Hootens.com Class 2A Rankings

Week 6, 2024

1. Carlisle (5-0)

2. Conway Christian (5-0)

3. Junction City (3-2)

4. Marked Tree (4-1)

5. Des Arc (4-1)

6. Bigelow (3-2)

7. Poyen (4-1)

8. Mineral Springs (2-3)

9. East Poinsett County (3-2)

10. McCrory (4-1)

11. Hector (3-2)

12. Murfreesboro (3-2)

13. Mount Ida (3-2)

14. Cross County (3-2)

15. Gurdon (2-3)

16. Dierks (4-1)

17. Earle (1-4) 

18. Hampton (3-2)

19. Hazen (2-3)

20. Bearden (2-3)

Not ranked:

1-2A: Mountain Pine (2-3), JC Westside (1-3), Magazine (1-3), Mountainburg (2-3)

2-2A: Izard County Consolidated (0-5), Marianna (0-4)

3-2A: Spring Hill (1-3), Foreman (0-5), Lafayette County (2-3)

4-2A: Clarendon (0-4), England (1-4), Baptist Prep (3-2)

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 12 of 16 games involving Class 2A teams. Hooten’s has correctly predicted 92 of 109 games (84 percent) for the season.

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

NO. 4 MARKED TREE (4-1) at No. 5. Des Arc (4-1): Marked Tree and Des Arc could put on another epic show after Des Arc's 66-64 win a year ago. Both teams have 1 loss, with Marked Tree losing 48-30 to Class 3A Newport in its opener; Des Arc’s lone loss came to top-ranked Carlisle 30-8 on Sept. 20.

Marked Tree’s TJ Hodges (8-85 rushing, 2 TDs) led the Indians over Earle 24-20. Dawson Smith had a receiving TD from Kenyon Carter. 

“This will be a very tough challenge from a good team that plays physical football,” Marked Tree Coach Waylon Dunn said. “We will have to play well to get a road win.”

Des Arc had an unexpected bye last week, winning by forfeit because Marianna did not have enough players after several ejections the previous week. That might have been a blessing for Des Arc, which beat Earle 44-8 two weeks ago. 

Des Arc Coach Brandon Barbaree said stopping Hodges will be key.

“Hodges is a D1 running back with all the tools,” Barbaree says. “Carter is a 3-year starter at QB that leads them to a bunch of victories.”

Barbaree says the game will be a contrast in styles. 

“Obviously our goal is to control the tempo of the game on offense and keep them off the field, and defensively, make them work for every yard,” Barbaree says. 

WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS (favored teams in ALL CAPS)

1-2A

NO. 2 CONWAY CHRISTIAN (5-0) at JC Westside (1-3): Conway Christian edged Mount Ida in a 42-41 thriller last week as QB Jeryn Thomas accounted for 5 TDs (4 rushing, 1 passing). Thomas rushed 8 times for 152 yards. JC Westside struggled on both sides of the ball in a 42-0 loss to Mountain Pine. 

BIGELOW (3-2) at Mountain Pine (2-3): The defending state champion Panthers are rounding into shape, beating Hector 35-12. Jayden Dunlap, Braeden Winningham, Rush Hill and Martell Macon each scored rushing TDs. “The offensive line has played really well the last 2 weeks since the bye,” Bigelow Coach Luke Starks says. Macon also returned an INT. for a TD. Mountain Pine QB Cole Slaten passed for 134 yards and a TD in the Red Devils’ 42-0 win over Johnson County Westside. Aidan Pitman rushed for 136 yards and 2 TDs on 14 carries. 

Mountainburg (2-3) at HECTOR (3-2):  Mountainburg’s Ryan Allen rushed for 157 yards and 3 TDs and passed for 110 yards in the Dragons' 21-20 win over Magazine last week. Bryson Quinalty caught 3 passes for 41 yards and had 11 tackles to lead the defense. Hector got in the way of a streaking Bigelow team, falling 35-12. Brandon Graham led Hector’s defense with 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and an INT. Brewer Storey also had an INT. 

Magazine (2-3) at MOUNT IDA: (3-2): Magazine missed a late FG in a 21-20 loss to Mountainburg on Friday. Kolton McCubbin rushed for 95 yards and Daniel Green (4-102 receiving, 2 TDs) intercepted a pass. Rattlers Dakota Clark and Chakong Yang had 9 tackles each. Mount Ida’s Ben Woodfield rushed for 250 yards and 5 TDs in the Lions’ 42-41 loss to Conway Christian. The Lions finished with 363 yards rushing. “We have to play more disciplined on defense this week,” Mount Ida Coach Mike White says. 

2-2A

NO. 4 MARKED TREE (4-1) at No. 5 Des Arc (4-1): See Hootens.com Game of the Week, above.

Cross County (3-2) at NO. 9 EPC (3-2): Cross County totaled 430 yards in a 46-6 win over Izard County Consolidated. Daviyon Simmons (110 yards rushing, 1 TD), Caden Crawford (109 yards, 1 TD) and Rico Coffee (85 yards, 2 TD) carried the offense, and Isaiah Huff returned an interception for a TD. EPC edged McCrory 22-12 with Jacob Gaines (20-136 rushing, 2 TDs) and QB Eli Bland (8-14 passing, 75 yards, TD; INT. on defense. “Those guys are big and physical up front and really get after you defensively,” EPC Coach Brandon Powell says. “We will have to find a way to win some battles on the line of scrimmage to have a chance to win.”

EARLE (1-4) at Marianna (0-4): Earle gave fourth-ranked Marked Tree fits but fell 24-20. Sophomore QB Atonius Dorsey (8-16 passing, 229 yards; 13-163 rushing) started his first game at QB. Clifton Wren led the defense with 12 tackles. “Marianna will match up with us and give us all that we want,” Earle Coach AC Coleman says. “Our youth in the offensive line continues to be a weakness.” Marianna forfeited its second game of the season last week to Des Arc after having numerous players ejected against Marked Tree. 

Izard County Consolidated (0-5) at NO. 10 MCCRORY (4-1): ICC QB Kyler Brasher completed 15 of 23 passes for 127 yards and a TD, which went to Benaiah Spray (7-54 receiving). McCrory dropped its first game, falling to EPC 22-12. Leevi Tucker had 139 yards rushing, and Will Rushing had 40 yards rushing with a TD. He also led the Jaguars with 10 tackles. 

3-2A

Gurdon (2-3) at NO. 3 JUNCTION CITY (3-2): Gurdon's Jose Leon kicked a game-winning 20-yard FG as the Go-Devils beat Lafayette County 39-36. Jamari Williams rushed for 86 yards and 2 TDs, and Rhett Ledbetter passed for 86 yards and a TD. “It is going to be a tall task for us,” Gurdon Coach Kyle Jackson says. “Junction is big and athletic and full of tradition as everyone knows. We are going to have to contain Grimes or it will be a long night for us.”  Junction City beat Mineral Springs 20-14 last week. Dominique Grimes rushed 16 times for 149 yards and 2 TDs and Dakorey Larrey carried 18 times for 144 yards and a score. “Gurdon has some fantastic talent and Coach Jackson runs a good program,” Junction City Coach Devin Ball says. “We aim to take the next step towards a conference championship and playing our best football Friday or homecoming.”

NO. 8 MINERAL SPRINGS (2-3) at Foreman (0-5): Mineral Springs tries to rebound from its 6-point loss to Junction City. QB Evan Erwin passed for 103 yards and 2 TDs, both to Javeon Fricks. Shane Goins and Deshawn Hawkins led the Hornets with 7 tackles each. Foreman, on a 25-game losing streak, last won on Nov. 4, 2021 over Mineral Springs. The Gators fell to Murfreesboro 52-0 last week. “We only had 14 healthy and had multiple kids and coaches out sick last week,” Foreman Coach Ed Baker said. “We only have 17 total. We hope to get a couple back this week. I was very proud of our kids’ effort.”

Murfreesboro (3-2) at DIERKS (4-1). Murfreesboro enters off a 52-0 win over Foreman. Aden Stinson rushed for 2 TDs and QB Laytan Wilcher passed for 2. Albert Quiroz led the Rattlers with 7 tackles. “They are very explosive in their Wing T offense with running back Jordan Hill,” Murfreesboro Coach Brad Chessir says. “We are going to have to tackle well.” Dierks beat Spring Hill 42-14 last week as Hill rushed for 144 yards and 4 TDs in the win. 

LAFAYETTE COUNTY (2-3) at Spring Hill (1-3): Lafayette County fell to Gurdon 39-36 on a last-second FG. Rod Bailey (14-230 rushing, 4 TDs; INT. return for TD) and Zakarian Lawson (13 tackles) led the Cougars. Spring Hill fell to Dierks last week. QB Jaxson Smith threw 2 TD passes to Karson Hamilton for 35 and 40 yards.

4-2A

Hampton (3-2) at NO. 1 CARLISLE (5-0): Hampton gave Poyen fits in a 34-14 loss last week. Deondre Smith led the Bulldogs with 107 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Braiden Giraud led the defense with 7 tackles. The Carlisle Bison had no issues in their 51-6 win over Clarendon. QB Ty Tanksley passed for 108 yards and 3 TDs, and Lawson Petrus scored 2 TDs. Carlisle is averaging 43.2 points per game. 

Baptist Prep (3-2) at ENGLAND (1-4): Baptist Prep started the season 3-0, but a wave of injuries have contributed to consecutive losses, the most recent a 27-6 defeat to Bearden last week. Austin Herring caught 5 passes for 84 yards and a TD. England played Hazen tough but in a 24-14 loss at Hazen. QB Nick Brown passed for 205 yards and a TD. Nehemiah Solee returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score. Cooper Price led the Lions with 14 tackles;  Jerome Clegg had 9. 

No. 7 Poyen (4-1) at NO. 19 HAZEN (2-3): Poyen rallied to beat an improved Hampton team 34-14. Alejandro Guzman (21-168 rushing, TD) and QB Colt Barrett (3 rushing TDs) led the offense. Layton Russell had a big interception in the fourth quarter for the Indians. Hazen played its best offensive game in a 24-14 win over England. Noah Adkins, subbing for older brother Landon Adkins, rushed for 129 yards and a TD on 15 carries. JJ Pinkney rushed for 103 yards and a TD. He also passed for another. 

Clarendon (0-4) at BEARDEN (2-3): Clarendon’s Ky-mani Fluker scored his team’s only TD in a 51-6 loss to Carlisle last week. Bearden, which took Hazen to overtime 2 weeks ago, beat England 27-6. Matthew Chambers, Tristan Olvey and Kemari Nettles each rushed for more than 100 yards and scored a TD against England. “Establishing the run continues to be our focus this week,” Bearden Coach Brandon Austin says. “I expect Clarendon to be physical up front on both sides of the ball, so we’ll need to gap sound and be quick off the ball to come out on top.”