7-4A Week 8

hawgfan15 · October 18, 2014, 01:03:31 pm

The crazy 7-4A just got crazier after week 7. There is now a 5 way tie for 1st place in the conference. Things will start to shape up after next Friday night though as Nashville is at Mena and Fountain Lake is at Malvern. The depth of this conference is really starting to show. I will give my predictions later on in the week.

Game of the Week

#6 Nashville (6-1, 3-1) at #9 Mena (6-1, 3-1)

The Scrappers fell behind Ashdown early but then went on a 31-0 run to close out the game. A slow start this week will be hard to overcome but expect Nashville to be up for this one. Mena suffered their first loss of the season to Arkadelphia Friday night. The Bearcats have lived off of forced turnovers and big plays. They will need another big night this Friday to win this big game. Home field advantage is obviously in Mena's favor and the Bearcats shouldn't be lacking in confidence. We will find out a lot more about these two teams Friday night.

Nashville 35

Mena 21

#7 Fountain Lake (5-1-1, 3-1) @ Malvern (5-2, 3-1)

The Cobras won a hard fought battle with Bauxite as they rebounded from last weeks loss to Arkadelphia. Now for the 4th straight week Fountain Lake faces another quality opponent. Malvern is coming off of a blow out victory on the road at Waldron. The Leopards are now back at home where they have always been tough to beat. Fountain Lake's style of offense is a tough matchup for Malvern but the Leopards are no stranger to a big game in 7-4A. I think this one goes down to the wire in the 4th quarter.

Malvern 35

Fountain Lake 34

#4 Arkadelphia (6-1, 3-1) @ Ashdown (2-5, 0-4)

The Badgers won their second consecutive big game. They have found success running the ball with a healthy backfield now. We all know what a challenge they present to anyone defensively. Ashdown continues to go down hill with their 4th straight conference loss. They really got up to play Nashville last Friday night so is there anything left in the tank for a 2nd consecutive big game? I will be surprised if this one is relatively close.

Arkadelphia 42

Ashdown 7

Waldron (0-7, 0-4) @ Bauxite (3-4, 1-3)

The Bulldogs continue to struggle. Their only hope now is that the experience their sophomore class is gaining will win them a few conference games in the next few years. Bauxite is coming off of a tough loss to Fountain Lake. If the Miners are wanting to make the playoffs this year they must win 2 of the next 3 games. Ben Madison continues to prove why he is a top player in the conference.

Bauxite 42

Waldron 14

Race for 1st place

Nashville
Win vs Arkadelphia (38-21) +13
Loss vs Fountain Lake (32-29)
Win vs Waldron (54-7) +13
Win vs Ashdown (31-15) +13

Games Remaining: @ Mena
vs Malvern
@ Bauxite

Mena
Win vs Ashdown (55-34) +13
Win vs Malvern (36-22) +13
Win vs Bauxite (42-14) +13
Loss vs Arkadelphia (40-28)

Games Remaining: vs Nashville
@ Fountain Lake
vs Waldron

Malvern
Win vs Bauxite (41-17) +13
Loss vs Mena (36-22)
Win vs Ashdown (41-17) +13
Win vs Waldron (41-7) +13

Games Remaining: vs Fountain Lake
@ Nashville
vs Arkadelphia

Arkadelphia
Loss vs Nashville (38-21)
Win vs Waldron (42-0) +13
Win vs Fountain Lake (48-42) +6
Win vs Mena (40-28) +12

Games Remaining: @ Ashdown
vs Bauxite
@ Malvern

Fountain Lake
Win vs Waldron (35-13) +13
Win vs Nashville ( 32-29) +3
Loss vs Arkadelphia (48-42)
Win vs Bauxite (35-30) +5

Games Remaining: @ Malvern
vs Mena
@ Ashdown

Conference Standings

1. Nashville
Mena
Malvern
Arkadelphia
Fountain Lake
6. Bauxite
7. Ashdown
Waldron

My Projected Finish

Toss up at this point

1. Nashville
2. Arkadelphia
3. Mena
4. Fountain Lake
5. Malvern
6. Bauxite
7. Ashdown
8. Waldron

Feel free to post your predictions, thoughts, and insight on all of these games.

*Edited with score predictions

mossflyer · October 18, 2014, 02:08:43 pm

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought points were only counted in wins. For losses you get zero points. No matter how bad you lose. That's the way it used to be at least.

cuckoobird · October 18, 2014, 02:11:58 pm

I believe you are correct moss

hawgfan15 · October 18, 2014, 02:18:29 pm

Quote from: mossflyer on October 18, 2014, 02:08:43 pm
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought points were only counted in wins. For losses you get zero points. No matter how bad you lose. That's the way it used to be at least.

Oh yeah that is right, my mistake

arklasports57 · October 18, 2014, 08:52:37 pm

well, not sure I really believe it's a toss up between those top five teams right now. More like Nashville, Arkie and FL. Reason is it appears Nashville and Arkie have the easiest remaining schedule while Malvern still has the toughest games to play. Upsets can and probably will still happen but Malvern has some very tough weeks ahead of them.

hawgfan15 · October 18, 2014, 09:11:41 pm

I think Malvern wins 1 of those 3 games. I'm hoping it's not the one in two weeks and you are hoping it's not the last game of the season lol

arklasports57 · October 18, 2014, 09:24:48 pm

Quote from: hawgfan15 on October 18, 2014, 09:11:41 pm
I think Malvern wins 1 of those 3 games. I'm hoping it's not the one in two weeks and you are hoping it's not the last game of the season lol

you are absolutely correct about that lol. We play them in Malvern this year and that is always a hostile atmosphere so won't be easy for sure. And crap, just because they have what should be there toughest games left doesn't mean they won't win em all! But I would hate to still have those remaining.

FootBallar21 · October 20, 2014, 06:23:07 am

7-4A shapes up a little bit this week, basically an elimination game between Mena and Nashville, with the looser likely having very little shot at the conference title!

Mena 36
Nashville 35

Malvern vs Fountain Lake should be a great game, I think Malvern is better than the team Mena beat handily, and Fountain Lake obviously better than the team that barely escaped Bauxite Last week! Malvern's Team speed especially on Defense vs Fountain Lakes Run game will be the key.

Malvern 30
Fountain Lake 27

Ashdown gets a huge let down after playing its super bowl last week, as its playoff hopes go by the waste side!

Arkadelphia 42
Ashdown 7

Bauxite vs Waldron shows exactly how deep this conference is, with really 7 very solid teams, and with the 8th place team probably being the worse 4A team.

Bauxite 49
Waldron 7

hawgfan15 · October 24, 2014, 11:22:20 pm

What a wild night in 7-4A. The week 9 preview will be fun.

Nashville with the statement blowout win over Mena
Malvern thumps FL with a shot at the conference title next week
Ashdown shocks 4A with the win over Arkadelphia
Bauxite beats Waldron like everyone does