BOONEVILLE- Football season will begin for some schools in approximately one week with “Zero Week” games being played on August 25. The remainder of schools will open their seasons the following Friday night on September 1.
RNN Sports has looked at schools for the Class 3A and 4A classifications that play in the River Valley region of Arkansas. Conferences 3A-1 and 3A-4, as well as 4A-1 and 4A-4 are featured in this story.
Each conference will send five teams to the state playoffs that will begin on November 10. The playoffs will culminate with the state championship finals in mid-December.
In the River Valley region, the Booneville Bearcats, state finalists in 2022, look to return to Little Rock to play and potentially win the 3A state title at War Memorial Stadium. The Bearcats returns a lot of key players with playoff experience, and if they survive a tough non-conference schedule without losing some of those key players to injury, the Bearcats should be a favorite of many to return to Little Rock to play for a state championship.
As we take a look at Class 3A high school football in our region, here are the predictions for who we believe will be the five teams from each conference who will advance to the state playoffs.
Class 3A, Conference 1
Conference 3A-1 schools include Booneville, Charleston, Cedarville, Greenland, Hackett, Lavaca, Mansfield, and West Fork.
The five teams that we believe will make the state playoffs, in order of seed are:
- Booneville
- Charleston
- Mansfield
- Hackett
- Lavaca
Hackett and Lavaca should both be in the running to make the playoffs in 2023 (RNN Sports Photos / Jim Best)
Opening Week Games for Five Predicted Playoff Seeds:
Aug 25 Magazine at Mansfield
Aug 25 Centerpoint at Hackett
Sept 1 Magazine at Lavaca
Sept 1 Booneville at Ozark
Sept 1 Elkins at Charleston
Class 3A, Conference 4
Conference 3A-4 schools include Bismark, Centerpoint, Danville, Glen Rose, Jessieville, Magnet Cove, Paris, and Two Rivers.
The five teams that we believe will make the state playoffs, in order of seed are:
- Glen Rose
- Bismark
- Centerpoint
- Jessieville
- Paris
Opening Week Games for the Five Predicted Playoff Seeds:
Aug 25 Crosett at Glen Rose
Aug 25 Prescott at Bismark
Aug 25 Centerpoint at Hackett
Aug 25 Mineral Springs at Jessieville
Aug 25 Waldron at Paris
Class 4A, Conference 1
Conference 4A-1 schools include Berryville, Elkins, Ozark, Gravette, Gentry, Lincoln, Huntsville, and Green Forest.
The five teams we believe will make the state playoffs, in order of seed are:
- Elkins
- Ozark
- Gravette
- Gentry
- Lincoln
First Week Games for Five Predicted Playoff Seeds:
Aug 25 Pottsville at Elkins
Aug 25 Ozark at Clarksville
Aug 25 Pea Ridge at Gravette
Aug 25 Gentry at Westville, OK
Aug 25 Lincoln at Greenland
Class 4A, Conference 4
Ozark and Pottsville, along with Lamar should be River Valley teams making the playoffs this year in Class 4A (RNN Sports Photos / Jim Best)
Conference 4A-4 schools include Bauxite, CAC, Clinton, Lamar, H. Grove Haskell, Pottsville, Little Rock Hall, Mayflower, and Dover.
The five teams we believe will make the state playoffs, in order of seed are:
- Bauxite
- H. Grove Haskell
- Clinton
- Lamar
- Pottsville
Opening Week Games for the Five Predicted Playoff Seeds:
Aug 25 Bauxite at Star City
Aug 25 Riverview at Harmony Grove Haskell
Aug 25 Cave City at Clinton
Aug 25 Huntsville at Lamar
RNN Sports wishes all of the teams a great 2023 season, and we look forward to bringing our readers all of the action!
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