. For El Dorado, quarterback Taylor Reed and the running back trio of James Ford, Cameron Mahone and John Miles look to keep that offense explosive. For West Memphis, the defense should lead the way with eight starters back, led by senior FS Deontae Mitchell.

Jonesboro, led by talented junior running back/defensive back Zac Brooks and linebacker Brad Shearin, comes in ranked at No. 3, while Pine Bluff (No.4) and Lake Hamilton (No. 5) round out the top 5.

Many games are to be played before anyone has to worry about how the playoffs will shake out. In our overview of the combined 7A/6A class, we’re going to look at it as we did in recent years, with West and Central being 7A and East and South making up 6A teams, including the way we offer the Best Dozen players in each class and the top games to catch.

7A/6A-West

Leading the Pack: It says everything that, given the chance to put the bull’s-eye on defending 7A state champion Springdale Har-Ber for 2010, the league’s coaches are mostly favoring Fort Smith Southside and Bentonville to occupy the top two spots, with Har-Ber a definite contender. We’ll go with Southside as well, considering the offensive talent that returns, including the league’s best running backs, and a stingy defense. Jeff Williams, who obviously left El Dorado’s program in good shape before he moved north to guide the Rebels, has his program on solid footing. Southside got the better of Bentonville last year (the Rebels lost to the Tigers in the 2008 final) but couldn’t solve Har-Ber twice, including the 7A final. This should be the Rebels’ turn.

On Their Heels: Bentonville has facilities that many smaller colleges would envy, and the Tigers have Coach Barry Lunney (Sr. and Jr., in fact) calling the shots. The Tigers should be in the hunt, and will have revenge on their minds when Southside comes calling in October. But how can Har-Ber not figure as well? With star lineman Brey Cook, solid linebacker Hunter Kissinger and efficient quarterback Ryan Luther back from last year’s titlists, the Wildcats will contend for No. 1 again.

Sleeper: Fayetteville, with Arkansas Razorback commitments Brandon Allen and Demetrius Dean, was somewhat of a disappointment last year, starting the year high in the polls and going 5-6. Allen spent most of the 7A-West season running for his life, but the line should be better this year, and that could be all the Bulldogs need. But any of the lower half of this league — Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton calls it “the SEC of high schools” — could find themselves on a roll. Watch for Fort Smith Northside, with senior quarterback Tanner Knight and some outstanding junior receivers. Expect that somebody pretty good in this league will be left out of the playoffs.

7A/6A-Central

Leading the Pack: North Little Rock must come into the season with as much motivation as any team in Arkansas. First denied a league title and losing out to Cabot, the Charging Wildcats were one play away from the 7A state championship game and fell short there as well. In fact, the Wildcats also lost a regular season game on the last play to eventual 6A titlist El Dorado. It was that kind of year. If those breaks truly even out, then North Little Rock should have its way this year. The talent is in place throughout Brad Bolding’s program.

Hot on Their Heels: Cabot will need to find a quarterback, but Coach Mike Malham usually does, and the Panthers will grind it out again in the dead-T and rely on no mistakes and sound defense. That pattern has been unbelievably successful at a school that doesn’t turn out many D-I prospects. They’re just winners. Coach Paul Calley also seems to have his program firmly established at Bryant.

Sleeper: Conway seems to be everyone’s pick to challenge for the third spot, but the Wampus Cats might even be good enough to win the whole thing. If Conway improves over last season as rapidly as it did from Game 1 to Game 5 last year, then look out in Faulkner County. Coaching changes at Little Rock Catholic and Little Rock Central — where Scooter Register jumped over to the Tigers and David Estes replaced him at Catholic — leave questions about where those teams might finish, but Catholic showed signs early last season of being able to contend with anyone, and the incoming sophomore class is very good.

7A/6A-East

Leading the Pack: West Memphis, more so than most programs, seems to be able to reload every year no matter how many starters the Blue Devils lose. While the offense only returns three starters, including the quarterback and a pair of offensive linemen, there is still plenty of reason for optimism thanks in large part to running back Quintin Sparkman.

Hot on Their Heels: Jonesboro appears to be the top challenger within the conference to dethrone West Memphis, as Coach Randy Coleman has a talented bunch. On offense, the skill players are the strength while the offensive line is young. Defensively, the linebackers are outstanding while the secondary lacks experience. Watch out for Oct. 15, when West Memphis travels to Cooksey-Johns Field for what could decide the conference regular season champion.

Sleeper: Despite going just 4-7 last season, the Searcy Lions have plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the upcoming season — 18 in fact. That is how many starters they have coming back, nine on offense and nine on defense. Even Steven Seitz, who is both the kicker and punter, is back. With both West Memphis and Jonesboro coming to Lion Stadium, this could be the best chance in years for them to make a run at the conference.

Coachspeak: “We feel like we have a strong team coming back building off of last year’s improvement and the school’s first playoff berth in six years.” — Searcy Coach Tim Harper.

7A/6A-South

Leading the Pack: While the skill players deserve all the praise they get, the El Dorado Wildcats also have an assortment of talented players up front. Offensive linemen like Ricky Hicks, De’Onte Garrett and Victor Seweje help clear those running lanes that have allowed this offense to be so successful. On defense, DT Ryan Williams will anchor the defensive line, Cameron Mahone returns as a two-year starter at linebacker (after a state finals MVP performance that saw him intercept a pass for a TD and rush for a TD), while both starting safeties return in Quincy Hardwell and Brandon Victory.

Hot on Their Heels: In this conference, it isn’t just a team or two that might challenge the favorite. Pine Bluff, Lake Hamilton and Texarkana have enough fire power to not only challenge but win the conference and make a run at the state championship. Pine Bluff, while breaking in a new QB, has a couple of playmakers in WR Justin Bishop and RB Jawahn Hunt, along with OL Joseph Treadwell up front. Lake Hamilton Coach Jerry Clay says the receivers “should be good,” led by 2009’s receiving leader Dalton Daniels. For Texarkana, Kierra Harris is back again at quarterback for Coach Phillip Miller’s Razorbacks.

Sleeper: Little Rock McClellan, while transitioning into a tough football conference, could be better than anticipated. For Coach Anthony Chambers it all starts up front with four offensive linemen returning, including Sandn Patrick (6-3, 324 pounds). Size isn’t an issue on the defensive line either, with a pair of 300-plus defensive tackles in Marcus Bohanon and Tevon Wheaton. The top playmaker is split end Nicholas Cooper. While this team is young at QB, they have 16 starters back total and could be the surprise of the conference.

Coachspeak: “Last year our conference produced all four of the semifinalists. It seemed like every week we were in games decided in the fourth quarter. I would imagine Pine Bluff, Lake Hamilton and Texarkana will be very good again.” — El Dorado Coach Scott Reed.

Tagged: Mountain Home High, Hall High, Fort Smith Southside, Fort Smith Northside, Van Buren High, Marion High, Turkey Day Classic, Pine Bluff High, Quigley Stadium, West Memphis High, Scott Reed, Lanny Dauksch, Taylor Reed, James Ford, Cameron Mahone, John Miles, Deontae Mitchell, Zac Brooks, Lake Hamilton, Jeff Williams, Barry Lunney Sr., Barry Lunney Jr., Ryan Luther, Demetrius Dean, Tanner Knight, Brad Bolding, Mike Malham, Paul Calley, North Little Rock High, Conway High, Quintin Sparkman, Randy Coleman, Cooksey-Johns Field, Searcy High, Steven Seitz, Lion Stadium, Tim Harper, Ricky Hicks, De’Onte Garrett, Victor Seweje, Ryan Williams, Quincy Hardwell, Brandon Victory, Texarkana Arkansas High, Justin Bishop, Jawahn Hunt, Joseph Treadwell, Jerry Clay, Dalton Daniels, Kierra Harris, Phillip Miller, Little Rock McClellan, Anthony Chambers, Sandn Patrick, Marcus Bohanon, Tevon Wheaton, Nicholas Cooper, Fayetteville High School, Little Rock Central High, Bernie Cox, Russellville High, El Dorado High, Springdale Har-Ber, Brad Shearin, Bentonville High, Brey Cook, Hunter Kissinger, Brandon Allen, Daryl Patton, Cabot High School, Bryant High School, Little Rock Catholic High School, Scooter Register, David Estes, Jonesboro High School