2013 Conference Predictions.

[whippersnapper]

Well as we head into this season a lot of teams are losing huge senior classes. But which teams will stay a top and still do well? Here are my predictions in which I spent quite a bit of time on writing down so I wouldn't forget what I wanted to say. The wins prediction is just for regular season.
1-4A
1. Prairie Grove- The tigers lose a lot of starters, but when you have 7/8 mercy rule wins you get a chance to add depth. Also having one of the best coaches in the conference helps. 7-9 wins
2. Farmington- Spencer Boudrey single handily almost beat Newport in the playoffs. But will Coach Adams have another great back for the I formation? Well that freshman didn't look to bad either against Newport.7-9 wins
3. Gravette- We all expected the down season for the lions, just not that down. But they still made playoffs and will continue to with Harrelson at the helm. 6-8 wins
4. Lincoln- Had they been in 3a they would've won a conference championship but they didn't do bad last season going 5-5. The wolves get 6-8 wins.
5. Pea Ridge- Here is the thing about the I formation offense pea ridge runs quite a bit of. 1 you gotta have a great tailback. And 2 linemen. Do the hawks have enough in the cupboard? 4-6 wins
6. Ozark- The hillbilles may lose more starters then anyone and had almost no depth last year. 3-5 wins
7. Berryville- Don't know much on them 2-4 wins
8. Gentry- Are Little's days in gentry numbered? 1-3 wins

2-4A
1. Newport- After getting back into the winning category the hounds look to win a conference championship. And with all the right home games they very well could. Also coming back is All Staters Kristen Crite and Carl Turner. Stuttgart, Heber, and dollarway all have come to Newport. 8-10 wins
2. Heber Springs- Steve Janski does it again. With 3 quarter final and a conference championship in the last 5 seasons the panthers are due for a state championship run at anytime. 7-9 wins
3. Stuttgart- The defending state champions lose a lot this coming may. But with Billy Elmore youre going to get a tough fight every Friday night. 6-8 wins
4. Dollarway- Lose a decent amount of seniors but athletes every where keeps them a float. 6-8 wins
5. Clinton- This is my sleeper team. They could finish higher with a talented backfield returning. 5-7 wins
6. Is Grant Dewey and Blake Mack enough to lead the rabbits to the playoffs or is the closet just to empty for Coach Bost? 3-5 wins
7. Southside- After their dream season didn't go as planned what will Coach Simpson do now? 2-4 wins
8. Marianna- Will they actually even have a football coach? 0 wins

3-4A
1. Gosnell- Coach Moody had a great season considering the time he got there and only having 23 players. Look for better numbers in his second year. 7-9 wins
2. Valley View- This is a sleeping giant in football if you ask me. Great facilities and support. 6-8 wins
3. Highland- Losing arguably the best senior class in school history will the rebels have enough coming back to have a winning record? 5-7 wins
4. Pocahontas- Some want Coach Williams out. I say let him retire when he is ready. And if this next season is his last maybe the team can conjure a conference championship for the ole ball coach. 6-8 wins
5. Westside- Well they made the playoffs out of nowhere. Can they do it again? I think they can. 4-6 wins
6. Brookland- Not a bad first year and in this weak conference anything can happen. 3-5 wins
7. Cave City- Last season didn't go as planned for the cavemen. They go from one bottom dweller to another. 2-3 wins
8. Trumann- maybe with the right coach they can win a few games. 0-2 wins.

4-4A
1. Booneville- With one of the great upsets last season the cats pulled out another conference championship. 8-10 wins
2. Dardanelle- Won 9 games last season and is a sleeper. 7-9 wins
3. Pottsville- Losing another big senior group but how much is left after the last 2 graduating classes? Can Perry carry them to another conference championship? 8-10 wins
4. Mena- Well now that Jeff Weaver has left what direction will the new coach go? This could be a learning curve year for the bearcats but I hope not. 4-7 wins
5. Maumelle- Best athletes, worst coached. 4-6 wins
6. Dover- Coach Smith realized real quick he didn't have the athletes he had at Prescott but he will have the pirates competing soon. 3-5 wins
7. Waldron- Who really knows? 0-2 wins
8. Subiaco- And you never really know with the Trojans. 0-4 wins

7-4A
1. Nashville- The best coached team in the conference stays at the top. 8-10 wins
2. Arkadelphia- After the shock heard around 4a how will that affect the off season for the badgers? Will it motivate them or will they quit. 7-9 wins
3. CAC- Is enjoying being back in the 4A. 6-8 wins
4. Malvern- Somewhat of a disappointing season for them but you never know with Malvern. They could win 10 games or 3. 6-8 wins
5. Robinson- Can Coach Eskola get the senators back? Or was 2010 a 1 year wonder. 4-6 wins
6. Ashdown- Getting worse and worse.. 2-4 wins
7. Bauxite- Missing 3a bad. But did show some toughness last year. 2-3 wins
8. Baptist- Same as Bauxite they miss 3a but the eagles did make the playoffs. 2-4 wins

8-4A
1. Warren- Started 0-3 but made it to the quarter finals to lose to the eventual state champion. Most likely comes in #1 in 4A. 8-10 wins
2. Hamburg- Can the lions find a tailback to replace Harris? I believe so although it may be by committee. Never count out Coach Cox. 6-8 wins
3. Star City- You hated to see them lose considering the circumstances they were in last season. 7-9 wins
4. Crossett- Made playoffs for the first time in a long time, can they keep it going? 4-6 wins
5. Monticello- Disappointing season last year and another one coming. 4-6 wins
6. Dumas- 6-15 record the past 2 seasons. Can Coach Courtney get a hold of this before its to late? 3-5 wins
7. Dewitt- Poor dragons just dont have the talent to compete with the rest of the conference. 2-4 wins
8. Lake Village- A sleeping Dollarway they say? Maybe with the right coach. But not right now. 0-2 wins

Like it or hate it that's my predictions for next year. 

[AirWarren]

Pretty good predictions.

[the green moose]

Ozark shouldnt be that low....they'll make playoffs at least

[edghog]

Ozark will be top 3 in the 1-4A. These SRs to be won conference as 9th graders. If you think they are not hungry for "their time", you are crazy. While playing the last two years behind the deep and loaded class of 2013, they got even better. Anyone that thinks Ozark will be an easy game next year has a rude awakening coming.
And to clarify, Ozark was one of the deepest teams in the state this year. No depth? I think you are mistaken.

[whippersnapper]

Well I just remember yall being banged up some of the season. And at the end of the day those starters were starters for a reason.

[edghog]

Well I just remember yall being banged up some of the season. And at the end of the day those starters were starters for a reason.

Ozark had several underclassmen start and that says a lot considering how many SRs Ozark had this year. We were banged up and it was some key people but we were deep enough to make it to the championship game.
As I've stated before, the outstanding lineman in the championship game for Ozark was a JR. Ozark's only score was by a JR. The center was a JR and there was also a Soph who played a lot. I can personally tell you that he is a stud, as I've watched him play since the 3rd grade. One of Ozark's leading tacklers, SR Kenneth Warden, has a little brother on the team and he has the same work ethic and nose for the ball as Kenneth had. He will be a JR next year and will asked to step it up. No doubt in my mind that he will get the job done. JR Jake Simpson who started at CB & was the back up QB will run the offense nicely. Throw in that the Ozark coaching staff is one of the top 4A staffs in the state and I'm sure that the Hillbillies will be fine. 
I'm just sayin that I don't think Ozark will have a huge drop off. As good? No. Pretty good though? Yes.   

[cuckoobird]

I can agree with most of your predictions, BUT, lol I think Stuttgart finishes no lower than 2nd in the 2-4a. We will have more overall team speed and strength with size only dropping off a little. Leadership will be the biggest key to carrying the Ricebirds back to the promise land. The athletes are already in place. We could go 14-0 or 0-14 depending on leadership.

[SUGARTOWN]

Maybe 0-10, but I doubt the Birds could lose 4 games in the playoffs.

I see them as 3rd or maybe 2nd in the conference with a little luck. Road games at Dollarway and Newport, ouch.

[beaverfan007]

stuutgart has a title to defend they will be tough

[cuckoobird]

U got me sugartown. Lol i wasnt thinking

[prisonhound]

Newport will have to play better defense to win the conference title. They also have to replace four offensive linemen.

[beach bum]

The more I think about it I think Prairie Grove could make another run at the semis again if the players put their minds to it. The 2-4A will have 4 legit teams & the 7-4A always fields at least 2 teams capable of deep runs. Warren, Pottsville, & Booneville are teams that could also go far into the playoffs.

[SUGARTOWN]

Warren is a lock for the 4A title, they have several D1 prospects, and very good RB coming back as well.

[beach bum]

Warren is a lock for the 4A title, they have several D1 prospects, and very good RB coming back as well.

+1

[zebrafan]

Dollarway has a lot coming back, will be dangerous...but Newport will probably take the 2-4A though.

[BrianfromCarlisle]

I am ready to listen to the Stuttgart broadcasts.   That color guy sounds eerily familiar.  Lol.  Hey cuckoobird,  I was wondering how a team could rack up 4 playoff losses in one season!   That would have to be some sort of record.  Haha

[~WPS~]

Warren is a lock for the 4A title, they have several D1 prospects, and very good RB coming back as well.

This sounds very familiar, sounds about like 2006 an 2007. And we all know how that turned out. 

[polksalet]

Warren is a lock for the 4A title, they have several D1 prospects, and very good RB coming back as well.

This sounds very familiar, sounds about like 2006 an 2007. And we all know how that turned out. 

What happened?

[AirWarren]

Yum, that Sunday chicken tasted good.

Jarius, Greg, and soon Chris say hello from the NFL.

[polksalet]

Yum, that Sunday chicken tasted good.

Jarius, Greg, and soon Chris say hello from the NFL.

That's right, the trio of fail.

[AirWarren]

NFL. Fail?

Hmm.

[cuckoobird]

Bo fail

[AirWarren]

^ that's more an argument than other twit.

[Romeo]

There's too much talent for Warren not to be successful this upcoming season, but I'm still concerned about the quarterback. The incumbent has lost his job two years in a row. It'll be interesting to see whether Jones or Gorman is the starter in week one.

[AirWarren]

We have the lineman.

We have the defense.

We have multiple 3 year starters.

We have the offense.

QB is the big question.

Very favored this year but anything can happen.

[polksalet]

We have the lineman.

We have the defense.

We have multiple 3 year starters.

We have the offense.

QB is the big question.

Very favored this year but anything can happen.

While i'm not a fan of that style of football, I think a lot of these coaches refuse to run option ball. If you have great players everywhere other than qb I don't get why you wouldn't run a lot of option.

[cuckoobird]

We have the lineman.

We have the defense.

We have multiple 3 year starters.

We have the offense.

QB is the big question.

Very favored this year but anything can happen.

While i'm not a fan of that style of football, I think a lot of these coaches refuse to run option ball. If you have great players everywhere other than qb I don't get why you wouldn't run a lot of option.

if i'm not mistaken I think it is a read option but either its called from the sideline or the qb doesnt like to run.

[AirWarren]

We ran alot of read option last year. Was pretty successful at it.

[AirWarren]

So will Newport take a hit with Coach Poole leaving for Searcy? Or will Turner be enough to keep the Newport train headed uphill?

http://www.fearlessfriday.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=128808.msg2775458#new

[whippersnapper]

I think it will depend on who Newport hires. If they hire from within and keep the same system that Coach Poole was running then I don't see any drop off. But if they hire someone new well then just depends on how fast the kids pick up the system.

[SUGARTOWN]

Newport made a good hire in Coach Poole, he really had that program going in the right direction. It will be interesting to see who they hire.

I'm not really looking forward to 3 more years of Carl Turner though. He's tough.