Hootens.com

Class 2A Rankings

Week 1, 2024

1. Junction City (0-1)

2. Carlisle (1-0)

3. Conway Christian (1-0)

4. Mineral Springs (0-0)

5. Bigelow (1-0)

6. Murfreesboro (0-1)

7. Marked Tree (0-1)

8. Cross County (1-0)

9. Hector (0-0)

10. East Poinsett County (0-1)

11. Des Arc (0-0)

12. Hazen (0-1)

13. Mount Ida (0-0)

14. Poyen (1-0)

15. England (0-1)

16. McCrory (0-0)

17. Earle (0-0)

18. Gurdon (0-1)

18. Clarendon (0-0)

20. Lafayette County (1-0)

Not ranked:

1-2A: Mountainburg (0-0), Mountain Pine (0-1), JC Westside (0-0), Magazine (0-1)

2-2A: Izard County Consolidated (0-1), Marianna (0-0)

3-2A: Spring Hill (0-0), Dierks (0-1), Foreman (0-1)

4-2A: Bearden (0-0), Baptist Prep (0-0), Hampton (0-1)

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 1 Junction City (0-1) at NO. 2 CARLISLE (1-0)

When the teams scheduled this game a year ago, neither Junction City Coach Devin Ball nor Carlisle Coach Gary Wilson anticipated a meeting of the top 2 teams in Class 2A.

Junction City is coming off a 30-20 loss to Class 3A Harmony Grove Ouachita County. The Dragons cut a 22-0 deficit to 22-14 but could get no closer. QB Taylen Owens threw for 260 yards and 3 TDs, but also threw 2 INTs. Dominique Grimes caught 10 passes for 177 yards and 2 TDs. JB Banks led the defense with 10 tackles. 

Ball said both teams gained momentum last season when Junction City beat Carlisle 33-26 last season. “We played some really good teams last year,” he said. “Both teams have a long, rich history. They are very similar. There’s great respect there too.

“I’m honored to share the field with Gary and that bunch over there. This will be my first trip to Carlisle. We can’t wait to compete and show everybody how good 2A football can be.”

Ball said his team must be effective offensively.

“We’ve got to take care of the football,” he said. “We’ve got the worst game flow that we can imagine right now. It’s got everything to do from the top down. I’ve got to make sure our operation is in a better place, and everyone can do what they do best. Football shouldn’t have to be a high-pressure game. It needs to be a game of sharpness and focus.”

Carlisle beat Drew Central 38-6 last week, pulling away after a slow start. Freshman QB Ty Tanksley threw for 173 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT. in his varsity debut. Kaidon Clingmon (5-26 receiving, TD), Gavid Davis (4-66 receiving, TD), Jaden Elliot (76 yards rushing) and Lawson Petrus (2 rushing TDs) all contributed. Jimmy Cham kicked 5 extra points and a FG. 

“We shot ourselves in the foot with some penalties,” Wilson said. “We played hard and didn’t really panic.”

Wilson said he’s never been involved in a game of this magnitude in the regular season when it comes to hosting Junction City. 

“Defensively, we’re going to have to tackle well in space,” he said. “Grimes had a big game against us last year. He’s lightning in a bottle. Offensively, we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot because they are good defensively. They are not going to need any help.”

Home-field advantage might be the deciding factor in a game that could come down to the wire. The atmosphere at Fred C. Hardke Field will be electric. 

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 13 of 15 games (87 percent) involving Class 2A teams. 

WEEK 1 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS)

CLASS 2A NON-CONFERENCE

Junction City at CARLISLE: See Hootens.com Game of the week

Mt. Pine (0-1) at DIERKS (0-1): Mt. Pine played well at times in a 12-0 loss to Poyen a week ago. The game was called at halftime because of lightning. QB Cale Slater rushed for 22 yards and passed for 34 yards with no INTs. Dierks lost to Fouke 21-0. QB Peyton Boeckman passed for 37 yards. Jordan Hill rushed for 59 yards on 12 carries and had 8 tackles on defense. Kason Dougan had 7 tackles. 

NO. 11 DES ARC (0-0) at No. 12 Hazen (0-1): This rivalry game is usually close. Des Arc was idle last week after playing well against Lonoke in its scrimmage game, falling 21-20 to the 4A Jackrabbits. Dayvion Bell scored 2 TDs. Hazen played No. 3 Conway Christian to a 14-14 first-half tie before the Eagles pulled away in the second half. QB JJ Pinkney passed for 137 yards and rushed for 82. 

Hazen Coach Joe Besancon said Des Arc is the best team in 2A that he’s seen on film this year. “They have a front that may be bigger than anybody in 2A, maybe bigger than Junction City, sizewise. They are huge and have depth.”

Spring Hill (1-0) at NO. 13 MOUNT IDA (0-0): Spring Hill, which played for the 8-man state title a year ago, had a successful debut back in 2A with a 34-6 win over Genoa Central. “We’re happy to be back in the 11-man league in our original conference,” Coach Greg Smith said. “Mount Ida is a tough physical team and will be a great game for us to play before we get into conference play.” Mount Ida was off last week after scrimmaging 2 weeks ago against Lavaca. Mount Ida will be without QB Cain McCullough, who is injured. Mount Ida Coach Michael White said the defensive line played well in the scrimmage, including Duncan Stanridge, Ty Speir, Brady Rowland, Eli McCullough and Ben Woodfield. “It’s gonna be an old-fashioned game with split-back veer vs. the flexbone.”

HAMPTON (0-1) at Foreman (0-1): Hampton lost its opener 24-14 to Lafayette County. Hampton’s Aden Williams scored on a 66-yard run while Deondre Smith scored on a 6-yard run. Jayden Swift rushed for more than 50 yards. The Bulldogs return a core that could give Foreman fits on the road. The Gators lost to Parkers Chapel 44-20 in their opener. DJ Anderson rushed for 150 yards and 2 TDs. Brody Bearden rushed for 76 yards and caught 2 passes for 42 yards.

Class 2A-3A NONCONFERENCE

NO. 3 CONWAY CHRISTIAN (1-0) at Class 3A Quitman (0-0): Conway Christian outscored Hazen 28-0 in the second half of a 42-14 season-opening win. Senior QB Jeryn Thomas passed for 146 yards and 2 TDs while Aaron Lovelace rushed for 117 yards and a TD. These teams opened the season with each other the previous 2 seasons.

CLASS 3A CEDARVILLE (1-0) at Mountainburg (0-0): The Dragons neither played a game nor scrimmaged in Week 0. “Cedarville is a solid team,” Mountainburg Coach Zach Dean said. “It’s a big rivalry game for both teams, so emotions should be high. It’ll be fun.”

No. 5 Bigelow (1-0) at CLASS 3A MAYFLOWER (1-0): Defending 2A champion Bigelow made a successful debut last week with new QB Martell Macon, who ran for 2 TDs and passed for another in a 25-8 win over England. Jayden Dunlap led the Panthers with 13 tackles. Nathan Brackets contributed 55 receiving yards and a TD. Bigelow Coach Luke Starks said Mayflower is athletic and well coached by Austin Emerson. 

CLASS 3A PERRYVILLE (0-1) at No. 9 Hector (0-0): Hector was idle last week but played well in its scrimmage 2 weeks ago against Atkins, which beat Perryville 25-24 in last week’s season-opener. RB Lucas Baker ran for 140 yards in a half against Atkins and Kenton Storey caught 2 TD passes in the scrimmage vs. Atkins. “Coming out of the scrimmage, we learned a lot about us playing a well-coached Atkins team,” Hector Coach Trevor Cooper said.

CLASS 3A DANVILLE (0-1) at JC Westside (0-0): Friday’s game will be JC Westside’s first activity against another team. Coach Jeff Stewart said his team returns a large senior class and will be led by Kyle Walt, Cooper Hilton, Hayden Edwards and Levi Gregory. Stewart said Danville, which lost its opener 20-0 to Hackett, is much improved from a year ago and it could be a tough game. 

NO. 7 MARKED TREE (0-1) at Class 3A Manila (0-1): Marked Tree’s TJ Hodges ran for 100 yards and QB Kenyon Carter passed for 191 yards and 3 TDs in a 48-30 loss to Newport, the No. 7 team in Class 3A, last week. “Manila will be a tough challenge on the road,” Coach Waylon Dunn said. “We’ve got to come out faster and not get behind. So we will have our work cut out for us.”

NO. 8 CROSS COUNTY (1-0) at Class 3A Palestine-Wheatley (0-0): This is a father-son coaching matchup between Cross County’s Van Paschal’s and his son Tyler Paschal at Palestine-Wheatley. “Palestine will be fired up for us,” the elder Paschal said. The Thunderbirds beat Harrisburg 22-10 last week, with Dayvion Simmons rushing for 132 yards and a TD. Kale Searcy passed for 66 yards and a TD. DB Ayden Kraft had 8 tackles, 3 pass deflections, an INT. and a forced fumble. Palestine-Wheatley’s Week 0 game with Clarendon was canceled before halftime because of lightning.

CLASS 3A BISMARCK (1-0) at No. 4 Mineral Springs (0-0): Mineral Springs opens its season this week against a Bismarck team that is coming off a 35-31 win over Mansfield in its opener. “They have a gritty team,” Mineral Springs Coach Jason Hathcock said. “It will be a very difficult game for us.” Mineral Springs played Horatio in a scrimmage 2 weeks ago. “It showed that we still have some areas to improve,” Hathcock said. “We’re still trying to fill some voids we have lost.”

Murfreesboro (0-1)at CLASS 3A FOUKE (1-0): Mufreesboro opened with a 28-14 loss to Centerpoint last week. QB Laytan Wilcher (80 yards passing, TD; 32 rushing); Brody Maroon (rushing TD); Lathan Compton (63 rushing, 10 tackles); and Cash Lowery (10 tackles) led the Rattlers.  

GURDON (0-1) at Class 3A Parkers Chapel (1-0): Gurdon lost to Magnet Cove 24-14. “We had too many missed opportunities,” Coach Kyle Jackson said.