A friend from northeast Arkansas started peppering me with basketball questions when I stopped and reminded him of something he had overlooked.
Teams from Northwest Arkansas are still playing football and likely won't be done until after the championship games in December. Football fans in our area still have options tonight, starting in 7A where Fayetteville and Bentonville will meet for the sixth time in the last seven years in the playoffs. But I'm more interested in what's happening in Class 4A, where Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge host playoff games and Shiloh Christian plays on the road.
Remember the rumble many of us felt on Nov. 6, which was originally blamed on an earthquake in Oklahoma? I can now report it was the beginning of a power shift in Class 4A from teams in south Arkansas to the 4A-1 Conference in Northwest Arkansas.
Prairie Grove (11-0) is now No. 1 in Class 4A and Pea Ridge pulled the upset of the season with its 53-28 win at Nashville, which lost for the first time at home in 27 games. Shiloh Christian (10-2) also won on the road and Gravette fell after beating an 8-2 Pocahontas team on its home field two weeks ago.
The reward for Pea Ridge (11-1) is a home game tonight against Hamburg (9-3), which eliminated Gravette. If you're into comparing scores, please note that Pea Ridge beat Gravette 46-16 in conference play and Hamburg beat the Lions 42-10. But comparing scores is not a reliable indicator, as anyone who's watched the 7A state playoffs in recent years can attest.
Hamburg has been on a roll since opening the season with losses to England (42-28) and Camden Fairview (34-29). The Lions will likely be faster than Pea Ridge, whose only loss was to Prairie Grove (42-21). But the Blackhawks will have the home-field advantage tonight and confidence that if they can beat Nashville on the road, they can beat anyone in 4A, including Prairie Grove.
But that rematch, if it happens, will have to wait for another day.
RICK'S PICK Pea Ridge
Other games involving teams from Northwest Arkansas (selections are capitalized).
CLASS 7A
Bentonville at FAYETTEVILLE
CLASS 6A
Pine Bluff at GREENWOOD
CLASS 4A
Shiloh Christian at DARDANELLE
Gosnell at PRAIRIE GROVE
Hamburg at PEA RIDGE
CLASS 3A
Centerpoint at CHARLESTON
LAST WEEK 12-3 (80 percent)
OVERALL 152-42 (78 percent)
Sports on 11/25/2016