Just shy three years ago, Harding Academy celebrated its third-consecutive Class 3A state championship before the Competitive Equity Factor went into effect. The Wildcats bumped up to 4A for the next classification cycle where they continued their streak of state title appearances, and won it all again in 2023, before being moved up to 5A for the current cycle.
With play beginning in their new 5A-East conference against struggling Greene County Tech (0-3) on Friday, the Wildcats currently sit at 1-2 after completing the non-conference schedule. In their defense, the Wildcats have dealt with early season injuries and faced the toughest slate going up against 6A contenders Benton and Marion.
It all starts with quarterback play and the Wildcats have possibly 5A’s top signal caller in Central Arkansas senior commit Owen Miller, who, despite, the lopsided score, kept Harding Academy mostly competitive utilizing his legs during last week’s matchup against Benton.
While many believe the Wildcats will fulfill their preseason predictions of taking the East if they get, and remain, healthy, the conference has a chance to have some chaos.
Don’t forget, Valley View (3-0) is still the king of the conference until someone says otherwise. The Blazers are back to back defending conference champions that includes last season’s perfect run through the league. Valley View actually squared off against Harding Academy in non-conference play each of the past three seasons, taking the first game in 2021 by a point while the previous two the Wildcats won each by double digits.
Valley View’s conference opener is against Paragould, which is off to its first 3-0 start of the 21st century in year two under Randy Phillips. Meanwhile Brookland (3-0), which has continued to show improvement over the past couple of seasons, will get its first true test of the season against Wynne and legendary Coach Clay Totty, the squad who expects to be the heavy challenger to Harding Academy in the East.
Major Next Level Talent in 2A-2
Marion two-way lineman and LSU commit Carius Curne has blown up on the recruiting trail over the past year and a half, which is common for high-caliber talent to be produced at a 6A program.
It is not, however, every day that you see four-star prospects tucked away in the northeast corner of Arkansas at the 2A level, let alone more than one.
Cross County’s Danny Beale (6-3, 300) is hard to miss and has made a reputation for his versatility. Recruiting experts have been extremely complementary of Beale, as he is rated as high as the nation’s 52nd-overall recruit in the 2026 class per Rivals.com, while ESPN has him as the country’s second-best defensive lineman. He is Arkansas’ consensus No. 1 player in his class. Beale currently has offers from Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas A&M and Southern California.
About 40 miles northeast of Cherry Valley, Cross County’s location, 2026 running back TJ Hodges (6-1, 175) has earned national attention for his impressive speed (10.7 100-meter dash), but that is not all he brings as he can also play defense. 247Sports has Hodges rated as the country’s 14th-best 2026 running back, while On3 Recruiting tabs him as the nation’s 164th-best overall prospect. Marked Tree was off last week, but Hodges put on a show in the Indians’ Sept. 13 win over Gurdon, rushing for 277 yards and 4 touchdowns on only 10 carries. His offers include Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Ole Miss, Southern California and Washington, among others.
Earle’s Joseph McVay signed with Vanderbilt last year as a three-star and helped the Commodores nearly upset No. 11 Missouri last week. McVay hauled in his first collegiate touchdown during the contest, a 65-yard reception.
Multiple of First-Year Coaches Unbeaten
In the big picture, non-conference games are played to get teams acclimated to the new season and has no impact on how one finishes in terms of postseason seedings.
However, it is crucial to get off on the right foot and more than a handful of first-year coaches have their clubs off to perfect starts as they enter the conference slate with a zero on each side of the win-loss column.
Richard Cochran was promoted to head coach at Catholic (3-0) after serving as an assistant under John Fogleman and the Rockets are the lone unbeaten squad in the 6A-East. Speaking of Fogleman, he left Malvern in 2013 to take over at Catholic and the Leopards (3-0) have impressed in the beginning of his second tenure.
Star City (3-0) suffered through a 1-9 campaign last fall, but Chris Norton has provided a shot in the arm for the Bulldogs, who have have achieved a perfect start in two of the past three years. Star City’s previous coach, Chris Vereen, is 2-0 now leading Rison.
Also in northwest Arkansas’ 4A-1 conference, Lincoln’s Jacob Jarvis and Gentry’s Tyler Clark have their teams off the 3-0 starts.
Cover photo by Arkansas PBS
Kyle Sutherland is a journalist and podcast host (Arkansas Preps Weekly) for The Natural State Sports Network. His written work has been featured in outlets including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Best of Arkansas Sports and Hooten’s Arkansas Football. He is also the color commentator for 103.7 The Buzz’s high school football Game of the Week. Email Kyle at kyle@naturalstatesports.com.