Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Of them for just, you know, having the courage to show up. And they're hurting and they're going to be hurting for a long, long time. We lost somebody really, really special to us and, you know, we're going to make sure we continue to honor him throughout the year and just proud of the kids. You know, like you said, we had some great performances, but I was a lot more happy about the smiles I saw on the sideline and the hugging and it's been a tough few days. So today was a good, good one for us.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Welcome to the Prep Rally podcast sponsored by West Termite Pest and Lawn, Graham Thomas and Rick Fires here in Northwest Arkansas. And Leland Barclay joins us in the River Valley. And guys, it's week 10 of the high school football season and certainly we've got a lot to get to in this week's prep rally episode. But first, we're going to take a moment to remember Greenwood wide receiver Isaiah Arrington, who was killed in a tragic house fire last week along with his mother and sister in Greenwood. And Leland, we'll start off with you, man. You know, just a very, very tragic and sad time in Greenwood. And I know that you had spoken with Isaiah on a number of occasions throughout his high school career. Just a very tough loss for the Greenwood community.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, just sports in general gives us a lot of, you know, thrills and happiness and great moments. You know, it can also be heartbreaking. You know, we cover a, you know, a basketball team that's undefeated and loses in a state championship game or a softball team that's undefeated and loses in a state championship game.
But it's nothing like the heartbreak that, you know, we all experienced last week, especially the Greenwood community, the Greenwood school system and the Greenwood football team.
It's definitely something that none of us really get, you know, prepared for as, you know, sports riders or coaches or players, you know, especially 17 and 18 year old players.
So it's definitely difficult for everybody, especially everybody in Greenwood. Outstanding young man.
I think Chris Young probably said it best last week that it goes way beyond just being a great football player, an outstanding young man, very energetic, very nice, personable young man.
You know, it's just, it's a, it's a tragedy. And you know, they're like, Coach Young also said, you know, he's, they're beginning to see some healing and, you know, that's gonna take a while.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: Rick.
[00:02:51] Speaker D: Well, I didn't really know the family, but, man, when I saw that in the paper, I thought, oh, my goodness, I was, you Know, tears. I mean, just a little girl, innocent, five years old and football player, athletic, got whole life in front of them.
And it's just, you know, we see this on occasion. I like to turn the sports and kind of get away from the real world. But, man, then the real world just comes up to you and hits you with a two by four and knocks you down, about knocks you out. And that's about how we all felt when we heard about this. And, man, Coach Young and that football team, man, you're just feeling for them. I mean, that's all I can say.
[00:03:34] Speaker B: But, you know, as the world turns, so to speak, I mean, sports are a part of the healing process. And I know last week the team, we saw it on the video there. The south side community really, in a lot of communities around northwest Arkansas and the River Valley, really embraced Greenwood. I know Fayetteville ran out with a Greenwood flag.
And there are a lot of tributes to everybody just reaching, pouring, you know, wrapping their arms around Greenwood. And during this tough time. And that's, you know, that's kind of what we do around here. We all rally together and that's what we're doing now and we'll continue to do so.
So, again, our condolences to the Greenwood community and thank you guys for saying a few words about all this and, you know, we will keep Greenwood in our thoughts and prayers during this tough time.
All right, well, guys, let's jump into our Gimme 5 for the week. So, Leland, we'll let you take it away.
[00:04:36] Speaker C: These are the top five performances of the last week in the River Valley. Of course, number one, we always start with the River Valley Democratic said player of the week. This week, it's junior running back Hunter Warren of Boonville. In a 48 to 45 win over Charleston, Hunter Warren rushed 31 times for 303 yards and a touchdown in all four quarters.
And then he kind of sealed the win with a fumble recovery from his linebacker position, you know, on defense. And it was so funny. You know, I think Harold McElveen caught everything in perspective. You know, Dax Goff, the greatest running back in Boonville history, was on the sideline on Friday night. He came down from, you know, he's playing at Harding University and came down and watched the game and. And Hunter Warren, you know, saw him there and, you know, he just, he said he just wants to be like Dax. So a definite Dax, like performance. 303 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a big win in a rivalry game on Friday night.
And then number Two, of course, we, we talk about healing and, and things, and it just, it's so appropriate. The Grant Carnes Greenwood receiver, a senior receiver along with Isaiah Arrington on that team, returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown on Friday night to kind of kickstart Greenwood 70 to 28 win over Southside. And then, of course, he caught 10 passes for 155 yards and one of eight touchdown passes by Kane Archer in the first half, which ties a state record for a quarterback throwing eight touchdown passes in that first quarter.
For those two to champ Davis.
Kane Archer now has completed 80%. He's a little over 80% of his passes for the year. He was 22 of 26 on Friday night. He's now thrown 43 touchdown passes this season, which matches the number of incomplete passes he's thrown this year as well. So 43 and 43 and we'll watch that ratio going forward and, and see where that ends up. And then number three, Daniel Burton, a senior running back for mansfield, rushed only eight times for 218 yards and touchdowns of 36 and 84 yards in a 66 to 20 win over Greenland on Friday night. That cinched the top seed for the Tigers in the Class 3, 8 playoffs coming up and also solidified their only their second conference championship in school history.
[00:07:25] Speaker B: Hey, you called that one, Leland.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: What?
[00:07:29] Speaker B: You called that one the Mansfield Conference championship. You were on board from the very beginning.
[00:07:34] Speaker C: Well, you know, it's like I said last week, you know, it's a small band of Tigers, only 21 players in all, and they had to call up one of the freshman Burtons to, to help out. And he intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown on Friday night. But 36 rushes for 466 yards as a team in that win on Friday night.
And then number four, Braden Polkat, tied a state record in Alma's 49 to 14 win over Pea Ridge on Friday night. In intercepted a pass one yard deep in the end zone and return it for a touchdown, which statistically it is recorded as a 100 yard interception return. So that ties a state record since nothing can be any longer. But it's also the significance of that interception. And we look at the final score, it was 49 to 14, but at the time it was 28 to 7 in favor of Alma. And then with 10 seconds left is when Polecat intercepted that pass in the end zone. So if he Ridge can score there, it's 28 to 14. They get the yelping kickoff in the second half. And they go down and score. So it could have possibly been a 28 to 21 game early in the third quarter. Instead, that play just changed everything and Alma went on to win 49 to 14.
Number five, Braxton Goodson, a quarterback from Salisa Central on Friday night, rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown in a 20 to 14 win over Gore. But he also made a big defensive play when he intercepted a pass with 134 left that secured the win. And now Salisbury Central will play for a district championship on Friday night, making.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Plays on offense and defense. I always like to hear that, you know, there aren't a lot of two way players, you know, anymore. Not like there used to be. But, you know, you get this late in the season, you start hearing a lot more about guys, you know, having to do a little bit extra and.
[00:09:35] Speaker C: Well, if you look at all those guys, Hunter Warren had that fumble recovery late. Grant Carnes returns a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to get that game started. Daniel Burton also plays a lot of defense. And then of course, Braxton Goodson with that, you know, interception late. So, you know, and Braden polkad even, you know, he plays receiver a lot for the Airedales. So all five of these guys, you know, play on both sides of the ball.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: Yeah. All right, well, let's. Another solid edition of the Gimme 5 for this week and let's talk of the River Valley Sports Report. And man, a lot of celebrations to talk about there, Leland.
[00:10:18] Speaker C: Well, and you know, this week, of course, it's week 10, if you can believe it already. A lot of senior nights last week, Senior nights this week. And Greenwood will celebrate senior night on Friday night. A big game coming up. They host Mountain Home. And as odd as it is to believe, and we talk about Greenwood, they've been number one in 6A all year. They've mostly been number three and even number two overall in the state in some rankings and polls. They still need to win on Friday night to secure that top seed in the Class 6A playoffs on Friday night. So still a lot to play for, especially for the Bulldogs on Friday night.
Sallisaw will go to Ada on Friday night, also with a district title on the line. Sallisaw set that up with a 63 to 14 win over Stilwell last week. Pekola, the Indians won the battle of P towns, defeating Pecola 30 to 20 after trailing 14 to nothing at the half. And of course there's a lot of other games with a lot of seedings on the line too. You Know, Springdale travels to Northside on Friday night. Shiloh Christian goes to Van Buren on Friday night. So a lot of big games on, you know, coming up in this regular season finale.
And then in cross country. The state meet is this week, so we'll have some championships there and save the best for last. Volleyball in the river Valley. Not one, but two. Two state championships this week. Paris won the Class 3A state title with a 3 to 1 win over Central Arkansas Christian for their fifth state title in school history. And volleyball. Claire Zeiler was the mvp. Outstanding performance by the Paris Lady Eagles.
And then Hackett completed a dominant 360 undefeated season, winning the Class 2A state title with a sweep of England 25 11, 2511 and 25 13. McCalen Freeman was the MVP for their third state title at Hackett. But it's great for this senior class. They had been runners up the last three years. But what a dominant performance by the. By the Hackett Lady Hornets in the state tournament last week. They defeated Taylor in the semifinals, 25 to 6, 25 to 5 and 25 to 12. And then in the second round match, they won 25 to 8, 25 to 9 and 2514 over St. Joseph. Of course they got a first round by. But at the state tournament or at the state championship on Saturday, when CAC or when England did get to 11, I guess when they got the 10 in that first set, there was kind of a small celebration because just getting to double digits against Tackett this year was quite an accomplishment. But just a shout out to those two teams for winning. I guess it would be the first team championships of the year in volleyball.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: You know, that Hackett team also had a victory against Shiloh Christian. They beat Fort Smith Southside, I believe, in the Fort Smith tournament. So, you know, it's not like they were just beating up on the smaller schools. They played some bigger schools and they beat Paris.
[00:13:49] Speaker C: So they beat the 3A state champion. They beat the 5A state champion. And they beat. You know, I think you could safely say the best team in the, in the 6A west, even though Southside was upset in the semifinals. So. Yeah, it was not against a bunch of cupcakes.
[00:14:05] Speaker B: Well, it was the Southside was a 6A west champion, so. All right, well, that's, you know, just a lot of great stuff coming out of the River Valley this week. And we're going to take a break. As we go to break though, we got some, some interviews from the Paris Lady Eagles and Coach Fulmer and the Hack It Lady Hornets So check these interviews out. This is Prep Rally.
[00:14:28] Speaker C: You guys seemed focused from the beginning. Was that kind of the case?
[00:14:31] Speaker E: Yes. Ms. Freeman told us we had to stay locked in the entire time because you never know what can happen in state. And I'm just so blessed to be able to play with all these girls. It's so much fun.
We wanted it more than anything for these seniors. I hooked them up as ninth graders and just to see them get three runners ups in a row, you know, they were really facing that championship hard.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: And we're back with the Prep Rally podcast sponsored by West Termite Pest and Lawn, Graham Thomas. And Rick Fire is with you from Northwest Arkansas. And Leland Barclay joins us in the River Valley. All right, we're going to jump into the top five for performances from Northwest Arkansas. And without any further ado, here is Ricky Fires.
[00:15:07] Speaker D: All right, you know, let's keep it right here on volleyball. Man, got to give props to Shiloh Christian. They won the Class 5A state championship sweeping Greenbrier. You know, that's pretty impressive when you get to the state championship game and you sweep your opponent.
A good win for Shiloh. They captured the 5A title after finishing the runner up last evening. 4A. They've had a really strong program for several years now. Congratulations to the Saints, the Lady Saints. Back to football. The scoring bench continues. I was at this game going nuts trying to keep up with it. Rogers 70, Springdale Harbor 42. Rogers quarterback Jeff Regan ran for six touchdowns and passed for one touchdown. 372 yards on the ground and six touchdowns on 18 carries. He also threw for a touchdown. I think he had about 130 yards passing. Man, this kid is just so impressive. He's not that big in stature, but he's stout. You know, he runs around the corner, he beats these guys on the corner. He outruns people. And then there was a couple of occasions where he just ran over some people trying to get. Get the first down. So very impressive performance by Jeff Regan, and he's only a junior. And let's go back at Fable.
You know, Fable lost a couple games this year. They lost to Bentonville. But don't forget, this is the defending state champions in Arkansas's largest classification. And they beat Rogers Heritage 42 to nothing. Led 35 to nothing than that halftime. Garrett Odom threw three touchdowns and they kind of took their foot off the gas. Let some other kids play. But again, Fable still the defending state champion. I'm, I'm sure they'd like to get another shot at Bentonville in the playoffs and that's happened before. Your regular season champ get beat by a team they beat during a regular season. So looking forward, we still got this week 10. We got some great rivalry games going on, but man, these playoffs are going to be fun like they always are. Elkins number one in class four aid. They beat Gravett in a showdown of unbeaten teams. Another big night for Ben Napier. He's thrown for over 1,000 yards this year. 19 touchdowns. He wasn't even penciled in as a starter this year.
Landon Neal, and Landon Neal got hurt before the season started. But man, this kid, he's about 6 foot 2, big stature right there, throws the ball all over the place.
So Elkins going to look to go undefeated in conference play if they can win it. Huntsville and they'd be a big favorite there. So you know anybody who's ever gambled? I've gambled a couple dollars and this is a trap game. And the Elks, I'm sure the coaching staff going to keep them focused on Huntsville. Finish the job and then you can get ready for the playoffs. Another big game over here. Bentonville West. Bentonville west beat Northside 57 30. Trey Thompson for West passed 335 yards. Braden Nash ran for 136 yards, only eight carries. And with that win, Bentonville west eliminated north side.
Man, just hate it for Northside.
I don't know, they're traditionally been a real strong team. They're going through some phase right now, but hopefully they get it back next year. But for this year, Bentonville west is going to make the playoffs.
[00:18:43] Speaker B: Okay, let's go to our Northwest Arkansas sports report and we'll, we'll hit on a little thing that Leland teased about the cross country championships for this week down at Oak Lawn park in Hot Springs. And folks, have you never been down there for this event? I'm telling you, it is just a really, really cool event. One Oak Lawn is a fun place to go to anyway. I mean Rick Fires can attest to that.
[00:19:07] Speaker D: Yeah, unless you're betting on horses and lose a bunch of money like I've done.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: But they've, they've really, I mean the facilities down there, they got a brand new hotel that overlooks the track and you know the, just the insides down there. It's all a great time and I love visiting Hot Springs, but you know, the cross country championships are held inside the infield of Oklahoma and I always tell people you really don't appreciate how big a horse track is until you go get down in it and get inside of it. And if you're having to, you know, run back and forth as these runners are going around the course, you know, inside the infield, and it's just, man, it's a lot of fun. You know, you get the best of the best of the best cross country. Kids in Arkansas, there's. And so this event will begin on Thursday down at Oak Lawn. I think the smaller school divisions. I think I have that right, maybe. Anyway, they split it up over two days. It used to all be in one day. Now they've split it up over two days. And our man Henry Apple will be heading down there this week to go cover the cross country. A big cross country up here in northwest Arkansas. Rick Rogers is always really good. Bentonville is always really good. Fayetteville is always really good. Really, all the big schools at times have been really good in this cross country meeting.
[00:20:29] Speaker D: It's a festive atmosphere. Different schools with different nicknames, different colors.
Everywhere you look there's something going on and it's really exciting.
[00:20:39] Speaker B: You know, you get down there, they all got their tent set up and, you know, just people, people everywhere. And it's really the one event where the fans get the closest to the action because they get down there on the infield too, and are cheering. It's like, like when you attend a cross country race, you know, at some event here in northwest Arkansas or in River Valley. It's just a really cool deal.
[00:21:00] Speaker D: And they start off early in the morning and it's just a get up in the morning, brisk fall day, and hopefully the weather will cooperate. Hopefully all the storms have moved out. So looking forward to the results on that.
[00:21:11] Speaker B: Another cool thing, which I've always thought was real neat, but when they do the awards, you know, you get to get up on the podium. The first, the first and second place teams get to get up there and take a. A picture on this. It's almost like something out of the Roman Coliseum or something. That podium up there, it's really cool. So we'll look forward to seeing how that goes. And I know that's always a trip that our guy Henry Apple looks forward to on the, on the state cross country meet you really, Rick, right now we're down to, we finished up golf, we finished up tennis, and now we finished up volleyball. We've got cross country left on the fall sports and, you know, we're, we're getting basketball started slowly but surely, but you know, now and then, now we're talking week 10 of football and a lot of big games up here this week. So, you know, I suppose the, you know, one game we haven't really mentioned a whole lot about is going to be Gentry at Gravett. You know, Gravett with a tough loss at Elkins last week, 35, 21. But now Gravett and Gentry Battle of western Benton county is going to be for the number two seed out that 4A1 conference.
[00:22:19] Speaker D: So that's why I'm saying we've got rivalry games all over the place. I don't care. You know, even Rogers and Rogers, Harris, them kids, you know, that's personal to them that they want to give it their best. And you know, from hopefully it's a close game. I know Roger has been dominant and Heritage really struggled. I'd like to see a close game there. But a lot of tradition on week 10.
[00:22:41] Speaker B: Yep.
You know, Springdale harbor, that high flying Springdale harbor offense in Fayetteville, they're going to, they're going to play each other at Harmon Field on Friday. I mean that there could be a lot of points scored in that game. You know, Leland mentioned that Farmington and Shiloh Christian are both heading down the mountain to go play in the River Valley. Farmington will be at Alma and I think that's going to be a really good game. A healthy Alma team against Farmington team looking to go undefeated in the, in the 5A West. We'll see how that goes. Shiloh Christian kind of has to get back up on the stick. They lost to Lake Hamilton last week in a real shocker, I thought. But we'll see how the Saints do at Van Buren and I know they'll probably arrive in a bad mood thinking about how they lost at home to Lake Hamilton last week.
You know, Fort Smith Southside's coming up to Silo Springs and on the surface you have a couple teams that are.06 in the 6A west and you know someone's going to get a conference win there and they'll end their season on a good note. So. And then there's the big win, which, you know, it's, it doesn't have the same kind of buildup as it has in years past, but let me tell you, Bentonville west at Bentonville. You know, Bentonville west has never beaten Bentonville before and you know, I'm not sure this will be the year either. But you know that in a rivalry game it's going to be, it's going to be tight and it'll be fun and we're looking forward to that. And last, surely not Least you know Springdale has a chance to wrap up a number four seed in the, in the seven day west conference with a win at Fort Smith Northside. Northside is out of it, but man, they'd love to win. They'd love to end their season with a win.
[00:24:23] Speaker D: And Springdale really young, they lost about three in a row. They really need that win to, you know, get that confidence going again heading to postseason play. That would be a great springboard if they could go down there and win that game at Northside.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: All right, we're going to take another break and when we come back, we'll get into who you got. This is prep rally.
And we're back with the prep rally podcast sponsored by west termite pests and lawn. And gentlemen, it's time for who you got our picks for this week's games. So we'll we're going to get started this week with a Thursday night special, Mountainburg at Johnson county west side. So the situation here is we have two teams that are, you know, don't have anything to play for. They're both out of the playoff running, but both would like to win in their season on a win. So Mountainburg Dragons at the Johnson County Westside Rebels. So I'll start us off on this one and you know, our guy Ryan Allen, you know, is a playmaker and when he's going Mountain Bird Dragons seem to be going good. So I will take the Mountainbird Dragons to beat Johnson county west side. Rick Fires, who you got?
[00:25:44] Speaker D: I got Dragons as well.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: And Leland, who do you got?
[00:25:48] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, last game of the year, both have been eliminated from the playoffs. Brian Allen may get 40 carries now. I don't know if he's going to get 44 carries like Jace die of Pea Ridge did on Friday night at Alma, but I expect he'll get a lot. And I'll take Mountain Bird.
[00:26:08] Speaker B: All right, I thought, I thought you might. And you're planning on attending that game? I don't know how many games you've ever attended at Johnson county west side over the years, but man, if I know Leland, Leland always likes going to a, to a high school football game no matter where it's at.
[00:26:23] Speaker C: I covered Johnson County Westside and Conway Christian the first year that Conway Christian joined the Triple A and got out of the that private school conference they were. So it tells you how long ago that was.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: All right, how about a Class 3A game? Boonville at Lavaca. Boonville with a big strong win last week at Charleston.
You know, I kind of look for the Bearcats and Hunter Warren and the boys to keep on rolling. Give me Boonville at Lavaca. Rick, fall, who you got?
[00:26:54] Speaker D: Oh, man, you gotta go. Boonville Bearcat, they get ready, they win this one. Give them a lot of energy heading to the playoffs.
[00:27:01] Speaker B: Leland, who you got?
[00:27:03] Speaker C: Oh, absolutely. I think Boonville goes in there and puts on another, you know, ground game performance. You know, they did not attempt, attempt a single pass on Friday night against Charleston. I think they had 48 rushing attempts, 400, you know, 47 yards rushing. I think they do the same thing at Lavaca, but Lavac is going to go into that, you know, playoff on, on good momentum and you know, they've got a chance to clinch a winning season with a win and Cutler winners has had a great year for them. So I think Lavaca puts on a good performance, but not good enough to beat Boonville.
[00:27:43] Speaker B: All right, Class 4A Battle of Benton, Battle of western Benton County. Gentry at Gravett.
Not real sure where the Pioneers are at with their quarterback situation. We had heard that Talon Williams might be back, but not sure he is back. So give me Gravett to win at home. Bounce back after a tough loss at Elkins. Rick, who you got?
[00:28:05] Speaker D: Yeah, this is a good, this is going to be a good bounce back win for the Gravette Lions.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Gravett. All right, Leland, who you got?
[00:28:12] Speaker C: You know, I took Gentry in a little bit of an upset last week and I'm going to take Gentry again because at this point, I think Gravett would almost be disappointed if I picked him to win.
[00:28:24] Speaker B: Yep, they've. They've proven you wrong a few times, haven't they, this year?
[00:28:28] Speaker C: And, and I'm going to give them another chance.
[00:28:32] Speaker B: All right.
In class 5A Farmington at Alma.
You know, the Alma Airedales are not going to be able to qualify for the postseason. But I tell you what, Farmington is a good football team and I know Alma is a good football team. They're not going to make the playoffs. They got good football players over there. I hear they're healthy. You know what? Alma's had some tough losses this year. So give me Alma. I'm taking the Alma Airedales at home on senior night to beat Farmington. Rick fires, who you got?
[00:29:09] Speaker D: I think Farmington going to close it out when the go undefeated in conference play. Give me Farmington and that new coach called Tommy Tice.
[00:29:20] Speaker B: All right, Leland, who you got in this one?
[00:29:22] Speaker C: You know, there's a. There's. You know, on the surface this game looks like, you know, it should Easily be Farmington that wins. They've already clinched the top seed. They're going for an undefeated conference championship against a team that's been eliminated from the playoffs. But there's a lot underneath the surface on this game. You know, first of all, Coach Vines is going to be there Friday night and they're going to honor the three state championship teams that he had during the years 1980, 1997 and 1998. So they're going to bring those teams in and they're going to honor those teams to welcome back Tom Tice to Airdale Stadium on Friday night.
So I just can't see the Alma Airedales with Frank Vines in attendance honoring the three state championship teams that he had letting and allowing Tom Tice to come to Alma and win. So I will take the Alma Airedales to win on Friday night and upset Tom Tice.
[00:30:29] Speaker D: That is so cool. They're doing that.
I loved when Frankie Vines was leading Alma and Tyson's up there at Harrison, man. And for them to come and do this and honor that team, that is so. That's impressive right there. Whoever put that together, good job.
[00:30:46] Speaker C: Well, and you know, those two coaches, Coach Tice and Coach Vines are fantastic friends and buddies with each other. And there have never. There's never been a coaching matchup in the state where two coaches played against each other more than Tom Tice and Frank Vines.
[00:31:06] Speaker B: That. That's just really cool.
[00:31:07] Speaker D: Special night.
[00:31:08] Speaker B: Yep. All right, how about Class 6A? Another. Another one in the River Valley. Shiloh Christian at Van Buren.
You know, I.
As I said, I think Shiloh Christian shows up in a bad mood after losing to Lake Hamilton last week. And you know, Van Buren has been kind of up and down there. They're going to keep playing ball after this week, but I think Shiloh Christian is too much for them this week. Rick, who you got?
[00:31:33] Speaker D: So. And Shiloh lost at home to Lake Hamilton.
[00:31:35] Speaker B: They did? Yes, sir.
[00:31:36] Speaker D: See, I mean, who would have guessed that because that's a hard drive for Lake Hamilton to get up here. And Shiloh Christian, they call it, the field of champion. They were. And that is impressive. So, yeah, you're exactly right. I think Shiloh Christian, I think they went back to work and I think they will win a pretty important game over Van Buren on Friday.
[00:31:56] Speaker B: And that would, I think, Leland, if I'm right, wouldn't that lock up maybe the number two seed? Well, I guess it depends on what happens with, with. With Mountain Home in Greenwood. But there's a lot to play for for Shiloh There.
[00:32:09] Speaker C: Well, and more than just a bounce back win for Shiloh Christian. Yes, they need. They have to win to be able to get seed, which is gigantic in the playoffs. So there's a lot in addition to just bouncing back from a home loss last week. But I think the Saints roll.
[00:32:28] Speaker B: Okay, how about our River Valley game of the week, Class 6A.
We'll start off over here. Mountain Home at Greenwood. I mean, and on the night where they're going to be honoring their fallen teammate, Isaiah Arrington, no question in my mind. Greenwood big.
Rick, who you got?
[00:32:48] Speaker D: Well, you know what, normally I would say Greenwood big, but man, how do kids, 17, 18, 16 year old kids, how they deal with this, how they come back and play a football game that didn't mean squat compared to what happened to their teammate this week? I don't know how they're going to do it, but I guess I'll take Greenwood just slightly over Mountain home. Mountain home is a real good team, but man, this is hard to predict for me.
[00:33:15] Speaker B: All right, Leland, who you got?
[00:33:17] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a tough one because I think Mountain home is very good. And this is another one of those games. Mountain home runs the ball. They run it very effectively. So this is another one of those games where offensive possessions are going to be limited, but they're not going to be limited enough to slow down Greenwood. When they have the ball, they're going to score. They've won 67 straight games, games at home, so they're not going to lose this one. With the conference championship and the top seed on the line, I think Greenwood rolls even by the mercy rule.
[00:33:49] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
Class seven eight, another big one down the river Valley. Springdale at Fort Smith, north side. And you know, it's another one of those watch out games. You think Northside may not be motivated, but you know, they can't make the playoffs. But you know, they've been kind of due to really bounce back and for a while there against Bentonville west, they played well.
But I'm going to go with Springdale to beat for Smith Northside in a close ball game on the road.
Leland, who you got in this one? We'll start with you on that one.
[00:34:22] Speaker C: Yeah, this is a tough one. And if this game was at Springdale, I might agree that, you know, north side would just kind of, you know, maybe just not mail it in, but, you know, kind of maybe a little bit go through the motions because it's the season finale. They don't have anything to play for, but I think they do have Something to play for because it's at Mayo Thompson Stadium and there's a lot of history there. They're not going to roll over for Springdale, but the key to this game is going to be the quarterback play because with Jack Pounders out, Spring Hill now has started a different quarterback. Each of the last three games, Northside has played three quarterbacks. A lot of. A lot of playing time throughout the season. So I still think though, that Springdale's ground game is the difference. And Springdale wins this and takes that fourth seed and the momentum into the playoffs.
[00:35:19] Speaker B: All right, Rick, who you got?
[00:35:20] Speaker D: I think there's a lot of pressure on Springdale to win this game. If you're Northside, you play loosey goosey. If you're the coach, maybe, hey, get some sophomore in there, let him start at left tackle or run him back or something. Switch everything up, maybe get a look at some kids for next year. Springdale, you got to go down there and play on their field. You got to come through no matter who's playing the quarterback position. So I think the pressure's on Springdale, but I think they do come through in a fairly close game.
[00:35:50] Speaker B: All right, and our Northwest Arkansas game of the week, Bentonville west at Bentonville. As I said earlier, Bentonville west has never beaten Bentonville before and you know, west is 3 and 6, but they've won three in a row in conference play. Bentonville is 6 and 3 and has won six in a row and is undefeated in conference play.
Man, it's hard to go against Bentonville right now. They're playing really well and really showing great balance on offense. So I'll take Bentonville to beat Bentonville West. Leland, who you got?
[00:36:25] Speaker C: Someday Bentonville west is going to beat Bentonville. That day is not Friday night.
[00:36:31] Speaker B: Tigers roll And Rick, Rick's pick, who you got?
[00:36:35] Speaker D: Yeah, Bentonville's won, I don't know, about a dozen conference championships and they'll just add to that. Bentonville finishes 70 in conference play with win over Bentonville West.
[00:36:47] Speaker B: All right, I forgot to mention the standings from this past week. So by my count, boys, everybody went six and two. So we're all still in the same position as we were last week with Rick Fires holding a one game lead over yours truly and Leland's about four games back of the leader, but can make, you know, we still got a lot of football to play, so we'll see how this shakes out.
[00:37:11] Speaker C: Well, and since I am in last place, I want to invoke the Beano Cook rule. Again and throw in a bonus pick.
[00:37:18] Speaker B: Oh, that's right. Yeah, we got a big one.
[00:37:21] Speaker C: Bryant over Conway on Friday night. It's a rare matchup of number one versus number two in the Arkansas sports media poll. This is only the 21st meeting between the top two teams in the state since 1983, so they don't come around very often. But I think the difference is Bryant's ability to do both things so well. Run and pass.
You know, I think it was five years ago, their state championship team for the season rush for over 3,000 yards, pass for over 3,000 yards. That's incredible balance for any team on any level, but especially the state's largest classification. And that kind of, you know, that kind of signifies what Bryant's all about. And this team won't match that white, but it's still a very dangerous team. And I think Bryant wins the first of two matchups between Bryant and Conway.
[00:38:23] Speaker B: Well, I picked Conway at the beginning of the year to win the 7A Central and the 7A State Championship, so I'm not going away from Conway and Buck James. So give me Conway.
[00:38:35] Speaker D: I'm going with Conway as well. And, you know, I know how Leland is, man. I'm in the lead right here, and I look over my shoulder looking at you, and here comes Leland around the curve right here, catching up here. And I got. I got to keep him behind me, so I'm going to go against him. I'm going to go Conway.
[00:38:53] Speaker C: Well, I throw these in occasionally, you know, thinking that I might be able to stink up and get one from.
[00:38:58] Speaker D: I'm watching you.
[00:39:01] Speaker B: All right, well, that wraps up another edition of the Prep Rally podcast, and we'd like to thank our sponsor, West Termite Pest and Lawn.
Last regular season game for a lot of teams this week, and they'll be. They'll be hanging up the football gear and putting on the basketball shoes for some, but, man, it goes by quick, doesn't it, Rick?
[00:39:22] Speaker D: Yeah, and it's like my friend calls me and wants to talk about basketball and said, dude, man, we still got plenty of football up here left in Northwest Arkansas. I'll talk to you about basketball in December. But, yeah, even though the regular season is over and you hate it for the kids who didn't make the playoff, but, man, I'm looking forward to this final week, rivalry week, and then heading to playoffs, we still got plenty of football to go.
[00:39:46] Speaker B: All right, well, for Leland Barclay in the River Valley, for Rick Fires, Northwest Arkansas, I'm Graham Thomas signing off. We love.
