Ep. 0 Football Season Preview

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, what's up, Prep rally? We are back for a new season, and I'm so excited for y' all to see it. I'm your host, Sydney Mulvanen, here with Graham Thomas of Northwest Arkansas, Leland Barcray in the River Valley. Hey, Leland, it looks like you have a different scenery there. If you want to explain what's going on. [00:00:19] Speaker B: Well, you know, the. My interior decorator has just come in and done a fantastic job. And as far as the River Valley, the future is so bright for football in the River Valley this year, I had to wear shades. [00:00:33] Speaker C: I sure hope that whoever seats you sold from Blake Moore Field is not going to be missing those this year. [00:00:38] Speaker B: You know, stolen is. You know, it's. It's really not. I like to think of as Ball Road. [00:00:45] Speaker C: Are those. [00:00:46] Speaker D: That's. That's how they roll in Crawford County. [00:00:48] Speaker C: Are those Blake Moore Field, or is that Claire Bates arena up. [00:00:51] Speaker B: Claire Bates Arena? You know, I played American Legion baseball for Claire Bates, and he. You know, I'm sure he would be very happy. Well, with that, we have seats today. [00:01:01] Speaker A: Yeah. With that being said, we have a special guest in those stands with you, Mr. Walter Woody. [00:01:07] Speaker B: The cheap seats, we like to think of them as. Since Walter's sitting in them. [00:01:13] Speaker A: How you doing, Walter? [00:01:15] Speaker D: I'm doing fine. I'm used to sitting on bleachers and getting splinters in my backside. [00:01:41] Speaker A: Well, with that being said, y', all, we'll go ahead and start our classifications for this prep rally football season. So we'll start off with 2A. Take it away, Graham. [00:01:50] Speaker C: Okay. Well, guys, we're going to kind of go through these pretty quick because the girls have to get out of here. [00:01:57] Speaker A: Excuse me. [00:01:59] Speaker C: You know, for our intents and purposes, we're looking at the 2A1 conference in Northwest Arkansas in the River Valley. Actually, it's all River Valley. And, you know, we're talking about magazine, Mountainburg, Johnson county, west side. All three of these teams are very much trying to put themselves into relevancy in the 2A1 conference. You know, in a very difficult 2A1 conference, I believe. You know, Bigelow and Conway Christian, those are some big names for two A1. [00:02:31] Speaker D: And, you know, Conway Christian won state last year. And that's the thing. You know, the top there, those teams are kind of stuck in the middle or they're fighting the bottom. Whereas. Whereas Conway Christian and Bigelow has been kind of the big dogs in the 2A one. And I don't see that changing really. [00:02:52] Speaker C: Much this year, Leland. You know, we. You Know, here we talk about Mountainburg and you know, we all know Ryan Allen's one of the better players in that conference. Does he have enough around him for the Dragons to, you know, make a push to get in the playoffs? [00:03:06] Speaker B: I think they're going to be very competitive. You know how competitive? I don't know because he's really good. They do have some good players around them. But. But again Conway Christian won the conference or the state championship last year. Won the conference finals. Hector's very good. You know, it's a, it's a tough, tough conference in 2A. So we'll see if Mountainburg's good enough to challenge and you know, Johnson county, west side is better and, and magazine. [00:03:35] Speaker C: Okay, well, so guys, let's, let's go ahead and get your predictions to A one conference champion. Who you got? Walter? [00:03:42] Speaker D: I'll go with Conway Christian, Leland. [00:03:45] Speaker B: You know, I know EPC East Point set County, lost Dennis Gaines, but I think they still have enough. I think East Point set County wins this year after getting beat in the championship game last year. [00:03:56] Speaker C: That's your state champion. Who's your conference champion? [00:04:00] Speaker B: Conference champion? Yeah, Conway Christian. [00:04:03] Speaker C: All right. [00:04:03] Speaker B: And Walter, even though Mountain is really good too. [00:04:06] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean I expect to see. I'm expecting a Conway Christian EPC rematch and I think EPC is going to find a way to win it this. [00:04:14] Speaker B: Year because you know that conference went 7 and 3 in the playoffs last year and that's you know, with a state champion. So that's really good. [00:04:21] Speaker C: All right, I'm going to go, I'm gonna go Conway Christian to win the conference. I'm gonna go Junction City to come and win state though. You just never know what kind of athletes they may have down there. So just real quick, real quick hitter on Subiaco Academy. They're going to be in that unsanctioned, unsanctioned eight man conference. We think they're going to be pretty decent. Don't know if they have it to win it all but probably a really good season for them. [00:04:47] Speaker B: Well and you know they. Another team was added to that non sanctioned, you know, just this week. So we'll see. [00:04:56] Speaker C: Okay, let's move on to the 3A classification. Sydney's favorite group, the 3A one. You had a great time with those 3A one kids down at River Valley media day. [00:05:06] Speaker A: Yeah, they were a hoot. Thankfully they kept up with all of our antics with the social media team. [00:05:11] Speaker C: What was your favorite? The Hacket or the, the Poses? [00:05:15] Speaker A: Oh, I don't know if they're 3A. But yeah, they are. Lavaca. They were, they were my favorite. I just, I really enjoyed the energy they bring. They're just a fun group. I mean, if anyone has ever interviewed Lavaca before, like, they're just a fun group of guys. [00:05:31] Speaker C: Okay, so the three A1, that goes. [00:05:34] Speaker D: All the way back to coach Vitale. When you get a phone call here, Lavaca, you know that though, that if you, that's someone you need to put on a podcast. The stories he could tell from his time at West Memphis, Lavaca, Van Buren, Southside, the whole gambit. [00:05:50] Speaker C: So I think we're all in agreement about the three A1, that this is going to be Boonville, Charleston and Mansfield. And the winner that emerges out of that trio of teams is probably going to win the conference and have a great shot at winning state. Leland, where do you stand on that, on that threesome there? And are any of the other teams going to be making a push to put their name in that hat? [00:06:13] Speaker B: Well, you know, it's, you know, last year, of course it was, you know, it was those three teams. Mansfield defeated Boonville for the first time since 1919 80, a span of 44 years now. They haven't played every year but 44 years since Mansfield had beaten Boonville. And then of course, you know, then the Charleston Boonville game was just a matter of, you know, who was going to finish second after that. I still see Mansfield repeating with five returning offensive linemen and they have two Burtons, two younger Burtons replacing the two older Burtons that graduated. [00:06:53] Speaker C: Oh, my God. [00:06:55] Speaker B: I think they've, they've not only reloaded, they've reloaded with Burtons. [00:06:59] Speaker C: There's eight total Burtons, so it's, it's, it's quite impressive. Walter, who do you got in the 3A one? What are you looking at there? [00:07:08] Speaker D: I mean, I think Boonville's gonna, gonna win it this year though. I think Charleston. And here's the one that, that just to show that I hedge bets really well. I would not be surprised, you know, with a three way tie, just some sort of a, all three go like six and one because they're going to beat up on each other. But here's the thing. Depending on the bracket draws and stuff like that, there might be the two or the three seed might have a better draw to the championship game. You know, the way the brackets play out. And all three of those teams are good enough to play in the semifinals. It would surprise me if all three were in the semifinals. It is. They have Shown the last several years that the 3A one is, and I don't think it's really that close. The best conference in Class 3A and even some of the lower level teams that they still have to work hard to win those games and that will prepare them for November. [00:08:08] Speaker C: So I'm going to go with Charleston. I think they've got the best quarterback out of all those two teams. [00:08:14] Speaker D: Littles are really, Charleston wasn't that far from being 9 and 3 or something like that. They just had, their defense was a little inconsistent and their offense gave up too many turnovers that put the defense in, in some bad spots. And their defense is solid. The offense can, can put points without turning the ball over. They can be a real threat. I, I, I, I like your pick there, Grant. [00:08:38] Speaker B: Well, and I think too they have the best receiver in the comp in the conference too in Emiliano, Guyana. So those two, that's the best one to punch in the conference. But you know, Boonville and Mansfield, they don't need a one, two punch because they're going to keep it on the ground. And I think those two teams are the best two in the conference. And I just see Mansfield winning. [00:09:01] Speaker D: Yeah. And that's part of the reason why I could see a three way tie because I could see Charleston beating one of them. But I don't know if Charleston could be both of them. Now whoever turns out the one seed, it may be willing to be Mansfield or Boonville, but don't be surprised. You see a three way tie, we. [00:09:15] Speaker C: Could do a whole podcast. [00:09:16] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll just have to wait and see, y'. [00:09:18] Speaker B: All. [00:09:18] Speaker C: Let's get their state champion. Their state champion in 3A. [00:09:24] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:09:25] Speaker A: I don't think they know I'm going. [00:09:28] Speaker B: The Mansfield Tigers because I think they are that good. Now the defending state champion Salem, you know, is, is still sitting there with a lot of returning starters. [00:09:38] Speaker D: And that one at Mansfield. [00:09:40] Speaker B: Yeah, that one at Mansfield. And maybe the best running back in 3A. And Bismarck is sitting there and you know, we thought, oh well, Bismarck's going to be down because they lost their quarterback. Well then they get a move in from Lake Hamilton, Ethan Hornbeck, who's going to be their quarterback, who's been playing at Lake Hamilton. So now they're good. And of course you never ever count out the four dice. Red bugs. [00:10:02] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:10:03] Speaker B: You know, when it comes that's, that's. [00:10:05] Speaker D: My pick for 3A. [00:10:06] Speaker B: Four other teams sitting there saying, you know, I don't know, but I think Mansfield, Boonville, Charleston, all three in the semis. [00:10:15] Speaker C: Oh, wow. I'm going to go Leland. You convinced me. I'm going to go Salem. You know, greyhounds, a little disrespect there. [00:10:24] Speaker D: I'm going with the red bugs. You don't you. Bear Bryant's alma mater gets another title. [00:10:29] Speaker B: Well, in Fordyce, you know they're going to win their conference, which means they're probably going to be at home. That's a big advantage. And Salem, though, don't forget they're replacing a coach. [00:10:40] Speaker C: So Sydney says we had to move on to 4A. So we're going to move on to 4A. You know, Elkins is defending 4A1. [00:10:46] Speaker A: It's just because I want to get to 7A. [00:10:48] Speaker C: I know. We do have a commercial after this though, but that's fine. So we got two conferences we need to discuss here. The 4A1. 4A4. So I mean, you know, I think the 4A1 is as open as it's been the last couple of years. Elkins has a good team coming back, but they lost a lot from that team and went to the state finals. So you got to think that Gravett, Gentry, Prairie Grove were like, we can do something in this conference this year. That's kind of the vibe I got at media day. [00:11:15] Speaker D: Might be able to do something, but I don't know if they'll be able to win it. I mean Elkins. Elkins has really. It's like Mansfield, the Mansfield now been successful three years in a row. Mansfield's usually been a. In years past a one and done or maybe a two year run. But Mansfield has slowly built the program now the coaching staff there that it's a little more of a solid program on solid footing. And I think Elkins is that way. [00:11:40] Speaker B: Foray is just so deep. Yeah, so deep. [00:11:44] Speaker D: Well, and the other thing too about Elkins, you know, not that gravet Gentry and things don't have that advantage. But when you're sitting there at Elkins, you're. You're able to get kids that might not want to go to Fayetteville, that, that are good athletes that are within the fable city limits. That's an advantage for them as well. [00:12:04] Speaker B: And did last year get Elkins over the hump because you know they beat Malvern and Mills in back to back weeks in the playoffs. [00:12:11] Speaker D: So how much confidence, including winning on the road? [00:12:14] Speaker B: Yes. So how much confidence does that give them going into this year? We'll see. [00:12:18] Speaker C: All this talk about grabbing Gentry. Watch out for Prairie Grove this year. I think Prairie Grove is back with A vengeance. They got a lot of good football players over there, and I've enjoyed visiting with Danny Absher, so. [00:12:29] Speaker A: And a lot of good dinosaur roars. [00:12:33] Speaker C: They did well, didn't they? That being said, I'm going to say Elkins will win the conference again. What about you guys? [00:12:40] Speaker D: Yeah, I've got Elkins, I think, and I think they're going to make enough whether they get to the finals or not. It's. It's with teams like Arkadelphia, Malvern, people like that, you don't know, but they're certainly going to win the conference and make a deep playoff run. [00:12:52] Speaker B: They're on a roll right now, I think. Elkins repeats as conference champions. [00:12:56] Speaker C: All right, let's go to the 4A4 then. We have, you know, from our coverage area, we have Ozark, Lamar and Waldron in the four A four in a really, really, really, really, really, really tough league. You know, Dardanelle, Clinton, Mena, those are all really good teams. Then you have this next group of teams with Ozark, Lamar, Pottsville, Waldron, all trying to get, you know, theoretically that last spot. The big question is, is any of them going to get that last spot? And then can any of them contend in the conference for the title? I. I don't. [00:13:25] Speaker D: Well, you know, with Ozark having a new coach and, and things, they're probably going to be at next, though the people of Ozark don't believe in it. They're probably going to have a little bit of restructuring, re retooling and things like that. So it may be a short time away before they're going to be a big factor. [00:13:45] Speaker C: Leland, what do you think? [00:13:48] Speaker B: You know, I. It's. I still have to think that Lamar, with Coach Jones, you know, coaching stability is so important on, you know, success of a football program, especially on the high school level. I think Lamar has a chance of cracking that because, you know, Dardanelle is going to have their best football team ever this year and has one of the top quarterbacks in the state in Creed Vega. Also, Clinton is going to have the best football team probably that they've had ever. So I think everybody's battling for third and fourth, but I just think Lamar has a possibility. And like Walter said, I think it may take Ozark a year or two to gel under a new coach. [00:14:32] Speaker D: And the thing about Lamar is the last few years, you know, he had success at magazine, but he's never had that really big breakthrough playoff game that has gotten him deep in the playoffs. And this may be the year that it happens he might finish second to one of those two, get a nice draw, and then all of a sudden you look up in Lamar's in semifinals sitting. [00:14:54] Speaker C: Do you know the mascot at Dardanelle? No. [00:14:59] Speaker A: What is it? [00:15:00] Speaker C: The Sand Lizard. [00:15:01] Speaker A: The Sand Lizard. [00:15:02] Speaker C: It's pretty cool looking. Who's your state champion in 4A? [00:15:08] Speaker D: Sarkadelphy. Until somebody beats him. [00:15:13] Speaker B: I think I still, you know, Bo Embry. Warren Lumberjacks. If Jackson Denton can stay healthy, that's a big if. You know they're going to have, I think, the best quarterback in the conference, but he has to stay or in the state in 4A if he stays healthy. Other than maybe Creed Vega. But how much does Creed Vega have around him? I'm still going the Lumberjacks. [00:15:37] Speaker D: I'd like to see Warren win, but I mean, they keep falling short here, there. And I just think Arkadelphia, this last decade or so has been the top team in 4X. [00:15:47] Speaker C: I'm with Walter. I'm going Arkadelphia. Sydney, it's all yours. [00:15:51] Speaker A: Okay. Well, we discussed some pretty good teams in these few conferences, but we're going to take a commercial break and when we come back, we're going to discuss the 5, 6 and 7, 8 conferences. [00:16:03] Speaker C: We lost a state championship. It's time to start now and get that next state championship. [00:16:09] Speaker B: I knew that if I was going to coach high school school that I wanted to go to the biggest high school in the state. [00:16:14] Speaker C: I think mental toughness is the most important. Probably just because this is a failure game. You'll fail way more times than you. [00:16:21] Speaker B: Succeed in this game. [00:16:22] Speaker A: He's always been a huge golfer all his life, and I just wanted to follow his footsteps. [00:16:59] Speaker C: Ultimately, if you don't perform, then it really doesn't matter what you're labeled as. [00:17:19] Speaker A: Welcome back to Prep Rally. We hope you enjoyed that little sneak peek of our new docu series of football. [00:17:24] Speaker C: You guys are having a great time with the road trips, aren't you? [00:17:27] Speaker A: We are. And it's. It's so exciting to actually just dive into, seeing what all these teams have to offer. So catch out. Our latest docu series coming out on August 28th. First episode is Greenwood called Title Town. With that being said, y' all will jump right into the 5A conference. So this time, Leland, take it away. [00:17:50] Speaker B: Well, Class 5A. 5A was probably the, I guess, maybe easiest to predict last. Last year, Valley View, Parkview, Robinson, Farmington all won their conference, all went to the second round. And you know, Parkview, I do think it's the dawning of a new era. Maybe in 5A that Parkview is not a heavy favorite in 5A this year. I think there are a lot of teams that can knock them off the perch. [00:18:21] Speaker C: Well included in that it would be the Farmington Cardinals and who are the defending five A West conference champions and a really heavy favorite to repeat as conference champions in the 5A West. So we know Farmington is going to be good. They've got all the pieces, you know, to win. The question is what happens after Farmington and can anybody knock them off? And so what I'm wondering guys is are teams like Harrison, Alma, can they get back into the picture in the playoff race there? Can Pea Ridge or Clarksville improve off of really tough seasons last year? You know, kind of remains to be seen. And you still have Greenbrier and Moralton in that league. So it's a, it's a really tough league but it's really fun league. I mean that's a fun group of schools to cover, don't you think, Walter? [00:19:09] Speaker D: Yeah, it is. You know the, the sad part is unfortunately the last few years they haven't done except for you know, Farmington made a team run to the finals last year there. They haven't shown as well. It's been competitive. You've had these almost three to four way ties and, and or ties for second, stuff like that. But it hasn't translated into much playoff success like I said last year, minus Farmington. And I think Farmington can make another playoff run. And though I do agree with Leland that that Parkview is not quite the overwhelming favorite that they've been in the last few years, they're still going to be a favorite. [00:19:51] Speaker B: Still the favorite. [00:19:51] Speaker D: And they still have a bolding. That's head coach. [00:19:53] Speaker B: Yes. [00:19:54] Speaker D: And he had more Champions league experience than his brother had. So I, I think Farmington is going to win the conference. But I still see Parkview winning a state title. [00:20:07] Speaker C: Do any of that. [00:20:08] Speaker D: Can we get we start getting ready for the Greenwood park view final in two years or next in 2026. [00:20:15] Speaker C: Unfortunately I don't think we're going to get the part view that we needed for that matchup against Greenwood. [00:20:19] Speaker D: Yes, that would have been 5A. [00:20:21] Speaker C: Yeah, that's, that's going to be really tough for those five A teams when Greenwood does move down next year. What about Harrison or Alma? I mean you know, we just don't know. You know they've you know, Harrison such a tradition rich program but they went 2 and 8 last year and they really fell hard. We think they're going to be better. Alma, you know, missed out too, with a lot of close losses. So Leland, I think you know better than anybody kind of what's going on down there. Airedales have got to make a run here. [00:20:50] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, they won. They lost those two games back to back weeks early at home. Close games, won in overtime. You know, they kind of set the tone for their season. I do think Alma is capable. I think it's a two team race, which means it's a two team race to finish third and fourth. Now, Alma is one of only two teams in the conference that does not return a starter at quarterback. And that's huge. So we'll see the battle of the bone. We'll see how good they're, how, how much they've reloaded. They lost a lot of seniors last year, including seniors that were backups. [00:21:35] Speaker C: So. [00:21:36] Speaker B: But I do think they can compete in the 5A West. [00:21:39] Speaker C: Okay, so five, eight, state champion. We, I think we know who the 5A west champion we're all going to say is predicted to be. Farmington. Who's the 5A champion? [00:21:49] Speaker D: As I said earlier, Parkview. [00:21:52] Speaker B: I have the semifinals being Farmington and Moralton. The best two quarterbacks in 5AMaddox Berry. We all know Kane Archer threw 57 touchdown passes last year, led the state. You know who else threw 57 touchdown passes last year? Maddox Berry. The quarterback at Moralton. Moralton and Farmington with Aiden Lester at quarterback. A rematch. 65, 62. Farmington wins the state championship. [00:22:23] Speaker C: Wow. This isn't basketball. No, but that. You know, he's referring to the, the 75, 72 shoot out there. Was it 78, 75? I can't remember. [00:22:32] Speaker A: All right, Graham, who's your pick? [00:22:34] Speaker C: Oh, you know, why not? I'm going to go Farmington. I think Farmington is going to get it done. So. All right. 6A. [00:22:44] Speaker A: 6A. [00:22:45] Speaker C: Sydney's been waiting for this one. [00:22:47] Speaker A: Yes, I have. [00:22:49] Speaker C: With, with all due respect to the 6A west teams, your south sides, Van Buren, Siloam, all these, all these teams. This is a Greenwood Shiloh showdown. [00:23:01] Speaker A: Yeah, I would second that. [00:23:03] Speaker D: And, and this year, and this year, unlike last year, Shiloh will be able to. To have a better effort to put up a lot of points on Greenwood because Greenwood's defense is going to be young and green early for sure. [00:23:19] Speaker C: And they get them first because they. [00:23:21] Speaker D: Only have three starters back. And if I'm not mistaken, that is the first conference game right out the, right out the door. So that's a big help for Shiloh. That if they get their offense going. [00:23:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:33] Speaker D: But that game could be a shoot. [00:23:34] Speaker B: Have you ever. Have you ever heard of Jason Gill? That's the defense coordinator at Greenwood. He'll have the defense ready to go. [00:23:41] Speaker A: I was gonna say I, you know, our first episode again with Greenwood comes out August 28th, but I didn't say. [00:23:49] Speaker D: Charlotte was gonna win. [00:23:50] Speaker B: I just said, oh, I think Shiloh's very capable. [00:23:53] Speaker D: Yeah. Yes. [00:23:54] Speaker B: Because Griffin Mason, best running back in the conference thing too. Don't forget this, that Greenwood beat Shiloh Christian twice last year. Greenwood has not seen Cole Creighton at quarterback yet. All I'm going to say that might make a big difference too. [00:24:15] Speaker A: All I'm going to say to finish it, but we spent a lot of time fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with the Greenwood football team over the last few weeks. And what I can tell you is their coaches put them in the mindset for these games. So I think even with a young offense, I mean, they're training. They're training kiddos from sixth grade and up to get ready for the season. [00:24:34] Speaker D: Well, one thing you're going to see different. More than likely, Greenwood's still going to run do their fast paced and fast pace, but don't be surprised. In certain situations they're going to line up like they're going to run fast pace, but they're going to burn 40 seconds off the play clock because they do in certain situations they do want to give the defense some benefit of. Of rest and stuff like that. Not putting. And. And last year they. Their offense because they were high scoring. When I leave that they didn't turn the ball over. When you think Kane Archer threw 57 touchdowns, how many interceptions did he throw? [00:25:09] Speaker B: Two. [00:25:09] Speaker D: Two. So. [00:25:11] Speaker C: And one of those. [00:25:13] Speaker B: And who were they against? [00:25:15] Speaker C: Shiloh Christian. [00:25:16] Speaker B: Shiloh Christian. [00:25:17] Speaker C: So, okay. Okay. [00:25:19] Speaker D: You will put. So. So you're putting your d. They put their defense in good position last year. [00:25:24] Speaker C: Okay, one sentence answer here on these two. On these two questions. One sentence. What's Fort Smith Southsides destiny? [00:25:35] Speaker D: I think they'll be in the playoffs this year. If the bracket falls right. They'll be in the semis. So that's two sentences. [00:25:42] Speaker B: Semis. [00:25:45] Speaker A: Short and simple. [00:25:46] Speaker C: All right, same question. Same question. Van Buren, what's their. What's their destiny? [00:25:54] Speaker B: They will have a possibility at making the playoffs again as a sixth seed and going on the road across the state again and winning another playoff game for the third year in a row on the road five hours away that. [00:26:11] Speaker A: Was a run on sentence. [00:26:12] Speaker D: And then losing the quarterfinals. [00:26:13] Speaker C: Yes or no Question. Will Siloam Springs snap its conference losing streak dating back to 2020? [00:26:22] Speaker D: No. [00:26:25] Speaker B: Yes. [00:26:26] Speaker C: I'm a go yes, too, on that one. So I, you know, have got to spend a little bit of time out there the last couple of weeks. [00:26:33] Speaker D: So are we going to. I think we're in agreement that it's either Greenwood or Shiloh is going to win the conference. Who's going to win six? [00:26:42] Speaker C: Oh, I don't bet against Greenwood. Greenwood. [00:26:44] Speaker A: All right, y', all, put in. Put in your picks. [00:26:46] Speaker C: Greenwood. Greenwood to the conference. Greenwood Estate. Okay, Greenwood. [00:26:50] Speaker A: Walter. [00:26:53] Speaker D: Greenwood to the conference. But I'm going to. I'm going to zag. I zag this every year, and I'm always wrong, so I'll keep staying wrong. Benton's going to win 6A. [00:27:04] Speaker A: All right, Leland. [00:27:06] Speaker B: I. Kane Archer, senior year. [00:27:09] Speaker C: Come on, Leland. Go Shiloh. [00:27:11] Speaker A: Just say Greenwood. [00:27:11] Speaker C: Go, Shiloh. [00:27:12] Speaker A: Just say Greenwood. [00:27:13] Speaker B: Oh. [00:27:17] Speaker A: All right. Before we get going into our. [00:27:19] Speaker C: I hope the Shiloh folks are really fired up here. [00:27:22] Speaker A: Well, speaking of Shiloh, you will see them on our Prep Rally road trip football docu series. So stay tuned to our podcast to know when that's coming out. [00:27:30] Speaker C: I like that. [00:27:32] Speaker A: All right. But before we get to 7A, just wanted to remind everyone that you can find our. All of our writings from Prep rally on the nwaonline.com and River Valley Democrat Gazette, where you can find just all the content that we're doing. Additionally, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Prep Rally Pod to just see all the antics that we're up to this season. So 7A. [00:27:58] Speaker C: All right. 7A conference. So when I broke this down, I can. You guys are welcome to disagree with me. You're wrong. But if you disagree, disagree. But we have Fayetteville, we have Bentonville, and then we have Rogers trying to get in the mix with those two teams. Can the Mounties join that group and beat either one of those teams to make a run at this conference? They haven't won the conference since 2006. That's kind of where I'm at. Everybody knows Fayetteville is loaded and Bentonville is loaded. Where does Rogers fit in all this? Walter, what you got? What do you think? [00:28:32] Speaker D: Well, in 2006, Rogers was just one high school. It wasn't two yet. So. And that was a. And that was a loaded team. I mean, the. That. That was a pretty special Rogers team that fell short against Southside when it. When it. When it came time to win the game they, they unfortunately fell short. I mean I think this Rogers team can do it but could could essentially win the conference or like like in the three A one a three way tie with Bentonville and, and Fayetteville. But they've either defensively or whatever they've got to find ways to stop Fayetteville or stop Bentonville when the game is on the line. And the last couple of years they felt fell short of that and you know you can get to the quarterfinals or. But then you got to play a Bryant or a Bentonville or someone like that just, or Conway and you just get put in the way. So and more importantly you, you need to win those games if you want to play those teams at home to have a real chance to win, you've got to find a way to win those games. [00:29:36] Speaker C: Leland, what you got on that that upper echelon of the 7A West? [00:29:41] Speaker B: Well, until they show that they can compete and beat a Fayetteville or Bentonville consistent consistently. No, I mean it's Fayetteville and Bentonville. I mean that's the two headed monster until proven otherwise. [00:29:56] Speaker C: Can Bentonville west and Springdale stay in that mix this year? Going to you know I think Bentonville west is going to be better than people think. They were really young last year. They started two freshmen in 7A football. [00:30:08] Speaker A: Well I say sorry to intrude here gentlemen but I think to not give too many surprises away because a lot of these teams are going to be on our docu series where you can see more of the behind the scenes. So I think we should just make our picks and then when the series comes out people will see more about what you're talking about in the series 7A. [00:30:27] Speaker C: Yeah, but I gotta know, I gotta know what you know. [00:30:29] Speaker A: You have to wait. Delay of gratification. [00:30:31] Speaker D: Well, I mean you know we'll, we'll. We'll see About West Week 1 when they go to Greenwood. So that, that, that will. [00:30:38] Speaker A: Exactly. Which will be on prediction the second episode of our docuseries. [00:30:44] Speaker B: West went up against each other twice in seven on seven this summer and they tied once and Bentonville west won the other time. Now okay, it was seven on seven. [00:30:53] Speaker D: No bad. [00:30:53] Speaker B: And Bentonville west won a playoff game in the first round last year at Little Ro Christian. So they've got some momentum. Plus they have one of the best quarterbacks returning in the conference and Trey Thompson a West. [00:31:07] Speaker D: If you got a good quarterback, you've always got a chance. [00:31:09] Speaker C: Sydney's having kids over. [00:31:11] Speaker D: You know when you say Springdale did. [00:31:13] Speaker A: You say I'm having kids over here? [00:31:14] Speaker C: No, I said you're having. You're having kids jumping. [00:31:17] Speaker D: Jumping over to Springdale. Because you mentioned them also. [00:31:19] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:31:20] Speaker D: Yes. I think Springdale will be in the playoff mix. I think what they do offensively and I think they're. They're returning their quarters pounders back this year. Oh, you did graduate. [00:31:30] Speaker A: All right. [00:31:30] Speaker D: So they will have to find a quarterback, so that'll be a challenge for. [00:31:33] Speaker A: Them to save some details for our later episodes and for those more important games. Let's make our picks. [00:31:40] Speaker C: I'm going to go Fayetteville. Honestly, like, you know, they've got Purple Rain, Full Rain. Oh, my God. You know, Fayetteville has a terrific quarterback and Hank Hendricks, who's moved in from Bernie Texas. They've got all kinds of talent. Division 1 talent all over the field. So for the conference, I'm going Fayetteville for the state championship. I've got. My sources tell me that Bryant has just got dudes all over the field. So I'm going to go with Bryant. I'm sorry. [00:32:20] Speaker A: All right, Walter. [00:32:23] Speaker D: I like your favorite pick, but I'm going to go with Bentonville. I love the job that. [00:32:27] Speaker C: Oh, I do, too. [00:32:29] Speaker D: And. And, you know, they played about as well as they could play, and they still need to make two plays to win that game last year and just couldn't do it. And. And. But I. I'm like you, as much as I would love to see Conway win or. Or even Fable come out the side there, actually, I. I think Fable's going to be upset, Brian in the semis, and Fable's going to be. Going to win the conference. Fable's going to win state. [00:32:57] Speaker A: All right. [00:32:57] Speaker B: Leland finishes off the west, restores order in the Class 7A Bentonville and Fville play for a state championship. Bentonville wins it all. Because you think about it, 2017, 2023, and 2024, they're four plays away from winning three state championships. I know ifs and ands and candy and nuts and all that stuff. There's four plays away from winning three state championships. And I think they get it done this year. [00:33:26] Speaker A: I like it. Battle of the Betterville. That's what they used to say back in my day. [00:33:32] Speaker D: The better Bill. [00:33:35] Speaker B: That's got to be a T shirt. [00:33:38] Speaker A: It is. It is. [00:33:39] Speaker C: Going back to our original thought here, it would not surprise me if Rogers gives some teams some fits with Jeff Regan and Braxton Lindsay. If those guys stay healthy and they figure anything out on the defensive side of things, Watch out for the Mounties. They're capable of beating anybody. [00:33:53] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:33:53] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. Because those two guys are two of the best players in the conference. They're two of the best players in the state. [00:33:59] Speaker C: Yes. [00:33:59] Speaker A: Well, again, you will see later on how good they are in our DOCU series. To finish off the show, we are going to start with some top fives and gimme fives. [00:34:10] Speaker C: Gimme five and top five. So. [00:34:12] Speaker A: All right. We have Leland first, and this time we're doing it a little different. So, Leland, take it away. [00:34:18] Speaker B: Okay, this is. Give me five. The five biggest questions surrounding the 2025 season. And I'll pose these to Walter, too. Can Kane Archer complete 81.54% of his passes again this season? [00:34:34] Speaker D: No, I. I mean, that was a bit of a magical season. And it's not that. Could he get 79.5 and we rounded up to 8? [00:34:45] Speaker C: Sure. [00:34:46] Speaker D: But I mean, that's. That's just an incredible number. [00:34:49] Speaker B: Exactly. And I think expecting him to do that again is just way too much. [00:34:54] Speaker D: Yeah, expecting it is too much. And even asking him is too. [00:34:57] Speaker B: Well, and the fact that he threw more touchdown passes than passes that he didn't complete, too. That's just a phenomenal season. So, no. [00:35:05] Speaker D: 46 touchdowns to one interception. [00:35:07] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:35:07] Speaker D: Really? [00:35:09] Speaker B: Number two, can Mansfield win a second straight conference title for the first time in school history? [00:35:19] Speaker D: Though I'm not picking them to do it. The answer to that question is, yes, they can. [00:35:25] Speaker C: Fair enough. [00:35:25] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:35:26] Speaker D: I think they can, too. [00:35:27] Speaker B: You've got Silas and Jeremiah Barton, I mean, stepping in for their older brothers. [00:35:32] Speaker C: And eight Burtons. Eight of them. [00:35:34] Speaker A: That's a basketball team, and I love it. [00:35:37] Speaker B: And so. So I think they can definitely. They're going to. And. And I'll tell you, almost. [00:35:41] Speaker D: Doug Rask. [00:35:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Five returning offensive linemen and the OR brothers. The OR brothers are. [00:35:50] Speaker A: What's your. What's your third question? Let's go. Let's go. Yes or no on these next few questions. [00:35:56] Speaker B: Okay. Number three. Can Forsmith Northside make the playoffs out of the 7A West? [00:36:03] Speaker D: Yes. [00:36:04] Speaker C: Yes. [00:36:05] Speaker B: It's going to be tough. I don't know. Drew Jackson's good. We'll see. Harbor Harbor. Number four. How far can Fort Smith Southside go this season? I think they go to the semifinals. [00:36:18] Speaker D: I think they could, but I think the quarterfinals is definitely easily within reach. Can they win that next game, get to the semifinals? We'll see who they play. [00:36:27] Speaker B: Number 5 in the 4A4. Can Ozark and Lamar just wave your way? Ozark or Lamar make The playoffs. Out of the four. A four. [00:36:37] Speaker D: Lamar, yes. Ozark, no. [00:36:40] Speaker B: Lamar, maybe. I think they have the upper hand. [00:36:44] Speaker A: Well, thank you for that, Leland. That was great. That was something different. [00:36:49] Speaker C: All right, Graham, I want to say my boy Peyton Zimmerman from Southside x'd me. He reached out to me on X and he X'd you. [00:36:59] Speaker A: That's not a thing. [00:37:00] Speaker C: Tweeted me or something or there you go, whatever. But he tweeted x'd me. [00:37:05] Speaker D: It's X. I have him in class, by the way. [00:37:07] Speaker C: Well, I'm ready to see him return some kicks. I think Southside goes to the playoffs. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, but. [00:37:14] Speaker A: All right, Graham, you have the top five players, so go ahead. [00:37:18] Speaker C: Okay, so this is. We're just trying to take a different spin on this since it's. It's a preview show. Mine is the top five players to watch in Northwest Arkansas. And it's really. No, no surprise. Our cover boy, Jeff, Our cover boy of our football section, Jeff Regan is number one. I think he's the most exciting player we've had in the conference the last two years. He was the player of the year for northwest Arkansas in 2024. What can he do for an encore? We shall see the. I'm really, really excited. Number two is about Hank Hendricks at Fayetteville. He's got offers from just about everybody to go play football at their prestigious university. You know, there's a lot. As Leland said, there's a lot of good quarterbacks in the 70 West. Just about everybody has a pretty good one. He is elite. And you know, the really sad thing is there's only going to be 11 all state 7A west quarterback because of how the league does this. So there's gonna be a lot of good quarterbacks that don't get all state honors. Hank Hendricks is going to be in that conversation. Number three, I think we're really going to see how good of a football player Blair Irvin, the third from Bentonville is. He is just a terrific wide receiver. You know, they've got so many weapons at Bentonville that he doesn't have to be 80 catches, 1,400 yards kind of guy. Yeah, I think he had about 600 last year, but I think he's going to have a huge year. He's committed to the Hogs. So, you know, number four is. I've grouped together three guys from Fayetteville that are just, you know, they look the part, they act the part. They're really good defensive players. Will Caston, Kendrick Williams and Brody Jones all on that Fayetteville defense. All of them are Division 1 guys. Will castings being recruited? Got offers? Kendrick Williams is committed to Arkansas. Brody Jones is committed to Cincinnati. [00:39:20] Speaker A: Wow. [00:39:20] Speaker C: How about that? Really good talent. And Fable, they are loaded. Number five. How about the magic man, guys? Aiden Lester, dubbed the magic man by Tommy Tice. If he stays healthy, I look for him to have a huge year. He was our Northwest Arkansas offensive player of the year last year. And that is my top five players to watch. Actually, there's what, eight there? Seven. But you know, I always got it. Gotta stretch it a little bit. So without any further ado, I'm gonna give it over to Sydney for her top five. [00:39:57] Speaker A: Mine is going to be the top five things to look forward to. But this is from my perspective. This is my first full football season with prep rally. So my number five, I'm going to do a reverse here. But number five is making bloopers for our social media. [00:40:12] Speaker C: Oh, they're so funny. [00:40:14] Speaker A: To any athlete out there who think they will not somehow get on the bloopers, you are wrong. You will end up there. Same goes to all of you guys here. Just letting you know you can't escape that. You can't escape it. [00:40:25] Speaker C: The camera is rolling all the time. [00:40:29] Speaker A: Number four, which players are going to make a statement out of the first game of the season? I'm just interested to see which players just go off at the first game. So. Yeah. And then number three is post game interviews. Since we're doing the docu series, it'll be fun to get to talk to some of these athletes post game. I'm looking forward to that. And coaches as well. Number two is, you know, it's kind of cliche, but the. The infamous Friday night lights at Greenwood. Like we're going down there to film their first game and so, you know, they're a true pure football town. [00:41:06] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:41:07] Speaker A: So I'm excited to kind of experience that. Outside of. [00:41:11] Speaker D: Make sure you come to the press box before all of that. Get the food. [00:41:15] Speaker C: I don't. [00:41:16] Speaker D: You need to do a feature at home. Press box food too. And don't set up people get up their games and don't. [00:41:23] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. [00:41:24] Speaker C: Don't set up by the cannon either. They really. [00:41:27] Speaker A: Y' all two are pitiful. That's not the food. [00:41:29] Speaker C: They fire a real cannon. Cannonballs and everything. [00:41:33] Speaker A: Yeah, that's better than the food. Side note, real fast, but when we were covering the basketball tournament, Leland's first comment to me was, you have to go check out the shrimp in the lounge. And I said, are you kidding me? [00:41:47] Speaker C: You know, my favorite part about a Greenwood football game is they get the music. [00:41:54] Speaker A: Well, how about this? [00:41:56] Speaker D: Sopapia cheesecake. Good stuff. [00:41:58] Speaker A: How about this, y'? [00:41:59] Speaker C: All? [00:41:59] Speaker A: I'll start a document, and y' all can put your suggestions on it when we go. Okay? And my final number, one of my top five is filming the Raleigh Road trip docu series, which the first episode comes out on August 28th. I can't say it enough because we're really excited to take people behind the scenes of some of these 7A and 6A conference teams who are trying to win it all. [00:42:26] Speaker C: Now, wait a minute. Y' all already filmed a few of these, though. [00:42:30] Speaker A: We have Greenwood out. Yeah, we filmed during the season. [00:42:34] Speaker C: Well, but like last year, y' all filmed, like, Bentonville softball and harbor baseball. [00:42:39] Speaker A: Well, this one's just for football, so. Yeah, just for. We've discussed this, but anyway, we hope you. [00:42:45] Speaker C: I've slept since then, so I'm glad, Graham, but me, too. [00:42:51] Speaker A: Well, we hope you enjoyed our preview episode here today, and we look forward to just so many more fun episodes during this season. And thank you for watching. This was Prep rally.