Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: We are four games into the conference season with a lot left to be decided. We'll talk about it and much more on this week's prep rally.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: You're watching the Prep Rally podcast.
[00:00:16] Speaker A: Welcome to the Prep Rally podcast sponsored by West Termite, Pest and Lawn. Graham Thomas with you with Rick fires this week in northwest Arkansas.
And Leland Barclay joins us in the river valley. And Rick, good to have you back this week after a week away while you were covering six, a west Conference tennis tournament. How are you doing, sir?
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Man, I love this time of year. I'm from basically from East Arkansas. This time of year. When I'm over there, all I see is brown dirt and white cotton. Man, you turn around, you see all the leaves starting to turn. You got all these beautiful colors. It's real crisp in the morning. It's not like the middle of summer when you're sweating at 07:00 a.m. so maybe Leland doesn't like it, but I love it. I love this kind of weather, this kind of football, and a lot of important games coming up.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: We just need you to start doing the rain dance a little bit, because we ain't had a drop of rain since week one.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Yes, we need that big time.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: All right, Leland, how you doing down yonder?
[00:01:14] Speaker C: You know, when I walked out this morning, it was a little chilly, but I could tell, I could sense playoffs starting to come into the air. And I went back in, got my sweatpants on, so I'm ready to go.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: And plenty of black coffee for sure.
So that will lead us to jump right in to what we got going this week. Gentlemen, it's week seven, time to start with the fourth conference game, and the contenders are starting to pull away from the pack. And we will know a lot more after this week's game. So let's jump right in to Leland Barclays. Gimme five for this week.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: These are the top five performances of the past week in the river valley. Of course, we always start with number one, the River Valley Democrat Gazette player of the week, and we knew it was just a matter of time. Main archer junior quarterback for Greenwood, 17 of 22 passing on Friday night for 393 yards and seven touchdowns in a 62 to seven win at Siloam Springs. His seven touchdowns marks just the second time in state history for a quarterback to throw seven touchdowns in a half, and the first time since Thomas Thrash of Pulaski Academy through 823 years ago.
[00:02:37] Speaker A: What?
[00:02:38] Speaker B: How many years ago? That had to be like no headband.
[00:02:43] Speaker C: I can't believe I'm that old I remember him, 2001. So he, seven touchdowns led Greenwood to a 49 to nothing halftime lead. Of course, he didn't play in the second half. Champ Davis, five catches for 105 yards and three of those touchdowns. Isaiah Arrington, five catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and then touchdown tosses to Grant Carnese and Cooper Bland.
Payne Archer now has 26 touchdowns passes on the year and he's thrown 32 incomplete passes. So almost as many touchdowns as incomplete passes.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: That's wild. That is, that is a number.
[00:03:27] Speaker C: Number two, Cade Bowen, quarterback for Lamar, subbing for the injured Caleb Green. Eleven of 15 on Friday night for 151 yards and I touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown to lead Lamar to their first four, a four win of the year in a 35 to eight win over Dover.
Number three, senior quarterback Jeremy Strozer from Mansfield. Twelve rushes for 95 yards and a touchdown. He also threw touch, two touchdown passes on Friday night, completing three or four passes and a 52 to six win over Lavacca.
[00:04:04] Speaker A: Strozier is a really good football player.
[00:04:08] Speaker C: He is the, I think, probably the quintessential architect of an offense. I mean, he, he commands that offense and he runs it. And he is a, he's a true field general for the Tiger. Number four, red neider, running back for Boonville. You know, Boonville spreads it out so much that their stats just aren't, I guess you would say, impressive, mainly because they spread it out, too, because they only play a half. But neidert on Friday night had seven rushes for 141 yards and three touchdowns and a 64 to 14 win at Greenland.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: That's impressive because I've seen Greenland and they're a good football team.
To blow them out like that at Greenland. I was blown away by that.
[00:04:55] Speaker C: Well, and they held Slade Norwood to 103 yards passing. So that tells you a little something about Boogle's defense, too, which often gets overlooked.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: And hey, there, the number one team.
So what I said, Boonville is the number one team in the class three a by the Arkansas sports media.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: They deserve it.
[00:05:14] Speaker C: Yeah, they've been rolling for sure. Number five, Bryson Graham, quarterback from Spyro, 15 of 24 for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 22 times for 119 yards and the game winning touchdown with no time remaining. And then through the two point conversion pass to Connor Reed for a 43 42 win over Wilburton for Spyro's first district win on Friday night.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Man, that sounds like an exciting game. Just right there. Right there at the, in overtime. I mean, just a terrific ballgame. All right. Well, that leads us into the River Valley Sports report Lelandore kind of starting to wrap some things up and even getting prepared to wrap more up.
[00:06:03] Speaker C: Well, you know, it wasn't too long ago we were talking about the halfway point of the regular season. Well, this Friday night actually will push us over the halfway point of conference season. So it's, you know, four weeks are left and boy, the three a one. We all knew that Mansfield, Boonville and Charleston is the, you know, they've, we thought they were the cream of the crop in the three a one, and it's proven that way. But now it's going to be interesting, you know, who gets that fourth and fifth spot. Packet has started out oh and three, but they had to play Mansfield, Boonville and Charleston to begin with. So we'll see where they figure in. And then, of course, Greenland.
And there's Lavaca, which won that close game at Greenland early. So that three a one conference is going to be real exciting, as is the four a four. You know, mean and Darnell are both off to three and oh starts in that conference. And who saw that coming?
[00:06:58] Speaker A: Well, you know, I just knew that Darnell had a quarterback with a really good name, Creed Vega. Sounds like a boxer.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: Creed Vega. And I talked to Lamar coach Josh Jones earlier, you know, today, and he was talking about they've been in their little league conference from the time they were in the fourth grade up. And he said he has been a just a man among boys from the time they were in Little League. So he kind of saw this coming and, and he said basically that, you know, he hasn't slowed down much. So that's going to be a really fun conference, too. And the interesting thing about that, that third spot in that conference still gets a home playoff game and maybe even would have a winnable second round game based on the bracket. So there's still a lot at stake. Even though Darnell and Mina's off to three and oh starts, they're still, it's going to be real exciting in that conference. And then as well, the five a west again.
You know, that one's going to be another tough one. You know, Farmington looks to be in pretty good shape right now, but that's in Moralton.
Vallonia's win at Alma kind of shook some things up, so that's going to be real exciting, too. And then how about a big shout out to Salasol coach Brandon Tyler, who won his 200th game as a head coach on Friday night with their win at Tulsa. McLean. And how about this? He's won 200 games. This is his 20th season as a head coach. I think we can even do that math without a calculator.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: I can't.
[00:08:36] Speaker C: 200 wins, 42 losses in 20 years as a head coach.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Really nice story on coach Tyler and the River Valley Democrat Gazette on Sunday morning, Leland. I thought that was a good job of recognizing a tremendous achievement on his part.
[00:08:52] Speaker C: Yeah, he's, he's, he's been fun to talk to through the years and fun to get to know as well. And then softball. The Cola Lady Indians lost in the two a state championship game on Saturday afternoon to Dale, one to nothing on an unearned run in the bottom of the 7th with two outs, man. But still, for four seniors, a list through what I just say, that was.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: A heartbreaker for those girls, for sure.
[00:09:19] Speaker C: Well, especially, you know, two errors in the, in the bottom of the 7th and, yeah, that was, that was a tough one. Alyssa Parker, Kylee Merritt, Letty Parga and then Riley Jerrel. Four seniors who started as freshmen finished their career with four state tournament appearances, three championship game appearances and a final record of 142 and 14.
And then in volleyball, the south side Lady Mavericks have mathematically clinched the top seed in the six a west. They're 13 and o big game against north side in the battle of Rogers Avenue on Tuesday. The Hackett Lady Hornets remain undefeated as well, 28 no. As they go in, they start kind of post season play in volleyball, tennis. State tournaments wrap up on Tuesday as well. And then Van Buren's big cross country meet is Saturday.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: Leland, I have one more note for you on this. A couple of boys from Fort Smith, Southside, Dakota King being one of them, played real well made. And Southside made to the second day of the class six A boys golf tournament. So nice job by those guys. That's a man. That's a tough, tough group of guys on that six a golf. Like, you have a lot of teams that were shooting in the high seventies, which is pretty good for high school golf, not making it to the second day. So when a team like Jonesboro doesn't even make it to the second day, you know that, you know, it's tough because they've always had good golfers over there.
[00:10:54] Speaker C: Well, and, too, you know, that's the kind of stuff that, you know, we look at and keep track of and follow because we have our, you know, post season awards that we do in all of those sports.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: After this week, we'll, we'll have just volleyball and a little bit of cross country left and I, and football. And then it's getting into basketball it really goes by quick. It's that time. It's top five time with and he's going to give us the top five performances of the week in northwest Arkansas.
[00:11:25] Speaker B: I think this is something you can attest to. The big highlight for me last week was Springdale and Springdale Harbor. Springdale won the game 49 21. Springdale is now 60 for the first 1st time. We all remember that 2005 team Mustang, all that bunch. Damian Williams, I think they won national pole, had him ranked second. But what a great turnaround for Springdale High. Brett Hobbs, one of my favorites. He is the poster child for Springdale High. Bulldog toughness, all conference linebacker, went to Arkansas Tech. I had a really good career there. The atmosphere was just fantastic. You were there as well, just to see the big crowds there again. You know, they've done some upgrade with that. Gerald Williams Bulldog Stadium and at the end of game I get to see Gerald Williams there. So what a treat for me. I know it was for you to watch that game. Jack Pounders, the trifecta. He's the quarterback for Springdale High. Ran for a touchdown, threw a touchdown pass and he caught a pass that went for a sizable game. I can't remember how I made 50 yards, something like that. Hater to running back, 128 yards on only eight carries. Just a fantastic win for Springdale High. Now that sets up. We talk about all the great games coming up. That sets up a big game with Springdale High at Rogers. Rogers, my goodness, 38 to three over Bentonville west. And you talk about an athlete. Young people watch. Listen to this. Jeff Regan. I stood next to him on the side. He is not a big guy. I'm six one and I don't know, maybe he's five, 9510 or something. He is a dynamic athlete. He's played in defensive secondary, he played at wide receiver. Now he's the quarterback.
And only one half of action against Bentonville West. Jeff Regan was ten of eleven, 142 yards passing, three touchdowns and he ran for 180 yards on twelve carries. So just. I love watching that kid play. Sometimes it doesn't, you know, how big you are, how fast you run backward, the shuttle and all that. He is just a dynamic athlete with a lot of heart. So looking forward to watching him play some more. You want to do some numbers? Hey, I got some numbers right here. Monster game Griffin Mason Shiloh Christianity 32 carries, 266 yards rushing, two touchdowns. You know, that's, that's half a season stats for a lot of people. But Griffin Mason did it in one half when they Shiloh Christian 38 to 20 over Southside. Leland and I both saw him earlier and we saw him picking up some good yardage in that. Who was that Greenwood game? He is a great running back, great athlete.
My player of the week was Aiden Lester. Farmington counted for five touchdowns and 39 27 win over Greenbrier. Greenbrier is a good team. I've seen them a couple of times through the years. They were picked in the preseason poll by the league. Coach had finished second. And Aidan Lester and all the other players. Luka, what's his last name? Elsicke. Man, some big time players over there. So Farmington is still undefeated in conference. They're five and one overall.
Let me go down to, oh, Elkins. I kind of combined this right here. Elkins beat Lincoln 58 to nothing. Lincoln's not the same team right now without Cale Jones, who'd been injured.
Prairie Grove 62 to three over Berryville. And that sets up a huge game on Friday. Be there. You know what? I'm probably leaving right after this to go over to Elkins. Get me a seat. This is for two teams that are undefeated in conference play. The game's at Elkins on Friday night.
The winner of this will likely win the conference. You never know because this is sports. This is not a fake reality. This is real sports. Real reality.
What I'm looking forward to over there, a contrast and styles. Elkins liked to throw the ball. Ben Napier, junior. He's really come on at quarterback for Elkins. And remember, he had to replace Dizzy Dean, who was a great quarterback for them. And now he's playing college ball at central Missouri Mules. So that young man's done a great job. And then you got Perry Grove Tigers wing t offense. They're going to pound you. They're going to pound you. And just when you come up, they're going to try to throw one or two over your head. So really looking forward. Contrasted styles two great teams with more than likely a conference championship at stake. So that's all I got on that. Like I said, I can't wait for another Friday.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: All right, well, that will bring us into the Northwest Arkansas sports report for the weekend. And I'm going to, going to start us off here with just recapping the classics, a boys golf tournament.
And you know, Rick, sometimes it isn't about the team that finishes first, but it's about how the second place finish goes. Well, catholic high kind of ran away with the state boys golf tournament on the second day. They were one stroke ahead of Rogers going into that second day.
Well, Rogers kind of didn't have a great day on the second day, and Bentonville had a really great day and made up about eleven or twelve strokes on the second day. And all of a sudden, after 18 holes, there's a tie for the state runner up, and it's Rogers and Bentonville, two of our Benton county teams.
And so they went to a one hole playoff on hole number nine right there in front of the back of the clubhouse at Springdale Country Club. And Jack Scudder sank about a 15 yard putt for birdie to clinch the state runner up for Rogers.
Great season for the Mounties. They were defending champions, coming in, finished second this year. Cohen Kennard was a great golfer for Rogers, and he finished as the state runner up in the individual play. The kid from Little Rock Catholic, he won it. Jackson Wolf. But I tell you what, it was fun seeing two of our teams up here in northwest Arkansas battling out for second place and being rivals. I got to speak with Kent early, the Bentonville boys coach. And, man, he was really proud of the job that they did.
And you kind of get a little.
The moment always hits me when everybody starts to finish up on that whole number nine. That's how they like to finish them at Springdale Country Club. And you hear the applause for everybody coming in. And, you know, some kids had good days and some kids had tough days, but there will be other days. And, you know, it's just a great moment. And congratulations on a successful golf season. You know, the state overall is this week, and a few of our kids will be playing in that down at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock. Always a beautiful course down there.
So, Rick, you know, we got the state tennis tournament going on at Burns park, class six a this week in North Little Rock. And, you know, you covered, you covered more tennis than anybody on our staff. But I know you've gotten to see a couple of the standouts, you know, in the six a west, and you had a feature on one of them this week.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: Yeah, Glenna Langford, big Matt, big tall left handed girl. And they said, I don't know a lot about tennis. I followed some, and, you know, and I asked them, you know, is that an advantage being a left hander in tennis?
And she said, yes, it does. Her coach said, yes, it does. That the ball comes off different to spin. So I'm equating it to like a left handed pitcher trying to throw to right handed batter or something. So I looked at earlier this morning on the way up here, I saw she won her first match. So did Menendez from Fayetteville. And they got second round, I guess quarterfinals, semifinals, finals today probably going on right now or later this afternoon. So Glenna and the girls, all from northwest Arkansas. Bentonville is real strong. Fayetteville's got a strong team, particularly in the boys, so eager to see what the finals are on those.
[00:20:01] Speaker A: Yeah, when it's up here, we enjoy it when it's up here because we get to kind of see it fresh and all down there. We just kind of have a bird's eye view of it. We're following it eagerly. So, you know, high school volleyball. So the six a west still has a couple of rounds left. As Leland talked about, you know, Fort Smith Southside has essentially wrapped up the number one seed. Still a lot to play for, though, in the conference. And, you know, so we have the last couple of rounds of conference play going on this week and next week, but it's conference tournament time. I know the four a one conference tournament will be going on this week. Prairie Grove's got a real good volleyball team this year and they've, they've had a big year. Shiloh Christian's had a big year in the six a west. There was a good story in the paper on Bella Bonanno, who is going to Ole Miss to play volleyball. And oddly enough, she's a good soccer player, too. I remember her from last year. And so, you know, we get into that last week, October, and we're all going to be doing some volleyball. Where does all going to be? And when we come back, we will do. Who you got for our predictions for the week?
[00:21:15] Speaker B: 15 or 1414? Correct. That you come up with that screen pass on third down. And from there on, you guys didn't look back. Run the play by me.
[00:21:27] Speaker D: Oh, you know, it was just like a little misdirection play, you know, just a little slip screen that we put in this week that we felt like could give us an advantage over the defense. And, you know, it was a little messy, but, you know, I just found space and ended up working out in our benefit.
[00:21:41] Speaker A: And we're back with the prep rally podcast sponsored by west termite, Pest and lawn Graham Thomas and Rick fires in northwest Arkansas and Leland Barclay in the river valley. And guys, it's time for who you got? We're going to, uh, how'd we do last week? Oh, Rick, you did so good. I can't even tell you how good you did.
[00:22:01] Speaker B: I ain't even peeing.
[00:22:02] Speaker C: That's why he asked. That's why he brought this up.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I saw that on way up here.
[00:22:07] Speaker A: Yeah, Rick had. For those of you at home, Rick had an eight no week last week to put him in the lead.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: Wait a minute. That means eight wins. I predicted eight and got no wrong.
[00:22:21] Speaker A: That is correct.
[00:22:22] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:22:24] Speaker C: And you're wondering why he brought up. Hey, how'd we do last week?
[00:22:29] Speaker B: Set y'all up. Anyway, it's a different week. We gotta prove ourselves every week.
[00:22:33] Speaker A: Rick went 80 for. He's 41 and 15 on the year. I went seven and one and in one game, behind at 40 and 16.
Leland had a good week. He went six and two.
[00:22:44] Speaker B: Not good.
[00:22:46] Speaker A: Yeah, he's sitting at 37 and 19, four games back out of first place. But I tell you what, a couple of bad picks and by Rick, and he's right back in it.
[00:22:54] Speaker B: I know he'd go right around me. I'll be looking to the left, and he'd come up on the right and just pass me.
[00:23:00] Speaker A: All right, so this week's games, man, we got some tough ones to pick. So we're going to go ahead and get started in class three a, and I'll start us off with Charleston at lavaca.
Was a little. Little disappointed in how that one went last week with lavaca. I thought they would play Mansfield a lot better than they did. So I tell you, I'm just going to have to go with the Charleston Tigers. Rick, who you got in this one?
[00:23:30] Speaker B: I got to go Charleston, too, particularly coming off lavaca last week. Charleston. They'll be there.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: Leland, who you got?
[00:23:41] Speaker C: Oh, absolutely. Charleston. You know, Carter little is having just a tremendous season at quarterback for charleston, and he's. He's going to continue to roll, and it's going to be a, you know, again, it's. It's the three way monster of Mansfield, Boonville, and Charleston. And I don't see anybody touching those three.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: All right, so we are all going on. We're all buying in on Charleston here. All right, class four a monster showdown in the four a one, Prairie Grove at Elkins. And I'll start us off again on this one, and then we'll go to Leland and then Rick. But, man, I just don't see as much respect as I have for Prairie Grove and the job that Danny Absher does. Elkins, I just think they're on a different level right now. So I'm gonna go Elkins and Elkins. Big over Prairie Grove.
Leland, who you got?
[00:24:34] Speaker C: You know, this is one of the. This is the first of two games that are similar in our picks this week. And this is the Prairie Grove and their ground pounding offense against Elkins and their high flying offense. And, you know, in these games, in fact, I talked to Chris young earlier this week at Greenwood and he said in these types games, they usually expect eleven to twelve offensive possessions in a game. In normal games, well, in a game like this, Elkins is probably going to have eight possessions instead of eleven or twelve. So that puts even more emphasis on being efficient offensively. And I'm so tempted to take Prairie Grove in this game. But I think the difference too is Elkins at home. And I think it's going to be Elkins by a little at home.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: All right. And a little preview there of the other game like that. I know what that one's going to be, judging by your comments there. Leland. Rick, who you got?
[00:25:34] Speaker B: I've been talking to Len Gregson. He does the play by play for Prairie Grove. He's kind of a historian, kind of like our friend Glenn parish down at Boonville. So he's telling me that Elkins has never beaten Prairie Grove and they've only played, they've been kind of in and out of the conference together. They've only played maybe 1011 times. And I was stunned by that. But I'm going a little too. But I think the little bit of edge is going to Elkins, their home, that offense, Prairie Grove, man, if they can hang on to the ball like Leland talking about and reduce their possessions and run the ball effectively, what they've mostly been doing this year. But I got to give the edge to the Elkins. Elks at home.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: Now let's, let's stop it right here. I love more than anything to be wrong because I love a good upset. So if Prairie Grove, if you guys are needing the motivation, you're welcome. All right.
A big game in class five. A couple of undefeated teams in the five a west Farmington at Vallonia. I've been to a football game at Vilonia a time or two. It's a ways out there, man. You got to go to Conway and then go north of Conway and then go east and then all.
[00:26:57] Speaker B: You'll go back.
[00:26:58] Speaker A: Yeah, you'll end up in Bologna. So I'll start us off again. And, you know, really hard to go against coach Tommy tice right now. They're on a roll. But, man, I know who's coached over there at Bologna, Clint Ashcraft. I know he'll have them ready to go. So I'm gonna go Volonia to knock off Farmington at home. On Friday.
Leland, who you got?
[00:27:26] Speaker C: You know. Yeah. You talk about the travel and the road trip and all that. Well, you know, coach Tom Tice grew up and played in Huntsville. He coached in Harrison. He knows how to get a team ready to travel. I have no doubts Farmington roles in this one.
[00:27:42] Speaker A: All right, Rick, I'm going to take Farmington.
[00:27:47] Speaker B: I respect Clint Ashcraft, known him for a while. But I think Farmington goes over in there and wins that game.
[00:27:55] Speaker A: Just, you know, that's a fascinating. Other fascinating matchups with two coaches who gotten back in the game. You know, if we had coach tice on our football cover with coach Lockridge over at silent Springs and if we could have gotten ashcraft up here, I'm sure he would have loved that, too.
[00:28:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: So Clint's a good guy. Another big five a west game. Alma making the trip to Greenbrier. Alma, man, a couple of really tough, tough five a west losses to Moralton at home and Villonia at home. The Airedales have got to get back up on the stick.
I'll start us off again. Al met Greenbrier. I'd been to Greenbrier before, and I'm telling you, greenbrier may be the most beautiful high school football setting. It's like nestled in the mountains and.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: Greenbrier over there tell our listeners where it's located at.
[00:28:44] Speaker A: So just north of Conway. Yeah, you know, you just. Right there, close to Bologna. Actually. They're rivals, but, you know, the stadium just sits just nestled right in all these beautiful hills and right this time of year, just a beautiful backdrop for high school football. And. And the Greenbrier Panthers are a good team, like you said, rick, and I just don't see them losing to Alma at home. So I'm going to take Greenbrier to go and beat Alma at Greenbrier this week. Rick, we'll start off with you this time. Who you got?
[00:29:16] Speaker B: Say I'm going Greenbrier. Greenbrier as well.
I always talk about, I discussed with coaching, man, you lose one heartbreaking game and you cannot let that go into two heartbreaking games or three and seem like Alma, you know, tough couple losses. But like you said, man, to go on the road and try to turn it around at Greenbrier. Greenbrier picked number two in the conference. Really good team. They played Farmington tough. I'm going to go with Greenbrier.
[00:29:48] Speaker A: All right, Leland, who you got on this one?
[00:29:50] Speaker C: Well, and you talk about, you know, Greenbrier Vilogna. You basically get to Greenbrier. You take the first Conway exit. And to get to Bologna, you take the second Conway exit. So. And, yes, Alma has lost not one, but two heartbreakers in a row, 30 to 29 to Moralton, when they. They fail to make a two point conversion with 107 left. Then last week to lose an overtime at home. Both games at home, Greenbrier is back in the five a west after spending two years in the six a west and the six years prior to that when they were in the same conference, Alban Greenbrier went three and three against each other. In the last 14 games that they've played each other, it's seven and seven. So it's that close. And it's two very similar type teams. I just do not see Alma going three games without a win, even though Greenbrier may have the best running back in the conference in Enoch, a son. I just think Alma bounces back and finally wins a close game.
[00:30:57] Speaker A: Would that be something? Be a great story. And, you know, our guy, Harold McElveen covered both of those games, Alma and I. I was joking with him. I was like, boy, you get all the good ones, man. And he laughed at that. So.
All right, class six a west, other huge matchup. Lelands already kind of teased to it a little bit earlier. Lake Hamilton at Greenwood.
Boys. I just don't, you know, I just don't see anybody slowing Greenwood down. So I'm gonna go ahead and say Greenwood's gonna win this one. Lake Hamilton's got a good football team, don't get me wrong, but it's gonna take a, you know, a monumental upset effort to be able to beat Greenwood at Greenwood. Rick, who do you got in this one?
[00:31:40] Speaker B: A lot of teams got really good teams, but, man, Greenwood is the exception, probably the number one program in the state of Arkansas last few years. Greenwood, Leland.
[00:31:50] Speaker A: You're going with Lake Hamilton, aren't you?
[00:31:53] Speaker C: Well, I tell you, I was. No, I'm not tempted. Lake Hamilton, I'm sure, has watched that Shiloh Christian tape over and over and over because you remember in that game, Shiloh Christian led Greenwood 17 to 14 in the third quarter, and it was because of a just lining up, running the football, and keeping the ball away from Greenwood.
And Lake Hamilton is capable of doing that as well, but it won't be nearly as much. Alma, again big, remain undefeated.
[00:32:26] Speaker A: Oh, you mean Greenwood. Greenwood.
[00:32:28] Speaker C: I mean Greenwood. Who did I say?
[00:32:29] Speaker A: Alma.
Alma on the brain.
[00:32:32] Speaker C: Greenwood remains big and remains undefeated.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: Real quick, gentlemen.
Six. Another six a west matchup in the river valley between two river valley rivals. Van Buren at Fort Smith. Southside, kind of an older seven a west rivalry there when both of them were in the seven a west.
Man, Van Buren got, you know, punched in the mouth pretty good at Lake Hamilton last week, so I'm going to go for Southside by two touchdowns. Rick, who you got on this? I got south side and Leland, who you got?
[00:33:04] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, Southside's at home, and, you know, Southside and Van Buren played each other that first year. That Southside had a varsity team in 1965. They've played off and on through the years, but Van Buren's only defeated Southside three times, and the last time they beat him was 1999. And I think Southside wins at home to stay in. In contention for a playoff berth.
[00:33:28] Speaker A: All right, two more games left, guys.
We're gonna go the seven a west matchup, Springdale at Rogers. Springdale, man, the 60 Bulldogs, super s against the Mounties, who are, you know, four and two, but coming off a really impressive win at Bentonville west.
I'll start us off. And, gentlemen, I think the magic ends Friday night. I just don't know that Springdale, they're going to make life really hectic for Rogers, but Rogers has got some tools on their end to do the same. So I'm going to take the Rogers Mounties to win a close one over Springdale. Leland, who you got in this one?
[00:34:07] Speaker C: Yeah, we talked about in the three a one, it's Mansfield, Boonville, and Charleston. Well, I think in the seven a west, it's Fayetteville, Bentonville, and Rogers. And until somebody else can prove otherwise, I think it remains that way, and I think Rogers wins by a decent margin on Friday night.
[00:34:27] Speaker B: Rick, I'm agreeing with you. The undefeated season for the Springdale High Bulldogs at 2005 is safe. This is when Springdale goes down. Hate to say it, but, yeah, Rogers is really, really good.
[00:34:43] Speaker A: All right, this will lead us to our seven a west game of the week in northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville at Bentonville. It seems like a broken record we talk about every year, but both teams are 30. Bentonville has gotten back up on the horse, so to speak, after an zero three start, and they've won their last three in a row. And Fayetteville, after losing to Texas High, has also won three in a row.
You know, boys, it's at Bentonville, at Tiger Stadium. Bentonville's on a roll. Give me Bentonville to take care of Fayetteville, the defending state champions, in a rematch of last year's state title game. Leland, who you got in this one?
[00:35:26] Speaker C: Well, I think that, you know, a big part of this game is going to be the quarterback play. I think Bentonville has finally settled on a quarterback. You know, they had competition all springdevelop, all summer. But, you know, is Garrett Odom healthy and is he going to lead Fayetteville on Friday night, or will it be the sophomore, you know, Brooks coatney son? So it's going to come down a quarterback play for a large part. But I picked Bentonville to win the conference early, and I think that's what, you know, that's what they have to do on Friday night to win the conference. So I picked Bentonville.
[00:36:01] Speaker A: All right, Rick. Well, we don't know if Garrett Odom's going to play. We'll see, I guess, Friday night. But, Rick, you know, Bentonville start, zero.
[00:36:12] Speaker B: Three teams get better. Their zero three start had more to do with their schedule. Bentonville always tests themselves where they get to conference play. I've been on the sideline for a lot of these games. They're always fun. They're always exciting. Yeah. There's a question mark at quarterback for Fayetteville. Hadn't been over there this week, but I think if Odom's got a shot to play, that's the difference. I think Fayetteville wins this game.
[00:36:37] Speaker A: Oh, all right.
Well, who knows this? You never know how these things are going to go. But Fayetteville ran away late with this game last year. Then the two teams met in the state finals, and it was a barn burner.
May not be the only time they see each other down the road. All right, well, folks, that's going to wrap up this week's prep rally podcast. We like to thank our sponsor, west termite Pest and lawn. You can listen to our podcast at nWA online.com or wherever you get your podcasts. I like to watch on YouTube myself. So for leland Barclay in the river valley, for Rick fires in northwest Arkansas, I'm Graham Thomas signing off. We love you.
