Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Northwest Arkansas high school football FAQ
It’s the start of another high school football season in Arkansas, so we’ll take a look at the top questions involving teams in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley area for the 2015 season:
Is Fayetteville ready to be king of Class 7A?
Barring injuries and off-the-field issues, Fayetteville has as good a chance as any team in Class 7A to dethrone Bentonville.
The Bulldogs were less than three minutes away from beating the Tigers last season in the Class 7A state championship game, but Bentonville quarterback Kassey Ford engineered a game-winning drive that gave the Tigers their second consecutive state championship.
Ford returns for his senior season, but Barry Lunney Sr. retired as the Tigers coach after winning four state championships in 10 seasons at the school. Lunney’s assistant, Jody Grant, was promoted to the head coaching position earlier this year.
Junior quarterback Taylor Powell returns for Fayetteville, which won 11 games a year ago. Powell rotated with Jack Lindsey early in the 2014 season before ultimately taking over as the starter. He completed 172 of 271 passes for 2,513 yards with 20 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
Senior running back Luke Rapert also returns after rushing for 1,079 yards and 14 touchdowns on 208 carries. So does Noah Johnson, a 6-3, 320-pound offensive lineman and a first-team Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps preseason selection.
The Bulldogs have won three state championships under Coach Daryl Patton (2007, 2011, 2012) and have played in the Class 7A state championship game four out of the past five years.
What is the area’s best game?
The annual showdown between Bentonville and Fayetteville will be played Nov. 6 in Fayetteville, and it will likely determine the 7A-West championship again.
Bentonville won both meetings last season, routing the Bulldogs 45-2 at home and holding on 24-21 in the Class 7A state championship game. But those victories were with a more experienced Tigers team that featured linebackers Harrison Rooney and Hekili Keliiliki, who helped pull the team out of an 0-4 hole to start the season.
Fayetteville hasn’t beaten Bentonville since the 2012 Class 7A state championship game.
Outside of Class 7A, who are the best teams in the area?
Dardanelle won 13 games in 2014 but fell one game short of the Class 4A state championship game, losing at home to Warren, and the Sand Lizards should be tough again.
Dardanelle returns Chris Kershner, who will move from wide receiver to quarterback and take over for Kristian Thompson, who is now at Arkansas Tech. Kershner was impressive at quarterback during spring and fall practice.
Charleston has won 29 consecutive games but it lost All-Arkansas Preps Offensive Player of the Year Ty Storey, who is now a freshman quarterback at Arkansas. Still, Coach Greg Kendrick expects his Tigers to be in the mix again in the 4-3A, which should be one of the toughest 3A conferences in the state.
Also keep an eye on Lamar, which won nine games in 2014. This may be Coach Josh Jones’ best team in his four seasons at the school.
Who are some of the top prospects in the area?
Fort Smith Northside has two of the top defensive players in the state in linebacker Deontre Hardwick and cornerback Kiondre Thomas.
Hardwick and Thomas were key parts of a defense that led the Grizzlies to the semifinals of the Class 7A playoffs last season. Thomas is orally committed to Louisiana Tech, and Hardwick has scholarship offers from Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech and Memphis.
Greenwood linebacker Grant Morgan returns for his senior season. He has an offer from Air Force. Arkansas, Auburn, Missouri and Nebraska have shown interest as well.
Quarterback Fuller Chandler transferred during the offseason from Springdale to Springdale HarBer. He passed for 2,447 yards and 21 touchdowns last season and had 7 rushing touchdowns.