2016 5A Soccer

[ArkHog#7]

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[MDXPHD]

DeQueen might contend....

[hogbert]

Good grief. As long as DeQueen is in 5A, they will always "content".

[ARSoccer25]

Boys

DeQueen
LRCA
Valley View
Lakeside
Maumelle

Girls
PA
LRCA
Harrison

[Buck183]

Thread title didn't specify. Are we talking girls or boys, or both?

[VHSCoach2]

Buck,

I would imagine the original question was posed to begin a discussion for the 5A as a whole, both boys and girls.

[Buck183]

Buck,

I would imagine the original question was posed to begin a discussion for the 5A as a whole, both boys and girls.

I would think so too. The answers haven't specified either so that left things pretty vague to me. I ask only because I'm trying to learn what schools tend to stand out in each class. The answers so far just leave me guessing.  I can't assume both boys and girls at every school mentioned are that dominant in their class. 

Buck

[Sir Alex]

You need to add Hot Springs Boys, Valley View Girls and Maumelle Girls to that list.

[ARSoccer25]

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[sevenof400]

You need to add Hot Springs Boys, Valley View Girls and Maumelle Girls to that list.

Have you seen Maumelle play this year Sir Alex?

[Sir Alex]

Nope but I know that they had a ton of talent coming back and had a quality transfer from LRCA if she is playing for them.  You never know though. Thought it was worth a mention.

[Jdhelbig]

So now that we are a little bit more than a week into the season and have had the chance to see teams play, for the 5A boys, who is looking like the team to beat? I know Hot Springs is doing pretty well and DeQueen just had a close win to 7A Catholic High and a close lose to 6A Russellville in PK's at DeQueen last Friday.

[ArkHog#7]

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[jimmyt]

Boys 5A:

I'd have to say Hot Springs is in the drivers seat in the South (probably the toughest conference in 5A) since they beat Lakeside and Dequeen. Lakeside beat White Hall 6-0 so it seems to be the same four from last year in possibly a different order. I'm guessing 1 HS,2 Dequeen, 3 Hope, 4 Lakeside.

Plays East 1st round.

In the West, Maumelle seems to have picked up right where they left off from last year. Clarksville is making a case for themselves beating LRCA. That should be interesting to see how things work out because 6 out of the 7 teams could possibly beat anyone else in the conference. Maumelle beat Vilonia 2-1 and Clarksville's win over Christian was only 1-0. Harrison probably isn't as good as they once were but they know how to win tough games. I'm guessing 1 Maumelle,2 Clarksville, 3 Harrison, 4 Vilonia.

Plays Central 1st round.

The Central is pretty top heavy. Jacksonville and PA (play next week) are going to fight it out for 1st and 2nd. McClellan is a lot stronger this year. They beat Beebe but lost to Mills. Sylvan has a lot of young talent that beat Mills pretty handily. I'm guessing 1 Jacksonville, 2 PA, 3 McClellan, 4 Sylvan Hills.

Plays West 1st round.

The East is also top heavy. Valley View, Nettleton, and Batesville will all duke it out for the 1 seed. The 4 seed is up for grabs. I'm guessing 1 Nettleton (Dark Horse this year), 2 Valley View, 3 Batesville, 4 Paragould.

Plays South 1st round.

These are just some guesses but I'd be willing to bet they're pretty accurate. I'd love to hear some feedback. It's a fun time of year!

[Lionheart88]

Boys 5A:

I'd have to say Hot Springs is in the drivers seat in the South (probably the toughest conference in 5A) since they beat Lakeside and Dequeen. Lakeside beat White Hall 6-0 so it seems to be the same four from last year in possibly a different order. I'm guessing 1 HS,2 Dequeen, 3 Hope, 4 Lakeside.

Plays East 1st round.

In the West, Maumelle seems to have picked up right where they left off from last year. Clarksville is making a case for themselves beating LRCA. That should be interesting to see how things work out because 6 out of the 7 teams could possibly beat anyone else in the conference. Maumelle beat Vilonia 2-1 and Clarksville's win over Christian was only 1-0. Harrison probably isn't as good as they once were but they know how to win tough games. I'm guessing 1 Maumelle,2 Clarksville, 3 Harrison, 4 Vilonia.

Plays Central 1st round.

The Central is pretty top heavy. Jacksonville and PA (play next week) are going to fight it out for 1st and 2nd. McClellan is a lot stronger this year. They beat Beebe but lost to Mills. Sylvan has a lot of young talent that beat Mills pretty handily. I'm guessing 1 Jacksonville, 2 PA, 3 McClellan, 4 Sylvan Hills.

Plays West 1st round.

The East is also top heavy. Valley View, Nettleton, and Batesville will all duke it out for the 1 seed. The 4 seed is up for grabs. I'm guessing 1 Nettleton (Dark Horse this year), 2 Valley View, 3 Batesville, 4 Paragould.

Plays South 1st round.

These are just some guesses but I'd be willing to bet they're pretty accurate. I'd love to hear some feedback. It's a fun time of year!

Is Hope improved this year?  Last year they split with White Hall, seems like 4/5 was pretty near-run last year.  Unless Hope is improved (I haven't seen a conference score for them yet), I'd think it'd be 1)HS, 2)DeQueen, 3)Lakeside, 4/5 as a relative toss up (but Hope still probably the inside track).

[TNT_15]

Boys 5A:

I'd have to say Hot Springs is in the drivers seat in the South (probably the toughest conference in 5A) since they beat Lakeside and Dequeen. Lakeside beat White Hall 6-0 so it seems to be the same four from last year in possibly a different order. I'm guessing 1 HS,2 Dequeen, 3 Hope, 4 Lakeside.

Plays East 1st round.

In the West, Maumelle seems to have picked up right where they left off from last year. Clarksville is making a case for themselves beating LRCA. That should be interesting to see how things work out because 6 out of the 7 teams could possibly beat anyone else in the conference. Maumelle beat Vilonia 2-1 and Clarksville's win over Christian was only 1-0. Harrison probably isn't as good as they once were but they know how to win tough games. I'm guessing 1 Maumelle,2 Clarksville, 3 Harrison, 4 Vilonia.

Plays Central 1st round.

The Central is pretty top heavy. Jacksonville and PA (play next week) are going to fight it out for 1st and 2nd. McClellan is a lot stronger this year. They beat Beebe but lost to Mills. Sylvan has a lot of young talent that beat Mills pretty handily. I'm guessing 1 Jacksonville, 2 PA, 3 McClellan, 4 Sylvan Hills.

Plays West 1st round.

The East is also top heavy. Valley View, Nettleton, and Batesville will all duke it out for the 1 seed. The 4 seed is up for grabs. I'm guessing 1 Nettleton (Dark Horse this year), 2 Valley View, 3 Batesville, 4 Paragould.

Plays South 1st round.

These are just some guesses but I'd be willing to bet they're pretty accurate. I'd love to hear some feedback. It's a fun time of year!

The west is going to be really hard to predict. Their seems to me like 6 teams fighting for 4 playoff spots. Lrca goes to Vilonia Friday I think this is a huge game for Lrca who are desperate for a win. Should be a great game. I think PA will pull out 1 seed over Jacksonville. Something about Pa and the high standards they put out make me think they can pull out a close game. They were in finals last season. I also like sylvan hills to be a little higher 3 maybe even 2 they are a good young group. Also I would swich lakeside and Hope.

[ArkHog#7]

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[TNT_15]

Playoff predictions from each IMO
Central: PA, Jacksonville, SH, and Beebe.
East: Nettleton, Valley View, Batesville, and GCT.
West: Clarksville, Maumelle, Vilonia, and LRCA.
South: Hot Springs, DeQueen, Lakeside, and Hope.

What about Harrison?

[ArkHog#7]

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[ArkHog#7]

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[TNT_15]

Possibly. It seems that LRC, Vilonia, Harrison, and Greenbriar are about even. I could be wrong, should be exciting to see how it plays out!

Harrison will be DESPERATE for a win tonight vs lrc. Harrison can not afford another loss

[Sir Alex]

Harrison will be DESPERATE for a win tonight vs lrc. Harrison can not afford another loss

got it.

[hogbert]

Indeed they did. I would assume Chris is not exactly sitting back thinking they've arrived though. Both teams have work to do. LRC needs to figure out how to put the ball in the net and Harrison has got to find some offense.

[Outlaw]

From what I read and stats looks like the top 10 players in 5A are
1.Erich Guaden
2.Jose Hernandez
3.Brock Davis
4.Adam Jaskin
5.Cobi Johnson
6.Ilijah Carter
7.Christopher Guerra
8.Nery Flores
9.Eli Johnson
10.Spencer Plankey
who else would move on or off this list as top players

[Sir Alex]

Indeed they did. I would assume Chris is not exactly sitting back thinking they've arrived though. Both teams have work to do. LRC needs to figure out how to put the ball in the net and Harrison has got to find some offense.

offense, a defense and a list a mile long.

[TNT_15]

offense, a defense and a list a mile long.

For Lrc or Harrison?

[hogbert]

For Lrc or Harrison?

He can answer for himself, but as one who saw the game, I'd say both.

[TNT_15]

He can answer for himself, but as one who saw the game, I'd say both.

I don't think either will get out of first round. Each will be lucky to get into playoff. It's a weird year to see two teams that have been so good in the past struggle.

[sevenof400]

I don't think either will get out of first round. Each will be lucky to get into playoff. It's a weird year to see two teams that have been so good in the past struggle.

One possible factor that will help the West in the playoffs this year is the first round matchups are
West - Central
East - South

[GobSoccerFan12]

One possible factor that will help the West in the playoffs this year is the first round matchups are
West - Central
East - South

Honestly I think the entire 5A may be weak this season. As #1 Hot Springs lost to 4A Warren & Dardanelle, #2 VV tied Dardanelle, and #5 Clarksville lost to Dardanelle. Dardanelle & Warren may just be very good teams, but the 5A seems to be lacking the powerhouses from previous years. Seems like the state championship winner may be whoever gets the breaks at state.

[Badger]

I don't follow 5A, so not sure if the classification is down or not.  I do believe Warren and Dardanelle are just dang good and can compete with any team in the state.  My observation of the 5A boys seems like there are more competitive teams than in the past, not just LRCA, Harrison, PA beating up on everybody.  Obviously, the growth of the Hispanic population throughout the state has affected all boys' classifications, i.e. NW Arkansas' recent dominance in 7A, and the advent of DeQueen, Warren, etc.  Also, the opening of Maumelle High offered a perceived more palatable public school option for Maumelle kids, many of which would have likely attended Little Rock private schools, such as CAC, LRCA, PA, Catholic.  Just my $.02, FWIW. 

[Sir Alex]

Bingo! The growth of the Hispanic population has changed the high school game so much in the last 15 years.  It is a very positive change on the guys side of the ball.  My $.02 worth is that you will see the game change some more over the next 10-15 years as well as schools are able to add better coaches to go along with the better players. We will have coaches that have played the game at most schools. Also, we are finally getting into 2nd generation soccer players in Arkansas.  There may be a few third generation players but I would bet they are not originally from Arkansas. Things will even back out and the overall level of play from the two different cultures will be higher than it has ever been.

[GobSoccerFan12]

What is Maumelle like this year? What do they like to do and what do they do well? Where are they strong? I imagined they'd be down this year after losing their SR class from last year, not #3 in the 5A. I didn't get to watch Harrison play them, I'd love to hear any info on them. Clarksville is also surprising considering their lack of success the past 2 years.

[Jdhelbig]

Now that we are deep into conference play, who is the favorite to win the state tournament?? Give a breakdown of your reasons why or why not for each team as well please!

[Jdhelbig]

I believe DeQueen will win it all again for the 3rd title in a row, but will have a difficult time in the state playoffs. 6 out of 8 years is impressive enough....so them winning the state title will be extremely impressive.....again! Mostly because they are definitely down a notch this year as far as skill is concerned. They lost the best player in the whole state last year, and any team would struggle losing that much talent in one guy! Even though we won it last year, people didn't think it was going to happen. "The run has to come to an end eventually!" I hope it isn't true though😊 It will be fun to see how it plays out! I know I'm looking forward to it.

[VHSCoach2]

I cannot speak on any of the 5A East teams, such as Valley View, because I have not seen them play.  I'll go by word-of-mouth for East teams.  I have only seen two 5A Central teams this season, so my opinion would be null and void for that conference as well.

As for teams that I have seen play, I agree with the general consensus that the 5A West is down this season.  It does appear that Maumelle is on their way to repeating as conference champions, but with still 5 conference games for them to go anything could happen.

Now to the 5A South.  Of course, we know De Queen is going to be a threat, as they have been for the better part of the last decade.  However, I think the team to beat is going to be Hot Springs.  Having seen them in person, they are the most put-together, well-oiled machine of a team that I have seen this season (keep in mind what I said earlier about having limited exposure to the East and Central).  Plus, Hot Springs already holds a victory over De Queen this season.

[ARSoccer25]

Boys

1. Hot Springs
2. Valley view
3. DeQueen
4. Maumelle
5. Lakeside
6. Hope
7. Clarksville
8. LRCA
9. Viliona

After seeing  a few games from each conference, I wouldn't be surprised if it is 3 South teams and Valley View in the semis.

Meant to have VV second not Maumelle

[Jdhelbig]

So now that we are just 2 weeks from the playoffs, can we have everyone's input in breaking down each team from each conference in 5A? This would give us great information heading into the final stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs!! Thanks in advance😁

[Outlaw]

Looks like 2 key games mon, tuesday this week.....Hot springs VS Dequeen
                                   Jacksonville VS PA

[MDXPHD]

Who's Jacksonville?

[Outlaw]

Who is this clown? Well good luck to all this week and let's hope the weather let's all of of play

[hogbert]

Who is this clown? Well good luck to all this week and let's hope the weather let's all of of play

Precisely.

[mijally]

It's Big Monday for the South and Central. The leaders collide.

[sevenof400]

If someone can post some details about those two games, thanks n advance!

[Jdhelbig]

I don't know about the girls but VB between Hot Springs @ DeQueen is tied at 1-1 with about 5 minutes left in the first half

[Outlaw]

Jacksonville girls lost 12/0 to Pa
Jacksonville boys lost 2/1 to Pa

[JMBknvc]

If someone can post some details about those two games, thanks n advance!

VB - PA 2 Jacksonville 1 (posted while typing)

Scoring Line: PA off corner (nice header), PA off PK (hand ball in box, player picked up the ball), Jacksonville off corner (mocker goal)

It seemed both teams played the long ball to their striker. After PA went up 2-0, they played a very defensive style. Will be interesting to see the rematch on Thursday, weather permitting.   

[mijally]

Thanks

[Outlaw]

They actually play again on monday

[mijally]

I don't know about the girls but VB between Hot Springs @ DeQueen is tied at 1-1 with about 5 minutes left in the first half

Talk to us. What's going on?  KFTM's maybe?