Top 2016 Arkansas High School Football Games
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
The state of Arkansas is once again loaded with talent spread from border to border in 2016. The concentration of overall talent is up in the northwest part of the state but fans eager to see top players on talented teams in the central part and southern region of the state are in luck.
The top team in the state once again has to be Fayetteville High School. The Bulldogs will be led on offense by quarterback Taylor Powell, a Wake Forest commitment, and on defense by defensive tackle Akial Byers. Fayetteville gets the normal tough 7A West Conference games but also gets out of state competition playing Blue Springs (Blue Springs, MO) on Sept. 2 at home and then goes on the road after what could be a tough game at Bryant to take on Bishop Dunne in Dallas. After a tough three-game stretch, the Bulldogs get no rest early in the season with top rival Bentonville coming to campus on Sept. 23.
The Tigers will be tested before meeting up with the Bulldogs. Bentonville welcomes both Rockhurst, from Kansas City (MO), and Bixby (OK) to open up the season.
A team no one should sleep on with senior talents like Jarrod Barnes and Easton Seidl on the squad is Cabot High School. The Panthers open up their season against a very good Pine Bluff team on Sept. 2 and travel to Southside (Fort Smith) on Sept. 30 before finishing the season with back-to-back games against Northside (Fort Smith) and North Little Rock.
The two teams to beat in the 6A ranks once again are defending state champs Pine Bluff and 2015 runner-up Greenwood. Greenwood does not shy away from top competition this year playing at both Northside and Southside to start the year. The Bulldogs deploy at two quarterback system but all eyes will be on Arkansas 2018 gunslinger commit Conner Noland this season. The Zebras were the prize of the 6A East last year posting a perfect 13-0 record. Pine Bluff gets two early season challenges from both Cabot on Sept. 2 and Northside on Sept. 16, both on the road!
The team everyone guns for in the 5A Classification is Pulaski Academy. The Little Rock school swept through the 2015 schedule to a 14-0 record with their only truly challenging game on paper coming in an 11 point win over McClellan, all of the other games were lopsided. The Bruins face McClellan again during the regular season on Oct. 28 following what could be a scrappy Parkview team this year. PA opens the season with a home game against Page (Sand Springs, OK) and then they go on the road to East (Salt Lake City, UT) and McCracken County (Paducah, KY) to showcase their skills across the country.
The 4A Classification has a lot of talent spread out but the top heavy teams might just be Nashville, Robinson, Warren, and Ashdown.
The Scrappers have one of the best running backs in the state with Darius Hopkins. The senior running back can blister a defense quicker than the hot Arkansas summer sun. Nashville will get big back-to-back tests against Robinson and Ashdown in October in what should be can’t miss games.
As loaded as Robinson is at the skill positions with Koilan Jackson and Nathan Page and up front with David Porter, Hunter Swoboda, Elliot Harris, and Sanderson Hines, just to name a few, the Senators might be stacked enough to take on some top 7A teams this year. In addition to Nashville, Robinson welcomes Ashdown to the Little Rock area on Oct. 28.
Ashdown is another team loaded at the skill positions with 2018 talents running back DeTravion Green, quarterback Jaden Hill, and receiver/cornerback Ladarius Bishop all led by senior safety/wide receiver Montaric Brown, an Arkansas Razorbacks commit.
Back in the 7A West, another team with a punishing schedule is Har-Ber out of Springdale. The Wildcats open with Southside then welcome Jefferson City (MO) before traveling to Jenks to play a tough Oklahoma squad. Then the 7A schedule kicks in with games against Bentonville and Fayetteville.
Sept. 2
Blue Springs (MO) at Fayetteville
Rockhurst at Bentonville
Southside at Har-Ber
Pine Bluff at Cabot
Greenwood at Northside
Page at Pulaski Academy
Sept. 9
Bixby at Bentonville
Jefferson City at Har-Ber
Greenwood at Southside
Pulaski Academy at East
Sept. 16
Fayetteville at Bishop Dunne
Har-Ber at Jenks
Pine Bluff at Northside
Pulaski Academy at McCracken County
Sept. 23
Bentonville at Fayetteville
Sept. 30
Cabot at Southside
Oct. 7
Robinson at Nashville
Southside at North Little Rock
Bentonville at Har-Ber
Oct. 14
Nashville at Ashdown
Oct. 21
North Little Rock at Northside
Fayetteville at Har-Ber
Oct. 28
Northside at Cabot
Pulaski Academy at McClellan
Ashdown at Robinson
Nov. 4
Cabot at North Little Rock
Which Arkansas high school games are you excited to see this year?
Photo credit: fayettevilleflyer.com; Fayetteville Bulldogs 2015 state champs.