Football: The Return Of The 7A-West Conference

File Photo Michael Woods • @NWAMICHAELW Mike Falleur, Fort Smith Northside football coach, works with his players Aug. 7 during practice.
File Photo Michael Woods • @NWAMICHAELW Mike Falleur, Fort Smith Northside football coach, works with his players Aug. 7 during practice.

"They're baaaaack!"

Those two little words Carol Ann uttered in "Poltergeist II" make up the most memorable line in what many deemed a movie they wished they could forget. They could also be muttered by the six Class 7A schools in Northwest Arkansas when they begin to think about Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside this fall.

At A Glance

7A-West Conference Composite Football Schedule

(All games are 7:30 p.m. kickoffs)

Sept. 26

Bentonville at Fort Smith Southside

Fort Smith Northside at Fayetteville

Rogers Heritage at Springdale High

Springdale Har-Ber at Rogers High

Oct. 3

Fayetteville at Fort Smith Southside

Fort Smith Northside at Bentonville

Rogers High at Rogers Heritage

Springdale High at Springdale Har-Ber

Oct. 10

Bentonville at Springdale Har-Ber

Fort Smith Southside at Rogers High

Rogers Heritage at Fort Smith Northside

Springdale High at Fayetteville

Oct. 17

Bentonville at Springdale High

Fort Smith Northside at Rogers High

Rogers Heritage at Fort Smith Southside

Springdale Har-Ber at Fayetteville

Oct. 24

Fayetteville at Rogers Heritage

Fort Smith Southside at Springdale Har-Ber

Rogers High at Bentonville

Springdale High at Fort Smith Northside

Oct. 31

Bentonville at Rogers Heritage

Fort Smith Southside at Springdale High

Springdale Har-Ber at Fort Smith Northside

Rogers High at Fayetteville

Nov. 7

Fayetteville at Bentonville

Fort Smith Northside at Fort Smith Southside

Rogers Heritage at Springdale Har-Ber

Springdale High at Rogers High

At A Glance

Did You Know?

Springdale Har-Ber has played Fort Smith Southside more times — 11 — than any other team in the state since the Wildcats’ inaugural year of football in 2006. In addition to eight regular-season meetings, the two teams have squared off in playoff games in 2008, 2009 (Class 7A State Championship) and 2012.

Next in line are Bentonville and Fayetteville, both of which have faced Har-Ber nine times.

Those two schools have resumed their traditional spots as conference foes, and a pure 7A-West Conference returns to the scene after its two-year hiatus of being a league of mixed classifications under a different moniker. It also means the state's strongest high school football league has become even tougher, and all parties don't seem to mind that one bit.

"With them back, it's definitely going to make our conference stronger from top to bottom," Rogers High coach Shawn Flannigan said. "You're talking about two teams that are not only talented, but strong in tradition. They add an even more competitive nature to our conference."

The reunion is a part of the new reclassification cycle the Arkansas Activities Association will utilize over the next two years. Northside and Southside have taken the place of Siloam Springs and Van Buren, both of which will be part of the new 7A/6A-Central as two of the four blended conferences have been eliminated.

This came as a result of a 26-7 vote in March 2013 by the Class 7A and 6A schools to do away with the complicated power-rating formula that had been put in place since blended conferences began in 2010. Teams in the 7A/6A-West grew to hate that system during the last two years because Bryant, which was in the 7A/6A-South at the time, could earn a higher playoff seeding without playing a single Class 7A school.

With the West now comprised of eight Class 7A schools again, teams will get to determine their state playoff seedings by what they do on the field and not have to worry about an outside school interferring.

"I like that a lot," Springdale Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "Last year, we finished second in the conference standings and ended up the No. 3 seed and not getting a first-round bye. It's no fault to Bryant, which received the No. 2 seed, because that's the way the system worked.

"A team will have to earn its stripes now, and that's a big deal. If it gets a first-round bye, it's because the team earned it. I like the thought that, even if a team gets the No. 6 playoff spot, it got it because it went toe-to-toe against everyone in this league."

The reunion won't really be felt until Sept. 26, when 7A-West teams open conference play. Northside travels to Fayetteville for its first 7A-West game, while Southside hosts defending Class 7A state champion Bentonville to begin league competition.

The Fort Smith schools will gladly trade the increased competition for the decrease in time spent on busses going to games. Five of the seven trips they made to play 7A/6A-Central games were longer than their longest trip they will make up Interstate 49.

"We're excited about being back in the West," Southside coach Jeff Williams said. "It's always been a great league and will continue to do so, and we're just so familiar with the teams up there. When you face the teams in the West, it's going to have your team prepared for what will take place in the state playoffs."

Still Providing Opposition

In some instances, it seemed that Northside and Southside were never really out of the picture during the last two years. That's because they still had to play games against teams from Northwest Arkansas, whether it be in nonconference play or in the Class 7A state playoffs.

Rogers Heritage scheduled a home-and-home series against both Fort Smith schools, and Northside also played Rogers High twice. Har-Ber -- which has played Southside more times (11) than any other opponent since its inaugural season in 2006 -- faced the Rebels in a home-and-home series and a 2012 playoff game, and Southside had its season end both years with playoff losses at Bentonville.

"They still felt like conference games," said Flannigan, whose Rogers team also faced Southside in a playoff game last fall. "Those schools are going to be competitive year in and year out, and we were very familiar with them. We knew what we were going to get in those games, and it didn't feel like an out of conference game."

The big difference came when the high school football season reached its fourth week and teams entered conference play. The Northwest Arkansas teams' only trip "down the hill" came when it was time to play Van Buren, while the Fort Smith schools -- except for the short drive to Greenwood -- had to resort to longer trips down Interstate 40 and into central Arkansas.

Williams said Southside's games against teams like Little Rock Parkview, Little Rock Hall and Little Rock Catholic didn't have the same atmosphere as the games the Rebels played in previous years against teams such as Fayetteville and Springdale High. He even admitted he caught himself looking at the West standings a couple of times instead of how the Central teams were doing.

"It felt so weird the last two years," Williams said. "I don't know how many phone calls I fielded from people asking where we were playing and where the stadium was. The fans were so familiar with the teams in Northwest Arkansas and the stadiums there, and some have built mutual friendships with people up there.

"What I really missed about being in the West was the competition. When you played a Bentonville, you knew who you were dealing with. You knew you were going against some teams with great tradition like Springdale and Fayetteville, and you knew you were going against teams that were well-coached and had great players. There just wasn't much history between us and a Little Rock Parkview except the 1983 state championship."

Yep, they're back. And they couldn't be happier.

Sports on 08/31/2014

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