Prep RedZone Arkansas Mid-Season Progress Report Part One

With the state of Arkansas having just finished up week five in high school football it is time for some progress reports on teams and players that have impressed over the past five weeks. Pleasant surprises make the list as well some guys that going into the season you would expect to find excelling. With half of the season still to go until the playoffs, you can expect to see more names at the end of the season progress report. Starting first with the teams across the state that have been performing at a high level. We will try to touch on several teams and players in the conferences across the state. Starting first with the 7-A Conference in Arkansas. The defending state champions Bryant Hornets do not appear to have lost much from a state championship team. Running back [player_tooltip player_id="152083" first="Chris" last="Gannaway"] has a great burst and has drawn the attention of Oklahoma State and Kansas this season. Meanwhile, in Northwest Arkansas both Bentonville and Fayetteville are each off to 2-0 starts in conference play. Each team has dynamic options on the offensive side of the ball. Bentonville has [player_tooltip player_id="93558" first="Drew" last="Wright"] at the quarterback position who does a great job of distributing the ball to Charles Nimrod and [player_tooltip player_id="93523" first="Cooper" last="Smith"]. Bentonville also has a thunder and lightning combination in the backfield with [player_tooltip player_id="137290" first="Christopher" last="Collier-Surly"] and [player_tooltip player_id="75143" first="Josh" last="Ficklin"]. While the Purple Dogs have [player_tooltip player_id="75105" first="Bladen" last="Fike"] at the quarterback spot who has been lighting up the 7-A West this season. [player_tooltip player_id="94925" first="Jalen" last="Blackburn"] and [player_tooltip player_id="75066" first="Isaiah" last="Sategna"] have been creating big plays all season. In the 6-A Conference, plenty of talented teams are having impressive seasons. Two teams in central Arkansas have had a phenomenal start to the season. The Benton Panthers and the Parkview Patriots are each off to impressive starts to the season. With the Panthers, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="106935" first="Stran" last="Smith"] and wide receiver Cam Harris make up a dangerous combination that can stretch the field. Meanwhile, the Parkview Patriots have a dangerous set of players on the offensive side of the ball. Running back [player_tooltip player_id="75070" first="James" last="Jointer"], wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="75099" first="Parker" last="Perry"], and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="117318" first="Jaylon" last="White"] give the Patriots a trio that can create explosive plays from anywhere on the field. However, the most impressive team in the 6-A Conference has been the Lake Hamilton Wolves. The Wolves have a trio of running backs that cause opposing defenses plenty of headaches. Justin Crutchmer, [player_tooltip player_id="75145" first="Kendrick" last="Martin"], and [player_tooltip player_id="75101" first="Owen" last="Miller"] can all take a game over with a variety of running styles. Lake Hamilton was state runner’s up last season and are looking to take care of some unfinished business this season. The Wolves have a tremendous style of playing physically on both sides of the ball and old school football fans will enjoy watching them as conference play continues. We continue our look tomorrow with the 5, 4, 3, and 2-A conferences. Plenty of talented teams and players still to update about this week. The 2021 season has been an impressive one up this point and I look forward to covering the rest of the season as well as the postseason. Players and teams both still have plenty to prove and this should be a great second half of the season.