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PREP RALLY | 8.20.2023 4 VISIT ROGERS: 479.636.2200 BENTONVILLE: 479.250.9393 FAYETTEVILLE: 479.521.6611 RICK FIRES NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE One of the stories from our Prep Rally 2022 Football Preview had the headline '7A-West ready to reclaim bragging rights.' Didn't happen, especially with Bryant standing in the way. Bryant claimed its fih consecutive state championship in Arkansas' largest classification aer blasting Bentonville 36-7 last December in Little Rock at War Memorial Stadium. Bryant begins a new year with 54 consecutive wins against in-state competition, and that includes 16 straight playoff wins. at's a sports dynasty, for sure. ere's no question the pendulum has swung wildly to the 7A-Central, especially with Bryant and North Little Rock, aer teams from the 7A-West captured state championships in Arkansas' largest classification from 2006-16. But there may be a crack in Bryant's armor aer Buck James, the most successful football coach in Bryant history, resigned to take the head coaching job at Conway aer Keith Fimple le to become athletic director at Springdale. Conway, which finished 7-3 last year, is confident it can supplant Bryant as the state's best in Class 7A and maintain the dominance for teams in the 7A-Central. But there's contenders in the 7A-West with Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Bentonville West all capable of regaining bragging rights for the league. "I think it's very important to represent ourselves and Northwest Arkansas," said Bentonville West coach Bryan Pratt said. "ey've won some games the last few years over there and they're very good. ey've upped the ante for us over here. We're always trying to represent our brand, our conference, and, hopefully, with some movement going on, you never know what's going to happen." Fayetteville was close to knocking Bryant off its throne two years ago aer winning its first outright conference championship since 1963. e Purple Bulldogs led Bryant 38-35 with just over 4 minutes remaining at War Memorial Stadium before a turnover helped the Hornets salvage a 42-38 victory and its fourth straight title. Fayetteville is certainly a threat to return to War Memorial Stadium for the finals with an offense led by senior quarterback Drake Lindsey, who is committed to the University of Minnesota. Lindsey, who threw for 3,751 yards and 37 touchdowns last season, has plenty of options in the passing game, led by Lach McKinney and Jaison DeLamar, who finished second and third, respectively, in receiving yards last season in the 7A-West. A motivated Omar Murray, who showed flashes as a sophomore, will greatly enhance Fayetteville's running game aer he sat out last season. Bentonville is always a contender and this year is no different aer the Tigers finished 11-2 last season. Rogers has gained tons of respect the last few seasons and the Mounties are coming off consecutive nine-win seasons under coach Chad Harbison. Quarterback Dane Williams and running back Jacob Jenkins lead a Rogers offense that produced 35.8 points per game last season. Bentonville West hopes to build on an 8-4 record following consecutive 6-win seasons. e challenge is in competing against better top-tier teams like Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Cabot (twice), who handed the Wolverines their four losses last season. An early test for West occurs in Week 2 with a road game at Cabot. Two weeks later, the Wolverines open 7A-West at home against Fayetteville, which outscored West 42-28 last year at Harmon Field. ere is a big gap between the top four and bottom four teams in the 7A-West Conference. But Springdale Har-Ber hopes to make a move back up the standings with the hiring of Brent Eckley, who arrives aer producing winning teams in Missouri for several seasons. Until then, every team in the 7A-West and 7A-Central Conferences are still chasing Bryant. Again. Will coaching change make Bryant vulnernable? PREP RALLY FOOTBALL PREVIEW President Brent A. Powers Editor Graham Thomas Staff Writers Henry Apple • Rick Fires • Paul Boyd Contributing Writers Leland Barclay • Harold McIlvain • Kevin Taylor Photos Charlie Kaijo • Hank Layton • Spencer Tirey Videos Blake Sutton • Spencer Tirey Video Interviews Graham Thomas • Walter Woodie • Kevin Taylor • Leland Barclay TABLE OF CONTENTS Rick Fires Column ........................................... Page 4 Drake Lindsey Cover Story ......................... Pages 6-7 Class 7A Preview/Capsules ...................... Pages 8-16 Class 6A Preview/Capsules .................... Pages 18-21 Class 5A Preview/Capsules .................... Pages 23-25 Class 4A Preview/Capsules .......... Pages 27-29;36-44 Class 3A Preview/Capsules .................... Pages 46-48 Class 2A/8-man Preview/Capsules ......... Pages 49-50 The List .................................................. Pages 51-62 • Kobe Branham, Fort Smith Southside ......... Page 52 • CJ Brown, Bentonville ................................. Page 53 • Da'Shawn Chairs, Elkins ...................................... 54 • Isaac Chapman, Rogers ....................................... 55 • Dax Goff, Booneville ................................... Page 56 • Lane Jeffcoat, Bentonville West .................. Page 57 • Jacob Jenkins, Rogers ................................ Page 58 • Drake Lindsey, Fayetteville .......................... Page 59 • Carter Nye, Bentonville ............................... Page 60 • Ben Pearson, Bentonville ............................ Page 61 • Bo Williams, Shiloh Christian ..................... Page 62 * Videos available on YouTube ** Special thanks to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals for generously allowing the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to host Northwest Arkansas Media Day at Arvest Ballpark on Aug. 3. Exclusive videos available on the Northwest Arkansas and River Valley Democrat-Gazette digital replica apps. Download today for Apple and Android.