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as coach. "One thing people don't realize about them is they are really good up front," Hutson said. "People don't realize that until you play them." Senior Kris Graham (5-8, 175) gives the Eagles a true dual threat at the quar- terback position. Put him with senior DaKovan Wise (5-7, 148) and Justus Lee (5-9, 158), and speed is not lacking at all in the backfield. "Kris was a top 10 guy in the state in Class 3A in the 100 meters, and he can throw it, too," Hutson said. "He worked on it during the summer. Wise is scary in the open field, and Justus Lee, all three of them can fly. They were second in the state in the 400-meter relay." Lamar and Atkins should also con- tend in the 3A-4, while Mansfield could also be dangerous buoyed by a strong sophomore class. 3A-1 ConferenCe Elkins coach Chad Harbison doesn't expect to sneak up on anybody this sea- son. But the Elks, who claimed a share of the conference title, return just three starters on each side of the ball from a team that finished 9-3 and went two rounds deep in the playoffs. "We've got a lot of new faces; the good thing is they got a lot of playing ex- perience, just not as starters," Harbison said. "It's not like they haven't played. Now it's their turn." Sophomore Quinn McClain (6-2, 180) replaces Jake Strode, an all-state selec- tion who was a dual threat. But even McClain moved up after the junior high season was completed and saw action in both playoff games. Junior Chance Jones steps in for Colton Vaught, who rushed for almost 1,200 yards and 30 touchdowns. "He got his feet wet, and he under- stands it," Harbison said. "He can throw it around a little bit. He's a good runner and good processor. It's just getting the speed of the game down." The returning starters on offense are junior center Hayden Hurst (5-10, 180) and senior tackle Jace Shirley (6-1, 215). Senior Layne Evans (5-10, 155) was start- er at receiver. He caught a team-high 41 passes for 641 yards and four touch- downs. Lee Larkan begins his 16th year at Greenland and 12th as head coach look- ing to wipe away memories of last year's 5-6 finish. "We've had a great offseason trying to get away from that," Larkan said. "It remains to be seen if we can. We don't have an extreme amount of talent, but we've got a lot of kids who have worked hard over the last 10 months or so. We're a lot stronger. Our issue is probably size. We've only got three guys over 200 pounds." Senior quarterback Austin Anderson leads the offensive, after throwing for 1,657 yards and 18 touchdowns last sea- son. Larkan said the offensive line will be almost entirely new this season and could include two or three sophomores. Clinton and Mountain View, who both finished tied with Elkins for the conference title a year ago, should also contend for the top spot. Paul Boyd can be reached at pboyd@nwadg. com or on Twitter @NWAPaulb. 43 PreP rAlly: Class 3A Thursday, augusT 31, 2017 3A v Continued from Page 42 2016 Conference Standings 3A-1 Team ......................... Conference ........... Overall Elkins ................................ 6-1 ......................... 9-3 Clinton .............................. 6-1 ......................... 8-3 Mountain View .................. 6-1 ......................... 8-4 Melbourne ........................ 4-3 ......................... 5-7 greenland......................... 3-4 ......................... 5-6 green Forest .................... 2-5 ......................... 2-8 yellville-summit .................1-6 ....................... 1-8-1 Marshall ............................ 0-7 ......................... 1-9 3A-4 Team ......................... Conference ........... Overall Charleston .........................7-0 ........................ 13-1 atkins ................................ 6-1 ......................9-3-1 Paris ................................. 5-2 ......................... 7-5 Lamar ............................... 4-3 ......................... 5-6 Perryville ........................... 3-4 ......................... 4-7 Mansfield .......................... 2-5 ......................... 2-8 Cedarville ..........................1-6 .......................... 2-8 Two rivers ........................ 0-7 ....................... 0-10 Hooten's Coaches Poll 3A-1 1. Clinton 2. Elkins 3. Mountain View 4. greenland 5. Melbourne 6. green Forest 7. yellville-summit 8. Marshall 3A-4 1. Charleston 2. Paris 3. atkins 4. Lamar 5. Mansfield 6. Perryville 7. Cedarville 8. Two rivers NWa democrat-gazette/aNdy shuPE J.J. Miller (88) of Elkins is one of only six returning starters for the Elks this season. he played linebacker. NWa democrat-gazette/aNdy shuPE Greenland coach lee larkan begins his 16th season overall at greenland and 12th as head coach of the Pirates