Bryant no longer No. 1 for first time in over four years

By Scott McDonald
Phillips Media Group

The Bryant Hornets’ stranglehold on the top of the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll is over … at least for now.

For the first time in just over four years, the Class 7A Hornets are not the overall top-ranked team in the ASM Poll after they were stunned 28-27 by the Class 5A Little Rock Parkview Patriots last Friday.

When the latest ASM Poll was released Monday afternoon, Bryant fell to the No. 3 spot behind 7A-Central rival Conway and LR Parkview. The Hornets were ranked second in the 2019 preseason poll, moved to No. 1 the following week and remained there for 54 consecutive polls.

In the 68 polls conducted so far in the 5-plus years of the ASM Poll, Bryant has been No. 1 or No. 2 for 65 of those weeks. The last time the Hornets were as low as No. 3 was for two weeks in 2018 after they lost 36-35 to Fayetteville, which was Bryant’s last home loss before Friday’s setback.

The Conway Wampus became just the third team in the poll’s near six-year history to hold the No. 1 overall spot as they ascended to the top in this week’s poll on the strength of 17 first-place votes. Before this week, only Bryant and North Little Rock held the top overall spot in the ASM poll since its start in 2018.

Parkview vaulted from seventh to No. 2, just ahead of Bryant. While the Greenwood Bulldogs remained fourth, Bentonville dropped two spots while Fayetteville and Pulaski Academy each dropped one spot due to Parkview rising up to second. Rogers, Cabot and Shiloh Christian remained eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.

Conway and Bryant traded places in the Class 7A rankings while Bentonville, Fayetteville and Rogers remained the same.

The only movement in the Class 6A rankings was Little Rock Christian moved into a tie for No. 3 with LR Catholic.

Parkview was the unanimous pick for No. 1 in the Class 5A rankings while Shiloh remained second and LR Mills stayed third. Pine Bluff moved up a spot to No. 5 while Hot Springs, which was idle last week, moved into the Top 5 for the first time this season.

The top four teams of Malvern, Warren, Harding Academy and Elkins remained the same atop the Class 4A rankings with the Lamar Warriors joining the Top 5 for the first time this season.

The Prescott Curley Wolves moved back into the No. 1 position in Class 3A while Booneville dropped to No. 2 after a 30-22 loss to Class 5A Camden Fairview.

Salem moved up a spot to No. 3 while Magnet Cove is fourth and Hoxie is fifth.

Mineral Springs is atop the Class 2A rankings for the second week in a row while Des Arc broke a tie for third to move into second. Hzaen remains third while East Poinsett County, last week’s No.2 team, drops to fourth and Marked Tree remains fifth.

In the 8-man polls, Mountain View remains atop the 4A-3A division while Corning and Subiaco Academy switched places, and Rector stayed No. 1 in the 2A-1A division while Izard County moved to second and Mountain Pine dropped to third.