Arkansas
Arkansas high school football: Class 4A predicted order of finish
With the Arkansas high school football season about a month away, the SBLive staff is looking at each class’s conferences. We will predict the order of finish in each league. In this installment, we predict Class 4A.
4A-1
1. Elkins
2. Prairie Grove
3. Gentry
4. Gravette
5. Lincoln
6. Green Forest
7. Berryville
8. Huntsville
Why Elkins?
Elks head coach Zach Watson has his program rolling and came within a game of a state championship a year ago. He must reload on offense with star quarterback Dizzy Dean and running back Da’Shawn Chairs graduated, but having nine returning defensive starters ensures another conference title and a deep playoff run again.
4A-2
1. Mills
2. Heber Springs
3. Forrest City
4. Lonoke
5. CAC
6. Bald Knob
7. Hall
8. Riverview
Why Mills?
Mills had success under head coach Cortez Lee in Class 5A and now moves down to 4A but still has an abundance of talented players. The Comets return only eight total starters but still have more talent and depth than most 4A schools, which will mean a conference title and a possible push to Little Rock.
4A-3
1. Southside
2. Highland
3. Gosnell
4. Pocahontas
5. Blytheville
6. Trumann
7. Cave City
8. Westside
Why Southside?
The Southerners went 10-2 in Class 5A a season ago, and while they lost several key players on offense, they will be stout on defense with eight veterans. After battling in the ultra-competitive 5A-East, Southside shouldn’t have a problem rolling through the league.
4A-4
1. Ozark
2. Dardanelle
3. Clinton
4. Pottsville
5. Lamar
6. Mena
7. Waldron
8. Dover
Why Ozark?
Senior quarterback Koby Wilbanks might be one of the best football players, regardless class, in the state. The dynamic Wilbanks is one of just eight returning starters, but his presence is enough to lead the Hillbillies to a league title after winning 10 games and advancing to the Class 4A quarterfinals last year.
4A-7
1. Arkadelphia
2. Bauxite
3. Malvern
4. Nashville
5. Ashdown
6. Harmony Grove
7. Fountain Lake
8. Genoa Central
Why Arkadelphia?
The Badgers have made a habit of deep playoff runs, and after losing their first three games last year, they rattled off seven consecutive wins before losing to Rivercrest. A core group returns for Badgers head coach Tre Schucker’s team. The game with Bauxite could decide the league title, and Arkadelphia has the advantage of playing at home.
4A-8
1. Warren
2. DeWitt
3. Stuttgart
4. Hamburg
5. Monticello
6. Crossett
7. Star City
8. Mena
Why Warren?
The Lumberjacks just missed another state final berth last fall, losing at Rivercrest in the Class 4A state semifinals. A loaded, veteran team is a favorite among the pundits to not only win another league title but a state championship. Sophomore quarterback Jackson Denton returns with a stable of weapons, including senior receiver Antonio Jordan, a University of Arkansas commit. The Lumberjacks lost just one game last season. They might not lose one this year.
–Nate Olson | nate@scorebooklive.com | @ndosports
Arkansas
Murder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed teen daughter’s rapist
A judge tossed a murder charge against an Arkansas sheriff nominee who was about to go on trial for killing his 14-year-old daughter’s rapist.
The case against Aaron Spencer was dismissed by a judge on Thursday afternoon after law enforcement lost a dash camera memory card that may have captured the fatal October 2024 shooting of 67-year-old Michael Fosler.
“The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” wrote Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr.
The development comes just a few weeks before Spencer was slated to go to trial on a second-degree murder charge for allegedly gunning down Fosler on Oct. 8, 2024 after catching him driving off with his daughter — whom the sicko had already been charged with grooming and abusing.
Spencer woke up around 1 a.m. to find his then-13-year-old daughter had vanished. He soon found her in the passenger seat of the car Fosler was driving.
He then forced the truck off the road and allegedly shot the accused sexual abuser, according to court documents.
Prosecutors argued that Spencer planned the murder and could have called the cops during the car chase instead of taking matters into his own hands.
He pleaded not guilty to the crime, maintaining he acted accordingly to protect his child from a predator.
Spencer’s attorneys have not denied that he shot and killed Fosler — and the protective dad said the incident spurred him to run for sheriff in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
“I’m the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed,” Spencer said in the video statement to launch his campaign.
He won the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff in March and is expected to win the general election in the overwhelmingly conservative area east of Little Rock, the New York Times reported.
“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,” Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said in a statement to the Associated Press.
“This father should have never been charged for protecting his child.”
With Post wires
Arkansas
Stockton rappers plead guilty to possessing machine gun, marijuana in Arkansas traffic stop
LITTLE ROCK, AR — Two well-known Northern California rappers have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the 2025 traffic stop where an Arkansas state trooper found a stolen Glock pistol and about five ounces of marijuana, court records show.
Jaymani “EBK Jaaybo” Gorman, 22, and Xavier “Baby Maxx” Jones, 19, pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute it. The gun charge carries up to 10 years but the actual prison term they’ll get is up in the air; no specific sentence has been agreed to and their sentencing date wasn’t announced, court records show.
Gorman and Jones entered their guilty pleas on Thursday, weeks after Jones signaled his intent to plead guilty, backed out, then changed his mind again. Both men were scheduled to go on trial before reaching an agreement. In light of their guilty pleas, prosecutors dismissed several other federal charges.
Gorman and Jones were arrested last year during a traffic stop in Arkansas with a Glock pistol illegally modified to shoot fully automatic, about five ounces of marijuana, and $8,534 in cash, according to court records. The money and a Luis Vuitton handbag have been seized by the federal government, court records show.
Oakland police say the gun has been “forensically linked” to a February 2025 shooting where a rival rapper, Jarico “Dreamllife Rizzy” Anderson, was shot and wounded as he drove on Highway 24 towards Orinda in Oakland. No charges have been filed in that shooting. Police have named Anderson as a member of a San Francisco gang and both Jones and Gorman as members of a rival gang in Stockton.
Anderson has since been hit with federal charges in the Bay Area for allegedly having a gun as a felon. A judge has released him while the case is pending, court records show.
Arkansas
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