Rex Nelson’s Final Arkansas High School Football Rankings

Editor’s Note: Each week Rex Nelson shares his Arkansas High School Football Rankings. Here are Rex’s rankings.

Strange things can happen in football when it rains.

It rained Friday night. And it was cold.

Pulaski Academy, ranked No. 1 all season in Class 5A, went down.

Camden Fairview, ranked No. 2 all season in Class 5A, also went down.

Don’t just blame it on the weather. Pulaski Academy lost to a very good Morrilton team. Camden Fairview lost to a very good Batesville team.

Those two games did shake up the rankings. These will be the final rankings of the season. Once we get to this point in the season, it’s time to let the games on the field do all the talking.

In Class 7A, three of the four semifinal teams are from central Arkansas. That’s quite a change from recent years, which have seen northwest Arkansas teams dominate the state’s largest classification. Bentonville could well keep the title in the northwest, but Conway, Cabot and North Little Rock have the talent necessary to win two more games. It’s going to be a fun final two weeks in Class 7A.

In Class 6A, I still don’t see anyone who can challenge Greenwood.

In Class 5A, the Alma-Batesville and Hope-Morrilton games this Friday night should be dandies. All four teams have what it takes to bring home a state championship — talent, tradition, a good coaching staff.

In Class 4A, there’s a state championship-type game being played in the quarterfinals this week as Arkadelphia travels to Warren. If you were to force me to make a prediction at this point, I would tell you that the state champion will be either the winner of the Warren-Arkadelphia game or Pine Bluff Dollarway.

Class 3A and Class 2A remain highly competitive with all of our ranked teams capable of winning it all.

We’ll see you at War Memorial Stadium the first two weekends of December.

Here are the updated rankings:

Overall

1. Greenwood

2. Cabot

3. Bentonville

4. North Little Rock

5. Conway

Rex’s complete Overall Arkansas High School Football Rankings are here.

Class 7A

1. Cabot

2. Bentonville

3. North Little Rock

Class 6A

1. Greenwood

2. Pine Bluff

3. Jonesboro

Class 5A

1. Batesville

2. Morrilton

3. Alma

Class 4A

1. Arkadelphia

2. Booneville

3. Pine Bluff Dollarway

Class 3A

1. Charleston

2. Harding Academy

3. Glen Rose

Class 2A

1. Junction City

2. East Poinsett County

3. Carlisle

To see how Rex ranks each classification’s top 5, click here.