Hey it’s us again, another week another set of predictions!
Week 2…. Well…. went 100% on my picks for the week so that’s something. Camden Fairview vs Booneville looked to be a great game with Fairview getting the win. Paris beat West Fork which is a great bounce back for the Eagles. Hackett went 1-1 in Oklahoma which is pretty neat. Greenwood took a nearly 4 hour bus ride to Mountain Home and brought home the Win. Once fellow writers Jim Best and Adam Hecox send in their picks for the week I will add them below. So Week 3, Conference is heating up for some, maybe a non-conference game or bye week for others let’s dive right in.
RNN Sports Stone Cold Lock Of The Week:
Berryville @ Magazine
Adam’s Pick: Magazine
Just like the first edition of the RNN Sports Stone Cold Lock of the Week, It is tough to look at the schedule and see a game that is going to be a tough one. Most of the games are non-conference and look to be final tune-ups for either team before their conference run. Look at this way, my last two weeks of picks I have only gotten one wrong, so could I be wrong on this Lock of the Week? Maybe. Magazine is coming off a win against Danville, so their is definitely some pep in their step this week. Berryville is coming off a 14-7 loss to Greenland, but they did beat West Fork in Week 1 16-13. This has a possibility of being a great game for both teams
The Rest
Siloam Springs @ Greenwood
Adam’s Pick: Greenwood
During the summer, the Siloam Springs Panthers came within one win of making it to the Championship in their own 7 on 7 Tournament after beating an extremely talented Muskogee Roughers team out of Oklahoma. They would lose in the Semi-Finals to Bartlesville, which Bartlesville would lose to Siloam’s Week 3 opponent Greenwood. Unfortunately the success in 7 on 7 has not translated to success in the fall as the Panthers are sitting at 0-3. Greenwood on the other hand….. the Bulldogs have scored at least 49 points in the past 3 games and only allowed an average of 9 points the past three weeks.
Booneville @ Harding Academy
Adam’s Pick: Harding
Dax Goff and the Booneville Bearcats will make the trip to Searcy this Friday Night. With Goff committing to Harding University, this will not be the last time the folks at Harding will see him. Harding Academy’s Arkansas Commit Wyatt Simmons will be waiting on the other side of the ball. Harding has been a perennial powerhouse in the smaller classifications and just like Little Rock Christian, Pulaski Academy, and Shiloh Christian their time in the 4A may be coming to an end.
Mansfield @ Waldron
Adam’s Pick: Mansfield
Each week, I look forward to Waldron getting that first win under their new head coach. Sadly, it will have to wait another week. The 40 point buzz saw that is Mansfield this season makes the trip down Hwy 71 for Scott County bragging rights.
Hackett Bye Week
Paris Bye Week
Lavaca @ Mount Ida
Adam’s Pick: Mount Ida
Mount Ida was a 9-3 team last year that lost in the 3rd round of the playoffs, this year they have yet to score a point. Lavaca is sitting at 2-0 and their defense has only given up 13 points in two games. Unless something miraculous happens, the Lions will not dodge the Golden Arrows this Friday night and will have to wait until they play Poyen the next week to put points on the board. Lavaca handled the Lions last year 43-13.
Charleston @ Nashville
Adam’s Pick: Nashville
Those Scrappers have spent the last three weeks playing Class 5A teams, Charleston is rolling into Howard County looking to right the ship so to speak. It has been a rough season so far for the Tigers and they are in one of the toughest conferences in 3A. This is the last tune up for the Tigers before they start conference play against Greenland and Cedarville in consecutive weeks. Charleston will have their hands for this week with Nashville.
Yellville-Summit @ Mountainburg
Adam’s Pick: Yellville-Summit
This almost became the Stone Cold Lock of the Week, but looking at scores I think the Panthers keep rolling. They’ve out scored their opponents 40-10 on average and held Johnson County Westside scoreless last week. They do have a common team in that they have both faced in Baptist Prep out of Little Rock. Baptist Prep beat Mountainburg 20-6 in the AAA Benefit game, then turned around and got beat 44-20 by Yellville-Summit. I know I know AAA Benefit game shouldn’t matter, but I went to one in Booneville against Dardenelle and you would have swore they were playing for a shot to go to Little Rock for a State Championship.
The Others
Fort Smith Northside Bye Week
With the past three games Northside has had this Bye Week could not come fast enough. Turnovers plagued them against Greenwood and Fayetteville and they have not scored since the Southside game where they put up 35 points. Their first game after the break is a 7A Central Conference opener when they host Bryant. Oof, hope the Grizzlies come together and play hard the next few weeks.
Fort Smith Southside Bye Week
So just how good are the Mavericks, I typed their original name first. oops. Southside is on a bye week after squeaking past 0-3 Northside, annihilating 1-1 Van Buren, and then holding 0-2 Wynne to one touchdown. Their next game is against the Rogers Mounties who are 3-0 and averaging 45 points and holding opponents to an average of 7 points. Could it be the Stone Cold Lock of the Week next week? We will definitely see.
Adam has also chosen Green Forest over Cedarville