We’ve made it through another week, Arkansas! You know what that means — more football to watch! Can teams keep the momentum going?

Coming up in today’s newsletter:

🎙️ Talking through tonight’s games
📈 What’s trending
👀 One to Watch
🏈 Game of the Week

Let’s dive right in!

🎙️ Varsity Vibe Today. Week 7 brings with it one of the best rivalries in the 7A West: Bentonville vs. Fayetteville. Alyssa Orange and Brey Cook look at the big matchup at Bulldogs Stadium as well as other games around the state. 

🏈 Wildcats vs. Wolverines. The Har-Ber Wildcats will travel to Bentonville West tonight to take on the Wolverines. Bentonville West is looking to recover from a 70-42 loss to Rogers. Despite the loss, the Wolverines finished with 404 yards of total offense. Senior quarterback Tre Thompson threw four touchdowns for 303 yards. Har-Ber is also coming off of a close 47-43 loss to Springdale. The game is set for 7 pm and can be watched here. 

🏐 Rivalry Remains. Fort Smith Southside took down Northside in five sets (25-10, 19-25, 25-15, 22-25, 16-14). Junior outside hitter Rachel Settle led the charge for the Mavericks with 15 kills and two blocks. She wasn’t the only one making big plays — sophomore Aniya Morris, sophomore Leighton Cross, and freshman Addison Tharnish each tallied up double digits kills as well. The win marked a clean sweep of the 6A conference for Southside.

⚜️ Saints March On. The 4-2 Shiloh Saints will face off with 0-6 Russellville tonight, hoping to extend their winning streak to three. The Saints have put up quite the offensive showing this season, with an average of 172.8 rushing yards per game and 240.7 passing yards per game. On defense, Shiloh averages 85.2 tackles per game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm and can be watched here.

🏈 Despite only being a sophomore, Springdale’s DJ Manuel has proven he is a key player on defense. Last Friday, Springdale and Har-Ber played a close game, and with the Wildcats up late, Manuel performed a clutch interception to snuff out any chance of a Har-Ber win. By returning the interception for a 96-yard touchdown, he set the new all-time Springdale High School football time record.

🏈 Bentonville heads to Fayetteville tonight looking to remain undefeated. The Tigers have cruised through conference play so far, most recently shutting out Heritage 42-0. Fayetteville, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back from losses to Rogers and Bentonville West. Since 2020, the series between Bentonville and Fayetteville has been even: 3-3.

In last week’s matchup against Northside, Fayetteville put up 62 points as junior quarterback Hank Hendrix threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Bentonville’s senior quarterback Cole Slepecki had the opportunity to showcase his strong arm, throwing a pair of long touchdown passes against Heritage.

⛹️‍♀️ Performance Athlete of the Week. This week, our Performance Athlete of the Week is Jordan Logue. Farmington’s senior running has put in the work after recovering from an ankle injury. SRD got him back on the field quickly, and feeling better than ever.

"I feel like I've gotten so much like so much faster with my lateral speed and my my straight line speed and stronger. And the workouts that we do here are really like sport based," Logue said.

He also showed major explosive growth, adding 9.0 inches to his broad jump and 4.1 inches to his vertical. "10 out of 10,” he said. “It's the best. I would recommend it to everybody. And I really wish I would have started coming here sooner." To learn more about the program, visit srdathlete.com.

🏈 Benton’s offense has been explosive this season, partly due to senior quarterback Drew Davis’ leadership and performance on the field. In last week’s 87-42 win over Sheridan, Davis threw for 435 yards. On top of that, he rushed for 63 yards and had nine total touchdowns. Davis has had success finding his receivers, including Will Carter and Karson Collatt, who had more than 300 receiving yards against Sheridan.

Benton boasts a 4-2 record this season with two conference wins. With Davis at the helm, the Panthers will travel to El Dorado tonight. Kickoff is set for 7 pm and the game can be watched here.

Oct. 17:
🏈 7A Bentonville @ Fayetteville, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 7A Rogers @ Springdale, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 7A Har-Ber @ Bentonville West, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 7A Northside @ Heritage, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 7A Little Rock Southwest @ Bryant, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 7A Cabot @ Pulaski Academy, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 7A Conway @ Central, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 7A Little Rock Christian @ North Little Rock, 7:00 pm | Watch Here

🏈 6A Greenwood @ Lake Hamilton, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 6A Mountain Home @ Siloam Springs, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 6A Shiloh @ Russellville, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 6A Jonesboro @ Marion, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 6A Benton @ El Dorado, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 6A Sheridan @ Catholic, 7:00 pm | Watch Here

🏈 5A Clarksville @ Pea Ridge, 7:00 pm | Watch Here
🏈 5A Huntsville @ Gentry, 7:00 pm | Watch Here

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