Photo by: Nick Wenger
Article by: Jeremy Peppas
After a lightning shortened game win against Little Rock Central last Friday, the Charging Wildcats head to Conway this Friday in a Class 7A-Central showdown.
North Little Rock (4-0) is No. 1 in the Hootens.com poll of Class 7A teams and the game against No. 4 Conway, also 4-0, has been dubbed as the website’s Game of the Week.
Both teams have had a strong start with Conway coming out hot under rookie head coach Keith Fimple. If the name sounds familiar, he’s the older brother of long-time North Little Rock girls basketball coach Daryl Fimple, and while in his first year as a head coach, the older Fimple has been a veteran coordinator at schools like El Dorado and Spring Har-Ber, along with Fort Smith Southside.
The Fimple-led Wampus Cats beat Fort Smith Southside 45-19 last week, while North Little Rock took care of business in a 38-8 win against Central.
North Little Rock has been an offensive machine this season and the team is averaging 37 points a game in the first four victories.
Key has been the play of sophomore quarterback Kareame Cotton, who has thrown for seven touchdowns, against three interceptions. But the real strength of the offense has been the running back corps of seniors Oscar Adaway and Tyler Day and junior Brandon Thomas.
Adaway is a top college prospect while Day is the youngest brother in the Day family tree with both older brothers playing college football, while Thomas was the Most Valuable Player in last year’s state championship game.
Hootens.com picked North Little Rock to win the game by 18 points.
The game kicks off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Conway.
Around the conference
Bryant is at Little Rock Catholic
Cabot at Fort Smith Southside
Fort Smith Northside at Little Rock Central
Cabot coach Mike Malham, again, goes for his 300th career win at Southside where the Mavericks will be enjoying Homecoming … Catholic is 4-0 and undefeated for the first time since 1990 … Northside lost last week at Bryant in another lightning-shortened game.
Photo by: Sterling Imageworks
Parkview football: https://www.facebook.com/lrparkviewfootball/
Patriots host Maumelle under Thursday night lights
Photo by: Sterling Imageworks
While early in the season, Maumelle and Little Rock Parkview are both jockeying for playoff position.
Playing different conferences last season, both teams missed out on post-season play, but now lined up in the 5A-Central, the two teams face each at 7 p.m. on Thursday night at War Memorial Stadium.
Parkview (1-3) is ranked No. 11 in the Hootens.com poll of Class 5A teams, while Maumelle sports the better record at 3-1, the Hornets are No. 17 in the same rankings.
This is the first time the two schools have played, but Parkview did face Pulaski Oak Grove before that school was closed when the new campus was built in Maumelle.
Teams are familiar each other regardless because of summer camps and being so close geographically.
Both programs also have North Little Rock roots as Parkview coach Brad Bolding was previously at North Little Rock, while Maumelle’s Kirk Horton is from North Little Rock.
Hootens.com has Parkview as the slight favorite and picked to win by 1.
Around the conference
Watson Chapel at Beebe
White Hall at Fair
Little Rock Christian at Pulaski Academy
It is Homecoming for Beebe this Friday with Watson Chapel in town … Fair isn’t really as the team has lost by a combined 87-0 in the last two games … Christian is at PA and the game is the Class 5A Hootens.com game of the week.
Photos: sterlingimageworks.com & nickwengerdesigns.com