Hootens.com Class 2A Rankings

Week 1, 2024

1. Carlisle (2-0)

2. Conway Christian (2-0)

3. Junction City (0-2)

4. Marked Tree (1-1)

5. Des Arc (1-0)

6. Mineral Springs (0-1)

7. Bigelow (1-1)

8. Poyen (2-0)

9. East Poinsett County (0-1)

10. Hector (0-1)

11. Mount Ida (1-0)

12. Murfreesboro (0-2)

13. Cross County (1-1)

14. McCrory (1-0)

15. England (1-1)

16. Earle (0-1)

17. Gurdon (1-1)

18. Clarendon (0-1)

19. Lafayette County (1-0)

20. Mountainburg (1-0)

Not ranked:

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

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

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

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

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

NO. 4 MARKED TREE (1-1) at Gurdon (1-1) Marked Tree bounced back from a season-opening loss to beat Manila 43-6. TJ Hodges rushed for 190 yards and 2 TDs; Kenyon Carter threw for 91 yards and 3 TDs and rushed for a touchdown; and Dawson Smith caught 2 TD passes. 

“Gurdon will be a very tough team to beat,” Marked Tree Coach Waylon Dunn said. “We will have to play extremely well and be very good tacklers to stop their run game.”

Gurdon bounced back from a loss in Week 0 loss to beat Parker’s Chapel 41-18. The Go-Devils rushed for 470 yards, led by Xavier Laster (197 yards, 3 TDs) and Jamari Williams (195 yards, 2 TDs). QB Rhett Ledbetter also rushed for a TD. 

“We played better,” Gurdon Coach Kyle Jackson said. “We ran the ball well. We are the walking wounded right now with injuries.”

Jackson said Marked Tree will be a tough opponent.  “They look really good," Jackson said.

Gurdon will need to get its running game going again to exploit its home-field advantage, but Marked Tree is highly ranked for a reason.

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 22 of 24 games involving Class 2A teams and is 35 of 39 (90 percent) for the season.

WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS (favored teams in ALL CAPS)

2A NONCONFERENCE

MOUNTAINBURG (1-0) at Baptist Prep (1-0): Mountainburg QB Ryan Allen rushed for 301 yards and scored 6 TDS and was 6 for 6 passing for 108 yards and another score in the Dragons’ 50-22 season-opening win over Cedarville. Hayden McGill had 11 tackles. Baptist Prep also opened the season last week with a 42-28 win over Two Rivers. QB Nick Cummings threw for 435 yards and 6 touchdowns. Neal Priddy caught 3 TD passes while Aaron Fielder caught 2. Coach Riley Perkins said his team was down 12 starters and found a way to win. “It was a great game for some of our guys to gain some experience that will benefit us later in the season.” Perkins also said that Mountainburg plays a physical brand of ball. “Their QB is a great player and tough to tackle.”

NO. 14 MARKED TREE (1-1) at Gurdon (1-1): See Hootens.com Game of the week

Clarendon (0-1) at MCCRORY (1-0): Clarendon is coming off a 34-13 loss to Barton after its game with Palestine-Wheatley in Week 0 was canceled because of severe weather. Amarius Fletcher led the Lions with 152 yards rushing and 2 TDs on 13 carries. Roderick Stewart led the defense with 6 tackles. “We didn’t play well,” Clarendon Coach Mark Courtney said. “We have the pieces to be pretty good, we’ve just got to put them together." McCrory beat Class 4A Riverview 38-19. Leevi Tucker led the way with 188 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Jonathan West had 3 sacks. “We’re going to have to find a way to contain Clarendon’s speed if we want to win on Friday,” Coach Cade Campbell said. 

Bearden (1-0) at D’ARBONE WOODS (La.) (1-0): Bearden beat LR Episcopal 43-0 in its opener behind QB Landon Faucett (13-15 passing, 152 yards, 2 TDs). Tristan Olivey (88 yards rushing; 3-45 receiving) scores 3 TDs. The defense allowed only 71 yards. Kemari Nettles had an interception for Bearden. D’Arbonne Woods beat Lincoln Prep 36-6 in last week's opener. 

2A-3A NONCONFERENCE

NO. 2 CONWAY CHRISTIAN (2-0) at Class 3A Atkins (2-0): Conway Christian beat Quitman 36-13 last week, picking up where it left off after a strong second half in the opener against Hazen. QB Jeryn Thomas passed for 144 yards and rushed for 95 yards. Aaron Lovelace topped the 100-yard mark again, going for 187 yards and 2 TDs. 

CLASS 3A PERRYVILLE (1-1) at Bigelow (1-1): Bigelow is coming off its first loss since the end of the 2022 season, falling to Mayflower 35-0. The Panthers' offense struggled, but Cal Adams led the defense with 9 tackles. 

Class 3A Yellville-Summit (0-1) at NO. 10 HECTOR (0-1): Cayden Manrique caught a TD pass and Lucas Baker returned an interception 30 yards for a TD in Hector's 50-12 loss to Perryville.

 CLASS 3A JESSIEVILLE (0-1) at Mount Ida (1-0): Mount Ida opened the season with a 14-0 win over Spring Hill in a game that was stopped because of severe weather at halftime. Ben Wooded (70 yards rushing) and Beau Weston (6 tackles) led the way for Mount Ida. “Jessiville is gonna be a tough matchup with their size and numbers,” Mount Ida Coach Mike White said. 

CLASS 3A CUTTER MORNING STAR (0-1) at Mountain Pine (0-2): The Red Devils dropped to 0-2 in their return to 11-man ball with a 46-28 loss to Dierks. QB Cole Slaten passed for 145 yards and a TD. Zachary Middleton, Slaten and Antonio Rookard each had rushing TDs. Slaten led the defense with 8 tackles. 

JC Westside (0-1) at CLASS 3A CEDARVILLE (1-1): JC Westside gave Danville fits in a 48-28 loss in its opener. QB Cooper Hilton threw 3 TD passes and rushed for another. Hilton's TD passes went to Lucas Vaughn, Kyle Wain and Nathan Powell. 

MAGAZINE (0-1) at Class 3A Two Rivers (0-1): Magazine kept things close in a 14-0 loss to Cedarville. Two Rivers lost 42-28 at Class 2A Baptist Prep. The loss at Baptist Prep was the Gators' 17th consecutive loss. The Gators' last win was 39-14 over J.C. Westside in Week 2 of the 2022 season.

No. 9 East Poinsett County (0-1) at CLASS 3A NO. 3 RIVERCREST (1-0): EPC was idle last week after falling to Walnut Ridge 37-0 in the opener. Jacob Gaines rushed for 52 yards and Dee Buchanan led the defense with 10 tackles. “I’m excited to play Rivercrest,” EPC Coach Brandon Powell said. “They are very talented, deep and athletic with one of the best coaching staffs in the state.”

Class 3A Piggott (0-1) at CROSS COUNTY (1-1): Cross County tries to bounce back after Van Paschal's team lost to Palestine-Wheatley, coached by Van Paschal's son, Tyler. Cross County QB Kaleb Searcy passed for 2 touchdowns in the loss. Caden Crawford rushed for a TD and had 4 tackles and a QB sack. 

CLASS 3A NO. 4 WALNUT RIDGE (2-0) at Earle (0-1): Earle gave Class 4A Helena fits in a 34-20 loss. QB Karon Alson passed for 163 yards and a TD but was intercepted 4 times. Darrion Maples led the defense with 15 tackles. James Jarrett had 7 tackles and 4 catches for 109 yards and a TD. He also returned a kickoff 86 yards for a score. “On film, Walnut Ridge is pretty big and they run a version of the single wing with a lot of trap pulls and misdirection,” Earle Coach AC Coleman said. “To be successful, we will have to play assignment football, and the defense will have to win the turnover battle.”

Izard County Consolidated (0-2) at CLASS 3A QUITMAN (0-1): Izard County’s transition to 11-man football continues after a 42-7 loss to Cave City. Aaron Dockins led the Cougars with 12 tackles. Benaia Spray led the team with 113 all-purpose yards. “We have to be more aggressive in the trenches,” Izard County Coach Chase Brody said. 

CLASS 3A BARTON (1-0) at Marianna (0-0): Marianna, 1-10 last season, makes its season debut with senior QB Dequincy Allen leading the way.

No. 3 Junction City (0-2) at CLASS 3A SMACKOVER (2-0): Junction City slipped to 0-2 after falling to top-ranked Carlisle 41-20 on the road. The Dragons led 7-6 at halftime but was outscored 35-13 in the second half. RB Dominique Grimes scored TDs on runs of 37, 80 and 70 yards. 

No. 6 Mineral Springs (0-1) at CLASS 3A FORDYCE (2-0): Mineral Springs stayed within striking distance for a half before Bismarck pulled away for a 62-14 win. Evan Ewarin rushed for 55 yards and passed for 72 yards and a TD. Javeon Fricks caught 4 passes for 64 yards. He also returned a kick 95 yards for a TD. 

CLASS 3A FOUKE (2-0) at Spring Hill (1-1): Spring Hills’ game with Mount Ida ended at halftime as the Bears lost 14-0. Gavin Smith led the Bears with 21 yards rushing on 4 carries. 

DIERKS (1-1) at Class 3A Parkers Chapel (1-1): Dierks beat Mountain Pine 46-28 with Jordan Hill rushing for 215 yards and 3 TDs on 12 carries. Juan Salazar rushed for 84 yards and 2 TDs.

CLASS 3A HORATIO (0-1) at Foreman (0-2): Foreman fell to Hampton 30-14 last week as Brody Bearden led the Gators with 78 yards rushing and 2 TDs. “The battle of the Little River with Horatio this week is going to be a battle,” Foreman Coach Ed Baker said. 

England (1-1) at CLASS 3A MAYFLOWER (2-0): England bounced back last week with a 28-22 win over Drew Central. QB Nick Brown passed for 151 yards and 3 TDs. He also rushed for 104 yards and another TD. Nehemiah Solee caught 5 passes for 52 yards. 

CLASS 3A MAGNET COVE (1-1) at No. 8 Poyen (2-0): Poyen RB Austin Harness ran for 185 yards and a TD in the Indians’ win over Cutter Morning Star. Alejandro Guzman had 101 yards and 3 TDs. 

2A-4A NONCONFERENCE

Class 4A Bald Knob (0-1) at NO. 5 DES ARC (2-0): Daviyon Bell and Gabe Berry combined to rush for 286 yards and 2 TDs each in an emotional win over Hazen. The game was played less than a week after the death of graduated QB Cache Flanagan. 

2A-5A NONCONFERENCE

Lafayette County (1-0) at CLASS 5A DE QUEEN (1-1): Lafayette County has had 2 weeks off since its season-opening win over Hampton in Week 0. Rod Bailey rushed for 210 yards and 3 TDs on 8 carries in that game; Jordan Walters rushed for 120. Zakaraian Lawson led the Cougars with 12 tackles and Cedarious Miller had 11 tackles, including 2 sacks. 

IDLE Murfreesboro, Carlisle, Hazen and Hampton.