Prep Redzone Arkansas 2022 Week 8 What We Learned

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first seven weeks of the high school football season are in the books and the state playoffs are approaching rapidly. We are going to get caught up on what we learned a little later this week. The focus on week eight will begin this evening, but first we are going to look at some players and teams that made a statement in week seven.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bentonville Tigers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bentonville Tigers won a game Friday night that will help the focus for the playoffs move into high gear. Bentonville and Fayetteville are always involved in classic games and this season was not any different than the past few seasons. Bentonville pulled off the win in overtime 31-30 over the Bulldogs. [player_tooltip player_id='392411' first='Carter' last='Nye'] connected with [player_tooltip player_id='320933' first='CJ' last='Brown'] and Bentonville connected on the two-point conversion to win the game in overtime. The big matchups for the Tigers continue this Friday when they take on the Rogers Mounties in a battle of 6-1 programs. The matchup should be another interesting one to watch this Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='392411' first='Carter' last='Nye']-Quarterback-Bentonville-2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nye had a strong outing against the Fayetteville Bulldogs last Friday night. Nye went 17-29 or 277 yards. Nye has displayed all season an ability to get out of the pocket and make the throws down the field. He connected with [player_tooltip player_id='320933' first='CJ' last='Brown'] numerous times and helped the Tigers pull out a hard-fought victory. Bentonville is undefeated in conference play, and this has the potential to be a group that makes a deep playoff run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='75143' first='Josh' last='Ficklin']-Running Back-Bentonville-2023</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bentonville entered the matchup against the Fayetteville Bulldogs averaging 130 yards per game rushing. On Friday night, Ficklin rushed for 126 yards on 28 carries. The Tigers needed every bit of his effort on Friday night. Ficklin has improved in all phases of the game this season and he has the potential to see plenty of carries on Saturday in the future. I expect Ficklin to close out the 2022 season in strong fashion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Arkadelphia Badgers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the hottest teams in the state going into Friday was the Arkadelphia Badgers. The Badgers are 6-0 on the season and continue to reel off impressive victory after impressive victory. The Badgers are a solid team on both sides of the ball. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='75141' first='Donovan' last='Whitten'] is having another impressive season throwing the football. Meanwhile, the Badgers' defense has been as stingy as ever this season. The Badgers are hot, and it will take a complete effort on both sides of the ball to beat this team this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='75141' first='Donovan' last='Whitten']-Quarterback-Arkadelphia-2023</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whitten is putting together another terrific season, in 2022. Last season, Whitten threw for 3,605 yards and 43 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Whitten displayed good mobility and used his legs well to the tune of 682 yards on the ground to go along with six touchdowns. Whitten is a quarterback that scouts should take a long look at. He has the potential to play on Saturdays and put up some big numbers in the process.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='173557' first='Max' last='Wilson']-Defensive Line-Arkadelphia-2023</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='173557' first='Max' last='Wilson'] just continues to play well week in-week out for the Badgers. Wilson has the speed needed to disrupt the opposing passing game. He does an impressive job of defeating blocks and getting into the opposing backfield. Last season, Wilson racked up 68 tackles and 19 of those were behind the line of scrimmage. Wilson is a prospect that has the talent to play on Saturdays in the future and I look for him to close out the 2022 season in strong fashion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->