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Change coming soon to state's football landscape Fans who like change need to wait only one more year before the Arkansas Activ- ities Association reshuffles the deck in a process called reclassification. Teams can move up or down every two years in class based on enrollment. There'll be major changes beginning in 2020 at a handful of area schools, includ- ing Van Buren, Pea Ridge, Lincoln, and the two Fort Smith schools — Northside and Southside — which will be separat- ed and assigned to different conferences in Class 7A for football and Class 6A for other sports. Lincoln will drop down to Class 3A in 2020 and 2021 after posting one of its best records in Class 4A. The Wolves finished 8-3 last season and beat 4A-1 powerhouse Prairie Grove for the first time in nearly 25 years. Lincoln coach Don Harrison antici- pates a strong finish in Class 4A this season before joining teams in the 3A-1 Conference in 2020. "We know we're a 3A team, the AAA has already told us," Harrison said. "But we're not focusing on that. We're focused on doing our job in 4A. We have a saying around here that we focus on our specif- ics and not our circumstances." Van Buren will receive a f ighting chance in Class 6A beginning in 2020 af- ter being kicked around for years while trying to compete as the smallest school in terms of enrollment in Class 7A. Van Buren has won more than four games only once in the past decade, and the Pointers failed to win any games in 2017. Van Buren hopes to build some mo- mentum for the move in the 7A-West this season under Crosby Tuck, who was pro- moted to head coach of the Pointers after Casey Dick was hired at Fayetteville. "This is what we wanted," Van Bu- ren athletic director Randy Lloyd said about the move for the 2020-2022 cycle. "As much as we love working with the 7A-West football coaches and going up to Northwest Arkansas and playing games, this is for our kids. They are our No. 1 priority." Pea Ridge will face new challenges be- ginning in 2020 after emerging as a top football program in Class 4A. The Black- hawks, who won 13 games in 2016 and 12 games in 2017, will join Farmington in the 5A-West Conference and compete against teams such as Harrison, Morrilton and Alma. "With the growth in our school sys- tem, we anticipated the move to Class 5A in football," Pea Ridge athletic director Kevin Ramey said. "With the new con- ference comes new challenges, as well RICK FIRES COMMENTARY See FIRES, Page 7 Hooten's Top 10 Prep Poll CLASS 7A 1. North Little Rock 2. Bryant 3. Fayetteville 4. Bentonville High 5. Conway 6. Bentonville West 7. Springdale Har-Ber 8. Fort Smith Northside 9. Rogers High 10. Cabot CLASS 6A 1. Greenwood 2. Benton 3. West Memphis 4. El Dorado 5. Russellville 6. Marion 7. Jonesboro 8. Pine Bluff 9. Sylvan Hills 10. Searcy CLASS 5A 1. Pulaski Academy 2. Harrison 3. LR McClellan 4. LR Christian 5. Morrilton 6. Wynne 7. Greenbrier 8. LR Parkview 9. Batesville 10. Texarkana CLASS 4A 1. Arkadelphia 2. Nashville 3. Shiloh Christian 4. Joe T. Robinson 5. Warren 6. Ozark 7. Pea Ridge 8. Dumas 9. Rivercrest 10. Mena CLASS 3A 1. Camden Harmony Grove 2. Osceola 3. Prescott 4. Booneville 5. Rison 6. Smackover 7. McGhee 8. Newport 9. Mansfield 10. Harding Academy CLASS 2A 1. Junction City 2. Hazen 3. Gurdon 4. Fordyce 5. Foreman 6. Des Arc 7. Hector 8. Earle 9. Conway Christian 10. Mountain Pine NWA Democrat-Gazette/ BEN GOFF Fort Smith Northside wide receiver James Clayton (right) makes a catch in a game against Stillwater (Okla.) on July 12 during the Southwest Elite 7on7 Showcase at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium in Springdale. O u r T e a m P r o u d l y S u p p o r t s O u r L o c a l F o o t b a l l T e a m s ! 4 | 8.22.2019 | PREP RALLY