Half of the 7A-West teams open the season against out-of-state opponents and the other four play tough in-state foes in a challenging opening week.
Springdale Har-Ber probably has the toughest opening-week test, going on the road to play Missouri power Webb City. The Cardinals have not lost a regular-season game at home since 2003.
That Figures
Following are the 10 longest active scoring streaks in the state:
GMS SCHOOL CLASS LAST SHUTOUT
163 – Nashville 4A Fordyce, 31-0
153 – Rison 2A Harmony Grove, 7-0
134 – Booneville 3A Ozark, 21-0
110 – Junction City 2A Harmony Grove, 34-0
100 – Fayetteville 7A Bentonville, 33-0
95 – HS Lakeside 5A Magnolia, 20-0
94 – Earle 2A East Poinsett County, 36-0
91 – Bentonville 7A Russellville, 34-0
89 – Marked Tree 2A East Poinsett County, 35-0
89 – Ozark 4A Charleston, 23-0
Webb City has won 12 state championships, all since 1989 and four in a row.
Webb City will also be out to avenge last year's 42-35 loss to Har-Ber, which halted a 46-game win streak for the Cardinals. It was also the Cardinals' first regular-season loss since 2003.
Har-Ber rallied with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and rolled up 657 yards of offense but by a unit which returns zero starters. Webb City led, 28-14, at the half.
On top of all of that, the game will be the third for Webb City this season. The Cardinals are 2-0 and scored 40 straight points to beat Kansas Rockhurst, 40-14, on Friday behind 331 rushing yards.
Har-Ber is beginning its ninth season of football while Webb City has won 618 games since 1909.
Bentonville hosts Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst, which has nine Missouri state titles.
The game will pit a pair of coaches with more than 200 wins in their illustrious careers.
Bentonville's Barry Lunney is 239-85-1 in 25 seasons as a head coach.
Rockhurst's Tony Severino is 293-70-1 in 32 seasons as a head coach. He is a member of the Missouri Coaches Hall of Fame.
Bentonville opened last year with a 24-21 win against the Eaglets, who took a 13-0 first-quarter lead. Rock, as they are known in Missouri, finished 5-5 last year.
Fayetteville opens the season at Lawton, Okla., at Cameron University Stadium, which seats about 10,000. Lawton was 11-1 last season.
Rogers Heritage hosts Olathe, Kan., which was 8-4 last year and has won eight state championships, the most recent in 2009. Under Gene Weir, who is in his third year of his second tenure at the school, the Eagles are 188-36 and considered a state power.
Springdale High hosts Greenwood, which had the third longest winning streak in state history snapped at 50 games in the Class 6A semifinals by Pine Bluff last year. It will be the first meeting ever between the two Bulldogs.
Rogers High hosts former foe and neighboring Siloam Springs, which moves to the 7A/6A-Central this season.
Fort Smith Southside is the first 7A-West team to open the season, playing Class 4A power Warren at Arkansas-Pine Bluff as part of the Hooten's Kickoff week.
Fort Smith Northside opens at home against Pine Bluff, which was Class 6A runner-up last year. The Zebras are loaded with a talented junior class headlined by quarterback Ledarius Skelton.
TOP 10 AGAIN
Bentonville opens the season nationally ranked and as the No. 1 team in the state, according to the Associated Press poll released over the weekend.
"I don't think it's a distraction," Lunney said. "The national polls are nice. I think it's a reflection of the body of work over the last several years. It goes back to us winning state and having some good people back. We appreciate it, and it's nice for our program but it absolutely means nothing and we talk to our kids about that."
North Little Rock and Fayetteville are close behind, respectively.
Bentonville received 10 of 12 first-place votes while North Little Rock received the other two.
Bentonville has been ranked in the top 10 in nine straight preseason polls and have been ranked in a state-record 85 straight weekly polls, counting preseason, all 10 regular season and final polls.
The last time the Tigers weren't ranked in the top 10 was the final poll in 2006.
In seven of the last nine years, Bentonville has been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the pre-season.
Fort Smith Northside and Springdale Har-Ber also represented the 7A-West in the top 10. The Grizzlies were tied for No. 8 with El Dorado while Har-Ber came in at 10.
Fort Smith Southside received votes and were ranked 19th while Rogers was tied with Bryant for 20th based on votes.
SCORING STREAKS ALIVE
Three 7A-West teams will begin the season with three of the longest scoring streaks in the state.
Fayetteville has scored in 100 straight games, Bentonville has scored in 91 straight games and Fort Smith Northside has put points on the scoreboard in its last 81 games.
Fayetteville's scoring streak is the fifth longest active streak in the state and first in the state's largest classification. The Bulldogs haven't been blanked since losing to Bentonville, 33-0, in the season finale in 2003.
Bentonville has the eighth longest active streak in the state and second in the state's largest classification. The last time the Tigers were shutout was by Russellville, 34-0, in the ninth week of the regular season.
Class 4A Nashville owns the longest active in the state and has scored in 163 straight games, dating back to a 31-0 loss to Fordyce in 1997.
WELCOME BACK
Long-time 7A-West members Fort Smith Southside and Fort Smith Northside return to the conference after a two-year sabbatical in the 7A/6A-Central.
"It makes sense that they are back in it, no disrespect to Van Buren or Siloam Springs," Lunney said. "Those two schools in Fort Smith, especially Northside, have a long history with the schools in Northwest Arkansas. It makes it what it has been for so many years and that's the toughest league. It adds two more programs that makes it that much more difficult."
The Grizzlies, then as known as Fort Smith High, first played Rogers in 1918, played Fayetteville Peabody Prep in 1919, played Springdale in 1929, and Fayetteville High in 1931.
NEW DAY DAWNING
The confusing points rating system used for the past four years to determine playoff berths and seedings is gone, which means everything will be decided on the field.
Six teams will receive playoff berths from the 7A-West based on head-to-head games and the old 13-point tie-breaking procedure.
"We've got a league with all 7A schools, and that's the way it should be," Lunney said. "We don't have to worry about what has happened over the past several years. It just makes more sense. It will play itself out on the field on Friday night."
The opponents for the six 7A-West teams will be determined in a little different manner, but still based on head-to-head games and the same 13-point tie-breaking procedure.
Conway, Bryant, Van Buren and Little Rock Catholic are members of the 7A/6A-Central with four 6A schools while North Little Rock, Cabot, West Memphis and Little Rock Central are members of the 7A/6A-East also with four 6A schools.
Only the games against other 7A schools will count toward playoff berths, meaning each of those teams will only play three games that matter for post-season. Brackets have already been set and the top two teams in the 7A-West will receive first-round byes.
Sports on 09/03/2014