Hootens.com Rankings
Class 2A, Week 2, 2011
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

1. Magazine (1-0)
2. Danville (0-1)
3. Junction City (0-1)
4. Bearden (1-0)
5. Strong (1-0)
6. Mineral Springs (1-0)
7. McCrory (1-0)
8. Carlisle (1-0)
9. E. Poinsett County (1-0)
10. Parkers Chapel (1-0)
11. Spring Hill (1-0)
12. Hackett (1-0)
13. Bigelow (0-0-1)
14. Magnet Cove (1-0)
15. Horatio (1-0)
16. England (0-1)
17. Walnut Ridge (0-1)
18. Clarendon (0-1)
19. Des Arc (0-1)
20. Murfreesboro (1-0)
21. Hazen (0-0-1)
22. Augusta (0-0-1)
23. Gurdon (0-1)
24. Mountainburg (1-0)
25. Mount Ida (0-1)
26. Norphlet (0-1)
27. Conway Christian (0-1)
28. Marked Tree (1-0)
29. Hampton (1-0)
30. Cross County (0-1)
31. Woodlawn (0-1)
32. Union Christian (0-1)
33. Salem (1-0)
34. Quitman (1-0)
35. Dierks (1-0)
36. Cedar Ridge (0-1)
37. Mountain Pine (0-1)
38. Palestine-Wheatley (0-1)
39. Foreman (0-1)
40. J.C. Westside (0-1)
41. Two Rivers (0-1)
42. Poyen (0-1)
43. Hector (1-0)
44. Marvell (0-1)
45. Western Yell County (0-1)
46. Decatur (0-1)
47. Hartford (0-1)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 7 McCrory at No. 9 E. Poinsett County
The winner has the inside track to the 3-2A title. Both teams are better than a year ago when McCrory jumped EPC 30-6. McCrory fields the big boys up front, starting with senior tackle Jemar Clark (6-6, 305), while EPC boasts some of the finer skill players in the state, including Arkansas Razorback commit A.J. Turner. In one half last week at Palestine-Wheatley, Turner ran for two TDs, caught a 48-yard TD pass, recorded 14 tackles and a sack and forced a fumble. The EPC defense, which gave up 29 ppg last year, allowed P-W just 51 yards on 37 attempts. EPC's explosive offense will test McCrory middle linebacker Cody Davis (11 tackles last week) and senior cornerback Ethan Conerly and junior CB Garrett Browning. Browning returned two punts for TDs last week at Manila. Junior RB Logan Best ran seven times for 175 yards and three TDs. Senior QB Collin Campbell completed five-of-six passes for 90 yards and a TD.

TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football airs 7:30 p.m. Thursdays on KARZ (Z42 in Little Rock), Suddenlink Cable 22 in Northeast Arkansas and On Demand in Northwest Arkansas (Cox Ch. 644).

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly picked 29 of 39 (74 percent) games involving Class 2A teams.

WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
3-2A
McCrory at E. POINSETT COUNTY (1): The winner takes over as front-runner in the conference race. See the Game of the Week.
MARKED TREE (2) at Cross County: Marked Tree employs two quality running backs in senior Thadious Moore and junior Darius Ivy. Cross County stayed close to 3-3A member Harrisburg last week before giving up two second-half TDs in a 28-14 loss. Cross County lacks breakaway speed, but its run defense held Harrisburg in check.
WALNUT RIDGE (12) at Cedar Ridge: 3-3A member Corning upset Walnut Ridge 30-27 last week but needed a strong running game and trickery to do it. Class 4A Southside Batesville recorded its first win since 2008 by whipping Cedar Ridge 32-8.
Salem at YELLVILLE-SUMMIT (17): 1-3A member Y-S managed to beat rival Berryville by a TD last week, while Salem throttled 3-4A Jonesboro Westside 55-7.
AUGUSTA (38) at Marvell: Augusta tied Hazen 14-14 in the opener, a huge improvement over the previous three years when the Red Devils lost to Hazen by an average of 25 points.

4-2A
MOUNTAINBURG (10) at Union Christian: UC staff and players watched from the stands (Tuesday, Aug. 30) as Mountainburg turned eight turnovers into a 30-0 win over 4-3A Cedarville. Union Christian opened with a 26-point loss to 1-3A member Greenland.
W. Yell County at J.C. WESTSIDE (9): Key game because the winner stays in the hunt for the fifth and final playoff berth.
Subiaco Academy at MAGAZINE (28): Top-ranked Magazine dominated hard-hitting West Fork (1-3A) last week 40-7. The Rattlers appear bigger, stronger and still hungry after winning the 2A state title last December.
Hackett at DANVILLE (16): No. 2 Danville lost to Yell County rival and 4-4A member Dardanelle by a TD last week, giving up an 83-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter. Hackett lit up Gore, Okla., 58-35. The Little Johns whipped Hackett 42-19 a year ago.
Hartford at DECATUR (10): Improved Decatur hung with Class 5A Tahlequah (OK) JV for a half when it trailed 14-6 but ended up losing 44-6. Decatur senior RB Mitchell Perry ran well, and Dalton Ward recovered two fumbles.

5-2A
CONWAY CHRISTIAN (6) at Quitman: Conway Christian gave up 200 passing yards last week to Arkansas Baptist, while Quitman QB Hunter Martin passed for three TDs in a win over Rose Bud.
ARKANSAS BAPTIST (14) at Bigelow: Bigelow dominated 5-3A member and county rival Perryville statistically (415 yards to 160 yards), but dropped a TD pass, had another TD negated by a penalty and could not reach the end zone in a sloppy second half of a 14-14 tie. 2-3A member Arkansas Baptist gave up a TD to Conway Christian on the game's first play from scrimmage, but responded with 500 yards of offense in a 49-20 win.
MAGNET COVE (27) at Mountain Pine: No. 14 Magnet Cove graduated starters at 16 positions off its 2010 semifinal team, BUT all-league QB Hunter Linam and all-state halfback Jeff Pinkston are back. They can pass and run the Panthers to a 5-2A title.
Poyen at HECTOR (1): Teams battling to stay out of the league cellar. Poyen won matchup 26-20 last year. Poyen feature RB John Whyatt injured a knee last week in a 33-22 loss to 5-3A member Benton Harmony Grove.
TWO RIVERS (10) at Cutter M. Star: Two Rivers played well early last week at 4-4A member Dover but wore down defensively in the second half of a 34-14 loss. Two Rivers sophomore QB Tyler Green started hot and finished 16 of 28 passing for 237 yards and two TDs with four interceptions.

6-2A
Carlisle at BAUXITE (6): No. 8 Carlisle's super sophomore Bo Weddle ran seven times for 124 yards and three TDs last week in a 42-6 blowout of 2-3A Riverview. Going gets tougher this week at Bauxite, which shut out Glen Rose for three quarters in the opener. In 2010, Bauxite doubled Carlisle 42-21 for its lone victory.
BARTON (2) at Clarendon: Clarendon senior QB Jamarlin Jackson accounted for 269 yards and two TDs last week in a 23-20 loss to Brinkley. Barton won this matchup 67-46 in 2010.
Hazen at DEWITT (2): Hazen rebuilding up front, scoring just 14 points last week against Augusta after putting up 48 on Augusta a year ago. Hazen beat DeWitt 32-24 in 2010.
Episcopal at ENGLAND (10): No. 16 England did not pull the upset last week at Strong, losing 35-29, because it (like most opponents) could not slow down Strong senior QB Kenneth Dixon (305 rushing yards, five TDs). England senior Quinton Woods ran 30 times at Strong for 171 yards and four TDs.
BRINKLEY (14) at Des Arc: 2-3A member Brinkley is much improved under first-year coach Michael Sain. It beat Clarendon in the opener by three points, a year removed from losing to Clarendon by 26 points. Des Arc gave up 320 rushing yards and big plays last week in a 33-12 loss at Parkers Chapel.
MANILA (2) at Palestine-Wheatley: Manila showed more firepower in its blowout loss to McCrory than P-W did in its blowout loss to EPC.

7-2A
DeQueen JV at MURFREESBORO (14): No. 20 Murfreesboro starts the Coach David Willis era at 1-0 after a mild upset of 5-3A Bismarck in the opener, 42-26. Murfreesboro senior RB Brannon Buck ran 16 times for 189 yards and two TDs, while the Rattler defense held Bismarck 280 total yards.
GURDON (2) at B. Harmony Grove: Harmony Grove riding two-game winning streak, dating to the 2010 finale, but Gurdon employs too many athletes.
Dierks at SMACKOVER (6): 6-3A member Smackover hammered outmanned Norphlet 47-0 in the opener. Dierks' two QBs, Josh Tollett and Adam Bradshaw, combined to complete nine of 12 passes for 104 yards in a 21-14 win over 5-3A Centerpoint.
Foreman at VALIANT, OK. (6): Foreman gave up 57 points last week to Genoa Central, expected to finish near the bottom of the 6-3A, after beating GC 28-20 in 2010.
Lafayette County at MINERAL SPRINGS (20): Quarterback was a question mark for No. 6 Mineral Springs after the graduation of all-state QB Jason Ware. No longer. Senior JaJuan Turner answered last week by completing four of five passes for 126 yards and two TDs while rushing for 123 yards and a TD in a 42-20 win over 6-3A member Fouke.
JESSIEVILLE (14) at Mount Ida: Mount Ida came closer last year to a much better Magnet Cove team than it did last week in a 34-13 loss. Jessieville ran roughshod over Mountain Pine last week.
SPRING HILL (12) at Fouke: Spring Hill takes down a member of the 6-3A for the second week in a row. It defeated Lafayette County 33-20 in the opener.
HORATIO (19) at Bismarck: All-state QB Corey Moreland and senior-laden Horatio rolled up 70 points last week on Woodlawn, while Bismarck gave up 42 points to Murfreesboro.

8-2A
BEARDEN (21) at Woodlawn: Woodlawn has pushed Bearden in the past and lost by three points last year at Bearden. Last week, Woodlawn gave up 70 points at Horatio. No. 4 Bearden held Class 3A Camden Harmony Grove to 50 yards rushing and 200 total yards last week in a 35-14 victory. Bearden senior QB Defonta Lowe ran 19 times for 177 and four TDs.
JUNCTION CITY (35) at Norphlet: Norphlet struggling to field a team; No. 3 Junction City stinging after failing to score in the second half of 27-14 loss to Class 3A No. 2 Rison.
C. HARMONY GROVE (15) at Hampton: Hampton all-conference senior halfback Mark Sumler ran for more than 150 yards and returned an interception 55 yards for a TD last week in a 53-28 romp over the Fordyce JV.
MCGEHEE (4) at Parkers Chapel: 8-4A member McGehee just held Class 4A No. 6 Stuttgart scoreless in the first half. No. 10 Parkers Chapel dismantled Des Arc 33-12 last week, rushing for 320 rushing yards.
STRONG is open