Hootens.com Rankings
Class 2A, Week 7, 2021
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.
1. Bigelow (6-0)
2. McCrory (6-1)
3. Des Arc (5-1)
4. Clarendon (4-1)
5. Fordyce (4-2)
6. Gurdon (6-1)
7. Poyen (4-2)
8. Quitman (4-2)
9. Hector (5-1)
10. Hazen (4-2)
11. Junction City (2-4)
12. E. Poinsett County (0-6)
13. Carlisle (0-6)
14. Earle (3-3)
15. Dierks (2-4)
16. Magnet Cove (3-4)
17. Marked Tree (2-3)
18. Mount Ida (3-3)
19. Hampton (1-4)
20. Cross County (1-4)
21. Mountainburg (2-3)
22. Lafayette County (1-3)
23. Magazine (1-4)
24. Yellville-Summit (1-5)
25. Murfreesboro (2-3)
26. J.C. Westside (2-3)
27. Foreman (0-6)
28. Parkers Chapel (1-3)
29. Bearden (0-6)
30. Mineral Springs (0-4)
31. England (0-4)
32. Conway Christian (0-6)

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 16 Magnet Cove at No. 6 Gurdon
Gurdon's Wishbone ground out 372 yards (7 yards per attempt) last week in a 46-14 win over visiting Earle. Senior halfbacks Sam Bell and Jamal Williams combined for 31 carries for 234 yards. The defense forced three turnovers and held Earle to 3.5 yards per snap. Magnet Cove won its conference opener over Mount Ida 12-0, scoring both touchdowns in the fourth quarter when it limited MI to four snaps. Sophomore DE Luke Harper recorded a team-high 13 tackles, followed by senior linebackers Jacob Hawthorn and Brett Williams with 11 tackles apiece. In the 2021 Hooten's Arkansas Football preseason book, 5-2A coaches picked Gurdon to finish last in this four-team league and Magnet Cove to win it.
Watch extended highlights of Gurdon’s 46-14 win over Earle earlier this year.

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly picked 13 of 15 games (87 percent) involving Class 2A teams. It is 111 of 129 (86 percent) for the season.

WEEK 7 PREDICTIONS (favored team in CAPS followed by point spread)
3-2A
Cross County at MCCRORY (12): McCrory dispatched of 6-2A member Carlisle 40-14 last week with improved play from its D line, while emerging sophomore DT Stacey Mitchell (5-10, 200) and senior LB Lathan Briley logged 10 and eight tackles, respectively. Cross County lost at 5-2A member Poyen 32-14 while giving up 397 rushing yards. CC senior QB A.J. Beale ran for 103 yards and passed for 158 yards in the loss.
Watch extended highlights of McCrory’s 31-24 OT loss to Baptist Prep earlier this year. Watch extended highlights of McCrory’s 14-12 win over EPC earlier this year.  Watch extended highlights of McCrory’s 34-26 win over Des Arc earlier this year.  
Earle at E POINSETT COUNTY (2): Earle managed 10 first downs and 175 yards last week in a 46-14 loss at No. 6 Gurdon. EPC remains winless after losing last week 35-22 to Class 3A Salem after leading 22-7 in the first quarter. EPC junior QB Carter Smith continues to emerge, completing 13 of 20 passes for 117 yards and a TD. Sophomore playmaker Dennis Gaines returned an INT and a fumble for TDs.
Watch extended highlights of EPC’s 14-12 loss to McCrory earlier this year.
England at MARKED TREE (19): MT was open last week when its game with Cross County was postponed until Week 10. England trying to end an eight-game losing skid, dating to Week 6 last year. The Lions gave up 640 yards last week in a 52-12 loss at No. 4 Clarendon.

4-2A
BIGELOW (35) at J.C.Westside: J.C. Westside dropped Conway Christian 56-14 a week ago by running for 351 of its 473 yards. Five different Rebels scored. Senior QB Braden Edwards enjoyed a career night by running for 201 yards and four TDs, while completing 10 of 15 passes for 113 yards and three TDs. Top-ranked Bigelow senior QB Keithlin Brown has rushed for 773 yards and 15 TDs and passed for 365 yards and five scores this season while playing only the first half of most games.
Magazine at QUITMAN (25): With a win, Quitman can travel to Bigelow next week with the 4-2A title on the line. Quitman senior QB/LB Will Litton has completed 67 of 98 (68 percent) passes this fall for 1,003 yards and 12 TDs with just one interception. He has rushed for 452 yards and nine TDs and collected 62 tackles at linebacker. Sophomore WR Greyson Ealy caught four passes last week for 181 yards and two TDs in a 47-13 win over Yellville-Summit. Magazine, with injuries on both lines, has dropped two straight games by a combined score of 79-3. The Rattlers moved the ball well between the 30's last week in a 42-3 loss to Hector. 
HECTOR (15) at Mountainburg: No. 9 Hector makes its Top 10 debut this season after whipping Magazine (42-3) for the first time in the past four years. Hector sophomore QB Jackson Taylor connected on 13 of 14 passes for 238 yards and two TDs. He ran 12 times for 104 yards and three TDs. Junior WR Drake Riley caught four balls for 73 yards and a TD, and as a linebacker logged 10 tackles, including four TFL, and a forced fumble. Mountainburg trailed at No. 1 Bigelow 42-6 at halftime and lost 49-22. Hector has won two of three in this series since shifting back from the 5-2A in 2018. 
Conway Christian at YELLVILLE-SUMMIT (20): Missing three two-way starters last week, Y-S rushed for almost 200 yards in a 47-13 loss to Quitman. Juniors Jayven Keymer and Rivers Aldridge and sophomore Landon Keiter accounted for most of those yards. CC junior QB Cooper Johnson and senior ATH Hayden Hall played well in a 56-14 loss to J.C. Westside.

5-2A
Magnet Cove at GURDON (10): See Game of the Week.
Mount Ida at POYEN (15): Poyen celebrated homecoming last week with a 32-14 win over 3-2A member Cross County. Poyen averaged 9.7 yards per rushing attempt with emerging junior Jaeden Zurliene carrying 17 times for a career-high 204 yards. MI has lost two in a row, dropping the conference opener last week at Magnet Cove 12-0. All five starters on the Mount Ida O line have been plagued with nagging to major injuries.

6-2A
DES ARC (28) at Carlisle: Des Arc starting to roll with improved O line play and its best defensive performance of the season last week in a 36-0 win over Hazen. The Eagles held Air Hazen to three completions for 30 yards with three interceptions and 23 rushing yards. DA junior FB Jack Kearby ran for 192 of Des Arc's 470 rushing yards, while HB/CB Brock Devorak logged 104 rushing yards and two TDs with two interceptions. Winless Carlisle, with key injuries, coming off its worst performance of the season in a 40-14 loss to visiting McCrory.
Watch extended highlights of Des Arc’s 34-26 loss to McCrory earlier this year. Hazen at CLARENDON (16): Hazen, fresh off its worst outing of 2021, completed three passes for 30 yards with three interceptions and multiple drops in a 36-0 loss at Des Arc. While Hazen's offense ran just 29 plays, its defense gave up 470 rushing yards (6.3 YPC) on 75 rushing attempts by Des Arc. Hazen's Hornets are beat up and likely will start three freshmen on the O line after losing two more linemen to injuries last week at DA. Clarendon just ran 42 times for 536 yards (12.8 YPC) in a 52-12 blowout of winless England. CHS senior Quincey McAdoo carried for a season-high 196 yards and three TDs.  Watch extended highlights of Hazen’s 38-0 win over Stuttgart JV earlier this year. England at MARKED TREE (19): MT was open last week when its game with Cross County was postponed until Week 10. England gave up 640 yards last week in a 52-12 loss at No. 4 Clarendon. England junior QB Chandler Cheek completed seven passes for 142 yards, and senior WR Ahmad Courtney caught two passes for 79 yards. Courtney leads the Lions this fall with 28 tackles over four games.

7-2A
Foreman at MURFREEESBORO (2): Both teams coming off good performances. Murfreesboro held Mineral Springs to 90 yards and forced seven turnovers last week in a 47-8 victory. Murfreesboro senior QB Jay Stuard ran for 127 yards and two TDs, while senior WR Aiden Henderson caught three passes for 138 yards and two TDs. Foreman enjoyed its best offensive outing of the year in a 48-28 loss to Dierks. Sophomore RB Tyrance Marks carried 21 times for 138 yards and three TDs, while junior QB Hunter Fowler passed for 217 yards.
LAFAYETTE COUNTY (28) at Mineral Springs: LC was idle last week after splitting non-conference games Week 5 when it lost to 8-2A member Hampton 34-21 on Monday night and beat 8-2A member Bearden 40-20 Friday night. MS committed turnovers on seven of its 11 possessions last week in a 47-8 loss to Murfreesboro. 
DIERKS is open.

8-2A
Fordyce at DARDANELLE (1): Fordyce makes the five-hour round trip to Class 4A Dardanelle. In his first action since injuring an ankle Week 0, Fordyce senior QB/LB Trey Merritt recorded six tackles, including three TFL, last Friday in a 42-6 win over Junction City. Fordyce junior RB Kriston Belin carried 14 times for 205 yards and two TDs, including an 89-yard jaunt. Class 4A Dardanelle (2-4) junior QB Drew Vega completed the winning TD pass to senior Dakota Wilfong with eight second left to rally the Sand Lizards from a 17-point deficit to defeat Pottsville 27-24.
Watch extended highlights of Fordyce 22-20 over Camden Harmony Grove earlier this year. Watch extended highlights of Fordyce’s 20-16 win over Rison. Watch extended highlights of Fordyce’s 42-6 win over Junction City earlier this year. 
HAMPTON (11) at Bearden: Hampton was idle last Friday after losing two weeks ago to visiting (5-2A member) Gurdon 48-6. Hampton junior TB Zy Johnson ran for 101 yards and collected 12 tackles in the loss. Junior Jonah Phillips rushed for 78 yards and a TD. Bearden has lost nine straight, dating to Week 9, 2020. Hampton has won five consecutive times in this series.  
Parkers Chapel at JUNCTION CITY (4): Injuries continue to mount at JC, which lost 42-6 last week at Fordyce. Junior LB and tackle leader Kristopher Norman stacked  14.5 tackles in the loss. Parkers Chapel posted its first win of 2021 by defeating Bearden 42-24. PC senior Lancer Clark tallied a 15-yard TD run, 30-yard TD reception, 60-yard punt return for a TD and a 102-yard pick-6.
Watch extended highlights of Junction City’s 12-49 loss to Beebe earlier this year. Watch extended highlights of Junction City’s 42-6 loss to Fordyce earlier this year.