FOOTBALL: 7A-West Teams Take A Beating

I must've pulled a Rip Van Winkle and slept through most of the 2014-2016 reclassification cycle.

That's the only conclusion I can reach after digesting the first three weeks of the high school football season.

Let's start with Bentonville, which will split its school and field two teams in the next reclassification cycle. These aren't your average Tigers. Bentonville is the defending state champion in Class 7A, and the Tigers have appeared in five of the past six title games.

Yet, they're 0-3 after a 21-10 defeat to Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic. Bentonville didn't score in the second half after Oradell intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.

We'll discount Bentonville's poor showing in a preseason scrimmage at Tulsa Union. Union makes a lot of teams look bad, even very good ones.

The shocker came in Week 2 when Bentonville lost 34-0 at Broken Arrow, Okla. The defeat was the first shutout in years for Bentonville, which began the season ranked No. 1 in Class 7A. Even Bentonville coach Barry Lunney, who's led teams to plenty of wins against out-of-state teams, called the defeat a butt-kicking.

Bentonville isn't alone in that department among 7A-West teams. Rogers Heritage came back dragging Saturday after a 49-10 defeat at Navasota, Texas. Rogers High got run over 37-21 at Jefferson City, Mo., and Springdale High fell 44-20 at Bixby, Okla. Fayetteville is 3-0 with a win over North Little Rock, but the Bulldogs' out-of-state opponents aren't as strong this year as the others.

"We don't play patsies," Springdale Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said following consecutive road losses to Webb City, Mo., and Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst.

Wood is absolutely correct, and he and other area coaches should be commended for playing some of the region's best. Har-Ber helped lead the charge for state pride last year with a win over Webb City, Mo. It was the first regular-reason defeat since 2003 for the Cardinals, who went on to win another state championship in Missouri.

I've shouted from Mount Sequoyah in the past after wins by teams from Northwest Arkansas, and it's only fair to note some failures this year. Now onto conference play, which is far more important.

The second season is about rivalries, seedings for the playoffs and bragging rights. Most fans had rather beat the loudmouth down the street than someone who lives in Oklahoma, Missouri or Texas.

The race in the 7A-West should be particularly entertaining this year with the return of Fort Smith Southside and Fort Smith Northside. The welcome wagon will be out Friday when Northside plays at Fayetteville and Bentonville travels to Southside. A week later, Fayetteville will play Southside, and Northside will play Bentonville.

Those are very important games that will help establish the pecking order for the state playoffs.

"Not having Northside and Southside in the 7A-West just felt weird," Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. "It's good to have them back."

Are you sure about that, coach?

Northside earned the biggest win in the state Friday with a 42-17 victory over Greenwood, the perennial state champions who had won 38 consecutive games during the regular season. The Grizzlies, now 3-0, are undergoing an amazing turnaround under veteran coach Mike Falleur, a Northside graduate. Northside is stout again on defense, which is how the Grizzlies won a handful of state titles when they were formerly bunched with teams from Northwest Arkansas.

So, is Bentonville still the favorite, or have the Tigers fallen back toward the pack?

We've got seven exciting weeks of conference play to find out.

RICK FIRES IS A SPORTSWRITER FOR NWA NEWSPAPERS

Sports on 09/21/2014

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