Arkansas 7-on-7 Football's 2011 Mid-Season Top 10

ArkansasVarsity has produced their mid-season Top 20. We decided to give you our Top 10 along with our rational for placing the teams where we did. You can visit Luke over at ArkansasVarsity.com to compare.


1. Pulaski Academy

• PA finished 10-0 at the Shootout of the South, disposing of Allen, TX and Belton, TX (twice) as well as top Arkansas teams Fayetteville, Rogers Heritage, El Dorado and Nashville. They also defeated Greenbrier and Lake Hamilton (twice) at the Sonic Air Raid and defeated Bryant at the ASPC Summer Showdown. Bryant is their lone loss from pool play at the Summer Showdown.

2. Fayetteville

• Austin Allen showed why there is hype around his big right arm at the Shootout of the South. He led the Bulldogs to victories over top teams Greenbrier, El Dorado, CAC, and Rogers Heritage.

3. Lake Hamilton

• Lake Hamilton's defeats this year have come to Greenbrier in their first game at the Air Raid, who they would later beat in the tournament, Pulaski Academy (twice) at the Air Raid, and Allen, Texas, who beat them on a 20-yard touchdown pass as time expired. They won the OBU 7-on-7 tournament and have defeated Greenbrier, Conway, Warren, CAC, and Heritage Hall out of Oklahoma City.

4. Central Arkansas Christian

• Probably the biggest pleasant surprise as they went 10-1 and won the Auburn Passing tournament. They continued to impress at the Shootout with victories over Bryant, Nashville, and twice over Watson Chapel. Their only losses were a last minute 2-point loss to Allen, a 1-point loss to Fayetteville, and an elimination loss to Lake Hamilton.

5. Rogers Heritage

• A new offensive coordinator does not seem like it will slow down the War Eagles passing game. Their well-designed offense behind their sophomore QB Josh Qualls was a tough out at the Shootout. They defeated Russellville, Belton, TX, and Bryant, while their losses were to Pulaski Academy, Lake Hamilton, and Fayetteville.

6. Bryant

• Although they were a bit of a disappointment at the Shootout, much of that could be attributed to the injury to playmaker Dillon Winfrey, their go to receiver and starting cornerback. Without him they struggled to find a rhythm on offense. However, Bryant is the only team to take down Pulaski Academy this summer as they scored on almost every possession in 6 games at the Summer Showdown.

7. Greenbrier

• Greenbrier has taken down some good teams this year as they defeated Lake Hamilton at the Air Raid, and beat El Dorado and Bryant and demolished Conway, 53-28, at the Shootout. Their losses have come at the hands of Pulaski Academy, Lake Hamilton, Fayetteville, Belton, TX, and Heritage Hall (OK City).

8. El Dorado

• We predict El Dorado will be much better at the Southwest Elite 7-on-7 at Shiloh in July. Their young quarterback and receivers never quite hit their stride at their Shootout, but their defense was able to make up with their closing speed on balls put up in the air. They were as impressive as any defense we've seen this summer.

9. Warren

• The youth of this team has to have Coach Hembree excited about the next three years. Wide receiver Jalen Cobb is a great target to build an offense around, and they will likely improve exponentially each time they play.

10. Conway

• There are too many playmakers for this team not to be dangerous. They had some disappointing losses at the Shootout, but Coach Ashcraft and staff will fix the problems and they will not be easy to beat by mid July.

There you have our rankings.  Let us know what you think.


NOTE:  One team intentionally left off is Springdale Har-Ber.  However, we are unsure of any 7-on-7 competitions that they have competed in this summer. There is no doubt they belong here, but we're not sure where they fit in, They will make their first mark at the Southwest Elite on July 8-9. We're sure they will be one of the top 5 teams in that 24 team field, but that is pure speculation on our part.

Arkansas Varsity Releases First Ever 7-on-7 Rankings

Luke Matheson of Arkansas Varsity (Arkansas' rivals.com site for prep sports) has released his rankings for this year's 7-on-7 season. This is the first rankings that we know that has ever been released. You can see those rankings by clicking here.

We feel like this is a solid list and a great idea. I think everyone agrees that being better than a team in 7-on-7 doesn't make you better in real football. However, note the success of these teams in real football:

• 18 Playoff Teams
• 14 Quarter-finalists
• 9 Semi-finalists
• 5 Finalists
• 3 State Champions
• Central Arkansas Christian and Russellville were the only two that did not qualify for the playoffs

I think it's also worth noting some teams not on this list that are successful, but do not play in many or any 7-on-7 tournaments during the summer. Most notably is Greenwood, who has competed in only one tournament in the past 7 years that we can remember. However, they have won 4 state championships during that time. Fort Smith Southside, Cabot, Texarkana, Camden Fairview, and Junction City are perennial powers whose names are rarely if ever seen on the 7-on-7 circuit.

Here are some of our thoughts about these rankings.

1. We are excited that Matheson has taken the time to research and come up with this poll. We believe that anything that promotes high school athletes in a positive manner is a good thing.
2. Although no one would argue that Bentonville is not a top program (if not the top program), we do not feel that they are generally successful in 7-on-7. We think a top 3, or even a top 10 7-on-7 ranking is a bit high. Regardless, Bentonville will likely be a favorite to win the 7A title again this year.
3. Lake Hamilton was ranked out of the top 10 in the first ranking, but Matheson has revised them to #7. We feel that the Wolves are likely a top 5 7-on-7 team every year regardless of personnel. This year, with most of their team returning, we would rank them at #2 behind Pulaski Academy...another team that seems to be very good in 7-on-7 regardless of personnel.
4. Greenbrier has one of the state's top QB's in Neal Burcham. He is being recruited by several top colleges in the south including Alabama. In 7-on-7, a top QB makes up for other deficiencies as they continue to put pressure other teams to score. We would rank Greenbrier in our top 5 this year as well.
5. West Memphis runs the ball 95% of the time, but Matheson ranks them #5. We say "Bravo!" West Memphis runs a league in East Arkansas as well as a tournament this first week. Although their play action pass may be a little unorthodox for 7-on-7, they stick to running their offense and are simply trying to get better in their passing game, but more importantly, in their pass defense. We would probably rank them a little lower, but still in the top 10.
6. There are some other teams that we would rank a bit differently, but for the most part, this is a very solid list. Obviously, there will be some changes throughout the summer, but it is interesting and gives football pundits and non-pundits alike another bit of discussion before real football begins in August.

Please feel free to comment below about this post or about Arkansas Varsity's rankings. We love to hear from you.