Hootens.com

8-Man Rankings

Week 1, 2024

Top 12 Sanctioned

1. Strong 

2. Rector

3. Cedar Ridge (1-0)

4. Brinkley (0-1)

5. Woodlawn

6. Augusta

7. Dermott

8. Midland

9. Hermitage

10. Marvell-Elaine

11. South Side Bee Branch

12. Guy-Perkins (0-1)

Top 4 Unsanctioned

1. Corning (1-0)

2. Subiaco Academy (1-0)

3. Marshall (1-0)

4. Rose Bud (0-1)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

Rector at CORNING (1-0) Jakob Cox compiled 379 yards of total offense with 4 touchdowns, plus nabbed 2 interceptions on defense, while Haydon Cox logged 214 yards and 4 scores on the ground in Corning’s 62-28 win over Brinkley. The Bobcats now host defending sanctioned state champion Rector, which defeated Corning twice in 2023. 

WEEK 1 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted)

Hootens.com was 4 for 4 (100 percent) in its Week 0 selections in the 4 8-man games played last week.

AUGUSTA (0-0) at Dermott (0-0) Dermott should improve on its 2-win season in the Rams’ first year under Michael Wolfe. There is a chance to prove it early against Augusta and quarterback Keldrick Woods, who helped the Red Devils to the playoffs as a freshman last fall. 

Guy-Perkins (0-1) at BRINKLEY (0-1) The Tigers defense took it on the chin in a 62-28 loss against top-ranked unsanctioned Corning, but Brinkley will rebound against Guy-Perkins, which endured an 82-0 loss in the program’s first game last week.

SUBIACO ACADEMY (1-0) at Marvell (0-0) Marvell finished last season with a victory and looks to start 2024 strong as the home underdog against Subiaco Academy, which defeated Southwest Christian Academy 34-14 in BJ Applegate's first game as head coach.

CEDAR RIDGE (1-0) at Marshall (1-0) The teams combined for 138 points in their respective openers – 56 by Cedar Ridge and 82 by Marshall – and Cedar Ridge senior quarterback/defensive back Aiden Jones aims to build off of his all-around solid performance against Rose Bud.

MIDLAND (0-0) at Hermitage (0-0) Both teams are hoping for turnarounds after combining to go 1-15 last season. Midland junior quarterback Chase Rascoe could be the difference for the Mustangs. 

Rose Bud (0-1) at WOODLAWN (0-1) The Ramblers (beaten 56-8 in last week’s opener) hit the road to face a Woodlawn team that is hungry after dropping 3 of its final 4 games in 2023.