Last year's state champion is now at the bottom of its conference.
Fayetteville won the state's top class in 2007, but after a surprising losing streak early this season, the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-2) need to turn things around if they're going to contend in the Class 7A West. In fact, they might want to focus first on making the playoffs.
Chances are, Fayetteville will do that — and then be a threat to win the state title again. The Bulldogs finished tied for third in their conference before going on their postseason run in '07.
But they've lost three straight games now. On Friday night they host Fort Smith Northside (4-1, 2-0), which is tied for the No. 9 ranking in the state.
Northside's Tevin McElwee had four sacks in last week's win over Springdale Har-Ber.
In the 7A Central, No. 6 Cabot (4-1, 1-1) tries to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it hosts No. 7 North Little Rock (4-1, 1-1).
In 6A, Lake Hamilton (3-2, 2-0) is tied atop the South with Pine Bluff and El Dorado. Pine Bluff (4-1, 2-0) is ranked No. 2 in 6A and travels to take on No. 4 Lake Hamilton.
And a quick shout out to Barton. The storied program closed down last season, citing low numbers. Now the Bears are back on the field and in contention in the 3A-2 conference. Barton (5-0, 2-0) has outscored opponents 161-16 this season.
Harding Academy (5-0, 2-0) is at Barton this week in a key league game. The Wildcats are No. 4 in 3A.
FAYETTEVILLE 33, FS NORTHSIDE 28
CABOT 13, NORTH LITTLE ROCK 8
LAKE HAMILTON 38, PINE BLUFF 30
HARDING ACADEMY 36, BARTON 19
___
Picks for other games involving teams ranked in the AP polls:
OVERALL
(1) Bentonville 27, Rogers Heritage 24
(2) Russellville 28, Bryant 14
(3) FS Southside 31, Springdale 27
(4) West Memphis 26, Searcy 8
(5) Helena-West Helena 45, Wynne 13
(8) Spr. Har-Ber 28, Rogers 17
(t-9) LR Catholic 34, Van Buren 27
CLASS 6A
(3) El Dorado 27, Sheridan 0
(5) Jonesboro 21, Mountain Home 7
CLASS 5A
(2) Pulaski Academy 54, HS Lakeside 43
(3) Harrison 37, Cent. Ark. Christian 35
(4) Batesville 31, Forrest City 17
(5) Blytheville 34, Greene County Tech 10
CLASS 4A
(1) Nashville 31, Pulaski Oak Grove 30
(2) Shiloh Christian 43, Prairie Grove 8
(3) Lonoke 54, Southside Batesville 14
(4) Stuttgart 41, Bald Knob 6
(5) Dollarway 41, Fordyce 21
CLASS 3A
Magnet Cove 38, (1) Fountain Lake 34
Lafayette County 24, (2) Prescott 21
(3) Charleston 30, Cedarville 6
(5) Rison 31, Gurdon 0
CLASS 2A
(1) Junction City 39, Smackover 13
(2) Des Arc 42, Palestine-Wheatley 7
(3) Dierks 37, Horatio 3
(4) Carlisle 35, Woodlawn 20
(5) Bearden 35, Hampton 2
___
Last week's record: 23-6 (77 percent)
Season record: 108-36-2 (75 percent)