Arkansas high school football Top 25 rankings (11/21/2023)
It is Thanksgiving week and there are plenty of great games on the schedule to pick from as four classifications, along with the 8-Man sanctioned division, will have the state finals matchups set before Black Friday turns to Saturday.
Even in losing efforts, multiple teams held their own, which in turn created less movement, and every squad from last week held on to a spot.
Multiple rematches from recent showdowns are on the slate, headlined by top-ranked Parkview hosting No. 18 Camden Fairview, along with No. 13 Pulaski Academy traveling to No. 4 Greenwood, where the Bulldogs have not lost in 62 tries, plus No. 8 Little Rock Christian will make the short trip to the seventh-ranked Benton Panthers, who the Warriors saw in a mid-August benefit game.
Here are the SBLive Arkansas Top 25 high school football rankings for Week 13.
1. Parkview (12-0)
A lights-out performance by the Patriot defense against Mills' high-powered offense pushed Parkview to the 5A semifinal round. The Patriots collected seven sacks, 21 QB hurries and held the Comets to minus 25 yards (-25) rushing. Monterrio Elston led the Pats offensively with 112 all-purpose yards and a score. Parkview hosts 5A-South foe No. 18 Camden Fairview on Friday at War Memorial Stadium.
2. Bryant (10-1)
Bryant is known to thrive at running the football and they gashed Rogers for over 300 yards on the ground, as well as over 500 yards of total offense. James Martin and Myron Thrash - who scored three touchdowns - each gashed the Mounties for 140 yards, while Jordan Walker threw for four scores, two of which were hauled in by Karter Ratliff. No. 6 Bentonville comes to Hornet Stadium on Friday for a right to play for the state championship in what will be a rematch of last year's 7A finals.
3. Conway (10-1)
The Wampus Cats had to knock off some rust coming off both their first loss of the season as well as an idle week, but they were able to run away from a scrappy Bentonville West squad. Quarterback Donovyn Omolo completed 27-of-35 passes for 394 yards and five touchdowns, four of which were hauled in by Cris O'Neal who finished with 154 yards on just 11 catches. Desmond Davidson paced the ground attack with 130 yards and three scores.
4. Greenwood (11-0)
Same song, nearly same verse for the Bulldogs the second time around playing 6A-West foe Mountain Home as they handled the visiting Bombers coming off of a bye week. Quarterback Kane Archer was 18-of-26 for 261 yards and three touchdowns, while Brayedan Davis added 203 yards and four scores on the ground. Grant Karnes led all receivers with 106 yards and a score on six catches and the Bulldogs will host No. 13 Pulaski Academy on Friday, a conference opponent they took down on Oct. 27.
5. Fayetteville (11-0)
The Purple Dogs have really only been challenged three times this season and two of those have been pushes from Fort Smith Southside. The Mavericks kept it within 15 points on Oct. 6, and got even closer on Friday night, but fell 30-24 in what was a much lower-scoring game than anticipated. Minnesota commit Drake Lindsey completed 26 of his 34 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, while Nathan Kachel connected on three crucial field goals from 26, 25 yards and 29 yards, as well as 3-for-3 on extra points.
6. Bentonville (8-3)
Good news for the Tigers: They have played their most complete football over the past three weeks and there is not a better time to do it than now. Bad news for the Tigers: They have to go play five-time defending state champion Bryant, who is also rolling. Senior quarterback Carter Nye returning has been huge, as he finished a lopsided win over Cabot 20-of-28 for 411 yards and four touchdowns, while Luke Coon (10 catches, 162 yards, 1 touchdown) and Arkansas commit C.J. Brown (2 catches, 112 yards, 2 total touchdowns) also each had impressive performances.
7. Benton (10-1)
The Panthers picked right back up where they left off coming fresh out of a bye week and that dynamic offense put up 35 points on Greenbrier in the first half. Sophomore Drew Davis finished 22-of-27 for 371 yards and five touchdowns, while Elias Payne was on the other end of a majority of that production, finishing with 10 catches for 200 yards and two scores. Arkansas commit Braylen Russell rushed for 179 yards on 16 carries and found the end zone three times.
8. Little Rock Christian (9-2)
While Van Buren kept it closer than when they played the Warriors a month ago, LRCA was just too powerful for the Pointers to notch an upset in two consecutive weeks. Auburn commit Walker White threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns, three of those to classmate Cade Bowman who finished with 202 receiving yards. White also added 129 yards and three scores on the ground. The Warriors will make the short trip to Benton for the 6A semifinals in a matchup between two heralded signal callers.
9. Bentonville West (8-4)
Despite a big night from senior quarterback Dalton Rice and the Wolverine offense, the second and third quarters doomed them as Conway took advantage and reeled off 42 points in that span. Rice completed 37-of-63 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns, while Jaxson Brust had another big night, hauling in 15 catches for 124 yards and two scores.
10. Rogers (8-4)
For the second straight season Bryant proved to be too much for the Mounties, who had an overall strong finish to the season winning three consecutive games before falling to the Hornets. Senior running back Jacob Jenkins rushed 15 times for 101 yards and a score, while Jeff Regan added another score on the ground as well as over 100 yards of total offense.
11. Fort Smith Southside (7-5)
There's no question the Mavs will look back at this season and see some missed opportunities, but this group has a lot to be proud of after putting one of the better Southside teams on the field in recent memory. All four of their losses came to teams currently ranked in the Top 10, including Fayetteville twice, in which they compiled over 400 yards of total offense.
12. Shiloh Christian (10-2)
Excluding last season's loss in the state finals to Parkview, the Saints were pushed as hard as they have been in the playoffs over the past two seasons by Valley View. The Blazers trailed only five points at after three quarters before the Saints added another score in the fourth and the defense did the rest. Senior Bo Williams scored three touchdowns, and Shiloh will travel to play No. 14 Pine Bluff with hopes of clinching a fifth consecutive trip to the state finals.
13. Pulaski Academy (10-2)
For the second time this season the Bruins were down to their final play - and in this case, one that would define whether or not their season continues - and they came through on a walk-off 30-yard pass from Brandon Cobb to Andrew Fiser, 27-26 on the road over Marion. The victory set up another meeting with 6A-West foe No. 4 Greenwood, which will be the fourth time in the past year that the two squads have faced one another.
14. Pine Bluff (10-2)
The Pine Bluff Zebras are officially back as one of the top teams in their respective class and they are just one win away from a state finals berth for the first time since 2017 following a win over Hot Springs Lakeside. The Z's exploded offensively as Landon Holcomb completed 9-of-13 passes for 470 yards and five touchdowns, while Arkansas target Courtney Crutchfield was unstoppable (5 receptions, 281 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Missouri commit Austyn Dendy added 100 receiving yards with a score on just two receptions.
15. Cabot (7-5)
Offense has been a weak point for the Panthers throughout the season and it did them in against a red hot Bentonville squad that ended Cabot's three-game win streak. One positive from the game was college prospect Sam Dubwig averaged 47.3 yards per punt, including a long of 53, in his final prep game.
16. Harding Academy (12-0)
Preseason, regular season, or postseason these Wildcats just show up at their best and they did so in a highly anticipated rematch of last year's 4A state finals against Malvern. Owen Miller was nearly perfect, completing 16-of-18 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 124 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries, while Isaac Baker compiled 152 yards of offense (71 rushing, 81 receiving) with two scores. Arkansas commit Wyatt Simmons finished with seven tackles and rushed for a touchdown.
17. Marion (8-3)
The Patriots may have come up short thanks to some last-play heroics from Pulaski Academy, but they have nothing to hang their heads about. It is a tough pill to swallow dropping your final two games of the season, but prior to that Marion did win eight of their first nine contests which could be a point of emphasis throughout the offseason and heading into 2024.
18. Camden Fairview (8-4)
It is all about getting hot at the right time and that is exactly the case with this 2023 Cardinal squad. They are running the football as well as anyone behind a stout offensive line, as proven by Trent Haygood's 274-yards, two touchdown performance against Southside (Batesville) after compiling over 300 on the ground last week. 5A-South foe and top-ranked Parkview at War Memorial Stadium is up next, and even though the Cardinals gave the Patriots some fits at times in the Nov. 3 matchup, Camden Fairview will have to have a near-perfect performance to advance to the finals.
19. Valley View (10-2)
It is not far-fetched to say this was one of the better Blazer teams in recent memory, especially after the way Valley View played with Shiloh Christian on Friday night. They ran away from almost every opponent in their victories this season, while the losses were to No. 12 Shiloh Christian and No. 16 Harding Academy, both of whom are still playing.
20. Hot Springs Lakeside (8-4)
While it is always hard to see a season come to a close, these Rams defied the odds all year. First year head coach Darren Rockwell led this squad to one of the better turnaround stories in Arkansas, going from a 2-7 finish last year to 8-4 and a quarterfinal berth that included five victories in their final seven games.
21. Elkins (12-0)
For the ninth time this season, Elkins surpassed 50 points as Monticello stood no chance in Friday's 56-6 loss. Senior running back Da'Shawn Chairs rushed for 167 yards and three scores against the Billies on just 16 carries. Behind senior quarterback and Central Missouri commit Slade "Dizzy" Dean the Elks are averaging 54.6 points per contest, while the defense is surrendering only 8.1. They travel to Mustang Mountain to take on Central Arkansas Christian, a squad averaging 49 points each time out.
22. Southside (Batesville) (10-2)
Plenty were high on the Southerners coming into the season and they impressed, earning double-digit victories and a No. 2 playoff seed in their second season playing in Class 5A before falling to Camden Fairview in last Friday's 5A quarterfinals. Along with notching seven consecutive victories to start the year, Southside eclipsed over 4,000 rushing yards as a team and had two go over 1,000 yards, seniors Gabe Witt and Savion Hall.
23. Warren (12-0)
The Lumberjacks have grown accustomed to having to pull away in close contests. While they may not have created as much separation in last Friday's 28-21 win over Bauxite, they again answered the call to advance to the 4A quarterfinals. Obviously, it does not get any easier from here as a scrappy Ozark squad comes to Bradley County on Black Friday.
24. Greenbrier (6-6)
A season-opening loss to Farmington looks much better now considering how well the Cardinals played down the stretch, but excluding that, four of the Panthers' five losses were to teams currently ranked in the Top 12, including the recent quarterfinal loss to Benton.
25. Mills (9-3)
Things did not go well, at all, against defending 5A state champion and top-ranked Parkview as the Comet offense was held to under 150 total yards. Mills dropped two of its final three games to close out the 2023 season following an 8-1 start.
--Kyle Sutherland
