In the Air
Three teams in the mix as 7-4A looks to be one of the state’s toughest
One of the toughest football conference in Arkansas is 7-4A, in some opinions. With teams like Ashdown, Nashville and Joe T. Robinson, they alone make Conference 7-4A one of the deepest conference in Arkansas High school football.
NASHVILLE
Nashville returns seniors quarterback Tyler Hanson and receiver of Ty Pettway to lead the Scrapper offense in 2017.
Nashville head football coach Mike Volarvich record at the school is an impeccable, 26-1.
The Scrappers return junior Xavier Nunally to middle linebacker. Nunally racked up 44 tackles and three sacks last season.
ARKADELPHIA
Arkadelphia returns a 1,000 yard rusher in junior Zion Hatley, who the Badgers will rely on heavily to lead their offense.
Sophomore Cannon Turner returns to steer the Badgers from his quarterback position. Turner finished the season passing for 1,500 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Turner was also very productive on the ground, rushing for 600 yards and eight touchdowns.
JOE T. ROBINSON
Todd Eskola has figured out what makes his Joe T. Robinson Senators tick. The Senators went 11-2 in 2016. Although they lost some talented pieces, Eskola and his staff have adopted the next man up attitude in 2017.
The Senators return senior Nathan Page, who hauled in 45 passes last season for 1,118 yards and 14 touchdowns in 10 games. Page also had 47 tackles and two interceptions on defense in 2016.
Robinson senior cornerback Lorenzo Simmons made 28 tackles last fall.
ASHDOWN
Matt Richardson is making sure his Ashdown Panthers make a positive push in the playoffs in 2017. Richardson returns not only some of the top athletes in the area, but some believe in the country with Ladarrius Bishop and Jaden Hill.
Hill completed 174 of 309 passes for 2,617 yards and 26 touchdowns. Hill also gave up 10 interceptions, while rushing 41 times for 386 yards.
Senior Trey Green rushed 128 times for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Green also caught 22 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns.
Bishop caught 20 passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns in 2016. He also rushed eight times for 136 yards. Bishop finished 2016 with four interceptions.
MENA
Tim Harper hopes he can lead the Mena Bearcats to a strong playoff push in 2017. With only 11 seniors on his squad, he believes they have enough experience in the right places.
Carson Cannon returns for his third season at quarterback for the Bearcats. Cannon passed for more than 1,500 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last fall.
Senior running back Justin Dean has rushed for 41 touchdowns the past two seasons, to go along with 1,250 yards rushing and 900 receiving.
MALVERN
Mike Scarborough returns shifty senior quarterback Demias Jimerson, who ran for more than 1,000 yards and also passed for 1,500 yards in 2016.
Senior Jordan Hart will play offense and defense for the Leopards in 2017. Last season, Hart finished with more than 50 tackles from his linebacker position.
Senior Devin Langston will start at receiver for Malvern this fall.
FOUNTAIN LAKE
JD Plumlee is optimistic in his first year as head football coach at Fountain Lake High School.
Plumlee returns senior quarterback Stephen Turner and junior Andrew Roberson.
Roberson rushed 190 times for 1,310 yards and 16 touchdowns.
BAUXITE
Daryl Patton hopes he’s past his growing pains at Bauxite this season. Patton was unable to get a win in his first season leading the Miners.
Junior Seth McDowell will shift from wide receiver to quarterback in Patton’s Dead T offense.
Senior Hunter Palmer and juniors Jacob Thornberry, Marhsall Golleher, and Emmanuel Hervey look to be major contributors on the defensive side of the ball.