Hootens.com Rankings
Class 7A, Week 13, 2009
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

1. Springdale Har-Ber (10-1)
2. North LR (9-2)
3. Cabot (10-1)
4. FS Southside (8-4)
5. Bentonville (9-2)
6. Rogers Heritage (9-3)
7. Russellville (8-3-1)
8. Bryant (8-3)
9. Conway (5-7)
10. Fayetteville (5-5-1)
11. Springdale (4-7)
12. LR Catholic (5-6)
13. FS Northside (3-7)
14. Rogers (2-8)
15. Van Buren (1-8-1)
16. LR Central (0-10)

SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
No. 1 Har-Ber at No. 3 Cabot
Hooten's preseason favorite Har-Ber makes its third straight semifinal appearance in only its fourth year of football. Har-Ber knocked Cabot from the playoffs the past two seasons, intercepting a pass in the end zone last year to preserve a 21-17 win at Cabot. "Cabot was the best team we played last year," says Har-Ber coach Chris Wood. Cabot seniors have totaled 26 varsity wins.

Balanced Har-Ber scores 27.3 points and rushes for 216 yards weekly while junior quarterback Ryan Luther completes 59 percent of his passes for 149 yards per outing. Luther has 15 TD tosses and 11 interceptions. Junior Gordon Welch (5-11, 190) gets most carries, averaging 4.9 yards per tote for 1,098 yards this season. Har-Ber senior Trey Tyler (almost 500 yards rushing last year) returned last Friday from a Week 1 injury along with senior leading receiver Josh McKinney, who had been out since Week 6. McKinney, a team leader and sparkplug for Har-Ber's offense, made five catches last week, including a diving 45-yard grab to keep a drive alive during the 30-7 win over Russellville.

Cabot finished the regular season with a 26-24 win at Russellville. It clobbered Conway 38-7 last week, advancing to the semis for the first time since 2002. Senior QB Seth Bloomberg, a three-year starter, operates Cabot's Dead T attack with precision. All-state fullback Michael James, who nursed a nagging ankle injury most of the season, has totaled close to 270 yards over the past two weeks. Jeremy Berry carried 12 times for 82 yards a week ago, showing speed on a 38-yard burst. All-state fullback/linebacker Spencer Neumann caught a 35-yard TD toss from Bloomberg. Neumann and noseguard T.J. Bertrand are on the State Farm Awards watch list for Class 7A/6A Defensive Player of the Year. "Those two are as good as they come," Wood says.

Gritty graduated Har-Ber quarterback Zach Faust was roughed up in last year's meeting. Cabot rushes most opponents well, using just its front five defenders but will likely send six or seven at Luther. "He's tough and will have to be resilient because when Cabot brings it, they come hard," Wood says. "Cabot flies to the ball and arrives angry."

Har-Ber's linebackers and secondary were dubbed "7A's Best" when Hooten's Arkansas Football hit newsstands in June. All-state middle linebacker Jacob Bundrick (6-1, 210) leads Har-Ber with 69 tackles. An opposing 7A West coach calls three-year starting safety and future Arkansas Razorback baseball player Houston Pruitt "just mean." Eric Pearce (6-2, 250) leads with seven sacks and is one of the better defensive linemen in 7A West history. Har-Ber kicker Oscar Escobar has hit five field goals this season.

Har-Ber's defense has been brilliant, allowing 12.3 points and less than 500 total yards rushing through 11 games, "but we haven't played Cabot, yet," Wood says. "Our kids have a lot of respect for Cabot. Cabot has no hidden agendas. They just play good, physical football."

No. 4 FS Southside at No. 2 North LR
FS Southside has more playoff victories (49) and state championships (7) than any 7A school since the fusion of the largest classifications in 1983. The Rebels finished fifth in the 7A West this fall but are in the semifinals for the second straight season and for the third time in Coach Jeff Williams's five years at the school. FS Southside has won three straight on the road, including playoff thrillers at Bryant (35-24) and Bentonville (27-24). FS Southside has played in two of the past four state title games, winning it all in 2006. "We live for the playoffs," Williams quipped. "The regular season is way overrated." North LR coach Brad Bolding said: "This time of the year, the light comes on at FS Southside."

FS Southside plays 30 of its 36 seniors weekly, including 15 starters. Its veteran 3-Front defensive line, dubbed Class 7A's Best in preseason by Hooten's Arkansas Football, rotates five gargantuan linemen. Senior linebacker Daniel Berry (5-11, 190), all-conference as a sophomore, power cleans a school record 400 pounds and leads the team in tackles for a second straight season with 86 stops, including six sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception.

The Rebels won in double overtime at North LR in the 2006 semifinals. North LR's left tackle caught a tipped two-point pass and "ran over everybody" at the end of regulation to force overtime, Williams recalls. It was North LR's last appearance in the semis. The Charging Wildcats haven't played for a state title since the merger of Old Main and Northeast High Schools in 1990 and own a 6-13 playoff record.

North LR has 35 seniors, starting eight on both sides of the ball with speed unmatched in Class 7A. Senior running back Tim Johnson (5-4, 150) has 2,409 all-purpose yards, including 809 yards on returns while averaging 7.3 yards per rush. North LR has a plus-12 turnover margin and averages more than one play of 60 yards or more weekly.

North LR's defense held seven opponents to a TD or less during the regular season but allowed 380 yards passing in last week's 49-45 playoff win over Rogers Heritage. Seniors De'Arius Hudson (6-0, 330) and Colt Schaller (6-2, 230) lead a formidable front, and North LR assistants call Deonta Rhodes (99-yard interception return last week) the best cover corner they've coached. North LR's defense has tackled opponents for lost yardage a mind-boggling 49 times.

FS Southside converted all three of its fourth down plays last week at Bentonville and thrives on sustained drives led by junior fullback Lee Hollis (4.46 speed) and heady junior QB Hunter Wharton (5-11, 155). Wharton (three TD runs last week) completed a 53-yard pass on fourth-and-6 in the final minute to help force overtime at Bentonville. FS Southside dealt Bentonville its only two losses this season. Last year Bentonville beat FS Southside twice, including the state championship game.

FS Southside and North LR are proud of their special teams. Bolding calls his "hands down, the best I've coached."

Comparing scores: North LR beat Heritage 49-45 last week. Heritage was the last team to beat FS Southside, winning at Fort Smith 9-7 on Halloween weekend. Bryant lost at North LR 29-7 four weeks ago. FS Southside won at Bryant 35-24 two weeks later.

TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football airs 11 a.m. Saturday on CBS (Today's THV 11 and KFSM TV 5) with highlights of both 7A semifinal games. FS Southside senior Alex Nolan will be featured as the Arkansas Air Guard Scholar Athlete of the Week.

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly predicted 3 of 4 winners. For the season, hootens.com is 71-21-2 (76 percent).

WEEK 13 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
HAR-BER (7) at Cabot: The state's top four defenses are in the semifinals, but the winner of this game will likely be favored in the finals.
FS Southside at NORTH LR (1): Speedy North LR needs more big plays to beat tradition-rich Rebels.

(c) 1993-2009 Hooten Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this site may be retransmitted without the express written consent of Hooten Publishing, Inc.