Top Arkansas High School Football Games Week 4
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
The high school football schedule in the state of Arkansas does not hold back in Week 4. While there are a lot of exciting games on the docket, none will be as interesting and perhaps as landscape changing as the winner of the Har-Ber at Springdale game and the Fayetteville against Bentonville showdown.
Or so it seems, 7A competition over the past decade has been between Bentonville and Fayetteville with the rest being mere contenders. The winner of the regular season match-up between the 7A West rivals does not necessarily mean success in the playoffs. Last season, Bentonville went into Fayetteville winning 24-21 but the Bulldogs got revenge in the championship game winning 46-21. However Friday’s game turns out, it should be a thriller for the fans.
Sticking with last season, there was a three-way tie in 7A West with Har-Ber, Bentonville, and Fayetteville completing conference play at 6-1. Bentonville West was 3-4 and Springdale was 2-5. For a move to be made in 2017, Springdale has a big opportunity hosting Har-Ber while Bentonville West can tack on another conference win against Van Buren.
In 6A, Greenwood gets back-to-back challenges on the road after upending Alma 54-28 last week to improve to 3-0 with Arkansas High School this week. Big games loom ahead for the Bulldogs in October with Russellville, Benton, and Sheridan ready to take on the big dogs. Other top 6A teams playing includes Searcy at Jacksonville and Jonesboro hosting Mountain Home, and West Memphis hosting Marion. If in the Jacksonville area, go watch Searcy’s senior quarterback Mason Schucker spin the ball around the yard. He has already thrown for 1,106 yards with 18 touchdowns averaging 368 yards passing per game.
In 5A action, top teams Pulaski Academy and Wynne take the field with PA hosting Fair and the Yellowjackets taking on Blytheville. A great match-up in the Wynne verses Blytheville game, Yellowjackets defensive lineman Logan Jessup against the Chickasaws’ Larry Clark. A player making a name for himself during his senior year is PA receiver Brett Lynch. Lynch is among the leaders in the state with 372 receiving yards getting a big boost after rocking Parkway (LA) for a 10/246/3 stat line.
The top of the 4A classification is Pea Ridge, Warren, Prairie Grove, Arkadelphia, and Ashdown. Unfortunately, none of the top teams in 4A square off against one another. Prairie Grove will get tested in October with back to back games against Shiloh Christian and Pea Ridge.
Top Arkansas High School Games Week 4
*All rankings per MaxPreps
Friday, Sept. 22
Fair at No. 1 Pulaski Academy
No. 2 Bryant at Fort Smith Northside
No. 3 Greenwood at Arkansas (Texarkana)
No. 4 Har-Ber at No. 7 Springdale
No. 5 North Little Rock at Little Rock Central
No. 6 Fayetteville at No. 15 Bentonville
No. 8 Conway at Fort Smith Southside
No. 9 Searcy at Jacksonville
Blytheville at No. 10 Wynne
Mountain Home at No. 11 Jonesboro
No. 12 Bentonville West at Van Buren
Beebe at No. 13 Little Rock Christian
Marion at No. 14 West Memphis
Other Games of Note
Nettleton at Star City
Sylvan Hills at McClellan
Cabot at Catholic High School
Hall at Pine Bluff
Pea Ridge at Lincoln
Benton at Russellville
Lake Hamilton at El Dorado
Crossett at Warren
Prairie Grove at Huntsville
Photo credit: twitter.com; Bryant QB Ren Hefley runs against the Wildcats.