Arkansas high school football: Class 3A predicted order of finish

Breaking down the 3A conferences

Booneville won the Class 3A state title last fall. / Photo courtesy of Booneville Schools

With the Arkansas high school football season a few weeks away, the SBLive staff is looking at each classification's conferences. We will predict the order of finish in each league. In this installment, we dive into Class 3A.

3A-1

1. Booneville

2. Mansfield

3. Charleston

4. West Fork

5. Lavaca

6. Hackett

7. Greenland

8. Cedarville

Why Booneville?

The defending Class 3A champions lose some big contributors from last season, including two-way star Dax Goff, but with a core group of starters returning on both sides, the Bearcats are gunning for a repeat. The perennial power always has state-title goals, and this year won’t be different, but the 3A-1 will be tough to navigate with a rejuvenated Mansfield and rival Charleston challenging at the top and other teams improving.

3A-2

1. Salem

2. Mayflower

3. Melbourne

4. Quitman

5. Atkins

6. Mountain View

7. Yellville-Summit

8. Episcopal

Why Salem?

Salem is the logical pick after winning 11 games for the first time in more than 10 years last fall. The Greyhounds must replace some key cogs but have a veteran defense returning. The toughest conference game will be at Mayflower in Week 9. The Eagles could win the league title as they drop down from 4A, but the Greyhounds have a slight edge in experience.

3A-3

1. Rivercrest

2. Newport

3. Walnut Ridge

4. Hoxie

5. Osceola

6. Manila

7. Harrisburg

8. Piggott

Why Rivercrest?

Walnut Ridge is a trendy pick with a group of veterans returning. Rivercrest was the runner-up in Class 4A last season and now moves down a class with some stars returning, including veteran senior quarterback Cavonta Washington, who accounted for more than 2,300 yards of offense last year. Newport will challenge after Penn State running back commit Kiandre Barker transferred there this summer. This league will be very competitive, and the games with these three teams will be highly anticipated, and Hoxie and Osceola won’t go quietly, either. Rivercrest gets the nod with successful head coach Johnny Fleming leading the charge.

3A-4

1. Perryville

2. Glen Rose

3. Jessieville

4. Paris

5. Magnet Cove

6. Cutter Morning Star

7. Danville

8. Two Rivers

Why Perryville?

It’s hard not to go with Glen Rose considering its tradition, but the Beavers are inexperienced and the Mustangs could be on the brink of something special, returning 16 starters from a team that finished 8-4 a season ago. Connor Frith is one of the most complete football players in the state engineering the offense at quarterback and patrolling the defense at safety, where he intercepted 12 passes last year. Glen Rose at Perryville on Oct. 18 will be a great game.

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3A-7

1. Prescott

2. Bismarck

3. Harmony Grove OC

4. Centerpoint

5. Smackover

6. Fouke

7. Parkers Chapel

8. Horatio

Why Prescott?

The defending state runners-up are loaded again and should be back in Little Rock in December. The league schedule might be a bit tougher than last season, however. If some of these teams do take lumps from the ultra-talented Curley Wolves, who feature Tulsa commit Decari Prater at quarterback, they could make some noise in the playoffs because the likes of Bismarck and Camden Harmony Grove Ouachita County have talented, veteran squads.

3A-8

1. Fordyce

2. McGehee

3. Dumas

4. Barton

5. Rison

6. Drew Central

7. Palestine-Wheatley

8. Lake Village

Why Fordyce?

Some will pick McGehee because the Owls are moving down to 3A after some great success in 4A. McGehee, though, is coming off an uncharacteristic down year at 5-5 and returns just 10 starters from that club. Conversely, Fordyce returns a veteran club from a squad that won a playoff game and lost to Prescott, 7-6, in the second round of the playoffs. The Redbugs were 6-6 but take a bigger jump this year under veteran coach Tim Rodgers, whose teams have won two state titles at the school. The Fordyce-McGehee game is the final week of the regular season at Fordyce and will likely be for the league title.

-- Nate Olson | nate@scorebooklive.com | @ndosports