Rich's Power System Pre-Season Top Ten

The following are predictions with notes made by high school sports writer Rich Sanders...

Class 7A

1. Cabot ... Picked in 2000 to win it all and did, beating Southside, 28-21, in final.

2. Fort Smith Southside ... Plagued by injuries in '07, Rebs will be tough at full strength.

3. Fayetteville ... It took more than 100 years to finally call Purple Dogs "defending champs."

4. Bentonville ... Key injury cost Tigers in semifinals last year; Lunney will have them ready.

5. Springdale ... Ratings still give Red Dogs a lot of credit for their history and tradition.

6. Springdale Har-Ber ... It took just two years for Wildcats to make finals under Chris Wood.

7. Little Rock Catholic ... Rockets to rely on ball-control offense while their defense develops.

8. Fort Smith Northside ... With so few starters returning, Bears have many question marks.

9. Little Rock Central ... If pieces come together, Coach Bernie Cox knows how to use them.

10. North Little Rock ... No denying talent, but NLR has never made it past second round.

6A

1. Texarkana ... Short on numbers compared to chief rival, but Razorbacks have the rings.

2. Lake Hamilton ... Once Wolves break through, there could be a flood of titles.

3. West Memphis ... Best bet to win a 6A league championship, but no so fast on state title.

4. Pine Bluff ... Moving down in class will help to ease pain of program's slow erosion.

5. El Dorado ... Wildcats are legitimate contender, but have tough league road trips to take.

6. Benton ... Just when people begin to discount Panthers is when they're most dangerous.

7. Jacksonville ... Could possibly end streak of nine straight first-round playoff losses in 2008.

8. Jonesboro ... Transfusion of new coaching blood just what doctored ordered for Hurricane.

9. Little Rock Fair ... War Eagles may be considered longshot, but they're not incapable.

10. Marion ... Four starters each way keeps Patriots from contending for 6A-East title.

5A

1. Pulaski Academy ... Bruins are far and away the best of this class -- on paper.

2. Batesville ... Pioneers highest preseason ranking was No. 4 to open 2003 title season.

3. Monticello ... Inherits role of favorite in 5A-Southeast with Pulaski Academy's departure.

4. Greenwood ... Three-time defending state champs have lots of rebuil, er, reloading to do.

5. Little Rock Christian ... Moved into toughest league to win, but easiest to make playoffs.

6. Harrison ... Tough times behind them, Golden Goblins are finally ready to make a title run.

7. Alma ... The key year in a new coach's reign is his second year; Airedales will improve.

8. Vilonia ... 5A-West Conference will once again produce four high-quality playoff teams.

9. Forrest City ... Mustangs have lots of confidence after success against bigger schools.

10. Beebe ... Selected among Top 10 last year and proved to be worthy with 8-3 record.

4A

1. Newport ... Overlooked in preseason by experts, but clearly a state-championship threat.

2. Nashville ... The one thing graduation can't take away is a coach with a 42-2 record.

3. Osceola ... Biggest game in this class will be Seminoles' Oct. 17 trip to Newport.

4. Shiloh Christian ... Competition gets tougher, but Saints are plenty tough enough.

5. Dollarway ... Finalists return more experienced players than any team in 4A-8 Conference.

6. Warren ... Lumberjacks have already missed better opportunities with better squads.

7. Lonoke ... Returning starters (17) make Jackrabbits a big favorite in 4A-2 Conference.

8. Stuttgart ... Not far behind Lonoke, but returns just seven starters, three on defense.

9. Gravette ... Semifinalists plan victorious return, but winning league will be hard to repeat.

10. DeQueen ... At times overrated, but it's hard to overlook strong, experienced contingent.

3A

1. Charleston ... With Shiloh gone and Glen Rose down, Tigers inherit role as team to beat.

2. Fountain Lake ... Cobras embrace new league and can make immediate statewide impact.

3. Prescott ... Curley Wolves disappointed as No. 1 pick last year, but should still be good.

4. Rison ... Wildcats are always safe because they haven't had losing season in 32 years.

5. Harding Academy ... Coaching shuffle will have an affect, but these 'Cats will persevere.

6. Rivercrest ... String of three consecutive losing seasons should come to an end this fall.

7. Bauxite ... Loss of good senior class sets Miners off the pace, but not out of the race.

8. Hoxie ... Mustangs won two postseason games for first time in school's history last year.

9. Atkins ... Coach Charlie Sorrels' club clearly has best pedigree in 3A-4 Conference.

10. Perryville ... Return of 17 starters and 4 straight playoff showings adds up to good things.

2A

1. Junction City ... This is 11th straight year Dragons have started off as a Top 10 team.

2. Bearden ... Key players leave, but Bears can't be overlooked as potential repeat finalist.

3. Mount Ida ... Lions have gone 10-0 in Class 2A's toughest league the past two seasons.

4. Des Arc ... Eagles have only reach quarterfinals once since 1976 state title.

5. Carlisle ... Clear-cut second pick behind Des Arc in league weakend by reclassification.

6. Mineral Springs ... Gary Segrest has enough experienced players to re-establish Hornets.

7. Murfreesboro ... Only two defeats in 2007 came against eventual state finalists.

8. Union Christian ... Toughened against better competition, Eagles make presence felt.

9. Danville ... Only Junction City has longer streak of 2A playoff appearances; Danville has 8.

10. Cross County ... Bigger league means more chances to win for Thunderbirds.