Hootens.com Rankings
Class 2A, Week 8, 2011
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

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

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 11 Salem at No. 6 E. Poinsett County
Both teams undefeated with potent offenses and solid defenses. EPC averages 351 yards and 50 points per game. Senior all-state QB Darius Barnes triggers EPC's attack, pacing the Warriors with 867 rushing yards (16.7 ypc) and 13 TDs. Barnes has completed 33 of 45 passes for 413 yards and five TDs. Senior linebacker A.J. Turner leads the EPC defense with 112 tackles, including 16 TFL and two sacks. Turner has forced four fumbles and recovered two. EPC allows just 185 yards and 8.8 ppg.

Salem counters with sophomore QB Dillon Turner, who has completed 42 of 70 passes for 692 yards and 10 TDs. Senior Nick Gaskins (445 yards) and sophomores Augustus Freeman (454 yards) and J.J. Gray (872 yards) share the rushing load. Salem averages 8.8 yard per carry. Junior LB David Tarpley leads Salem with 64 tackles, followed by senior LB Jesse James (51 stops) and junior Justus Sparks (46 tackles).

EPC won this matchup 72-24 last year at Salem. The Salem junior high has beaten EPC the past two years for the junior high title. "You have to tackle (EPC's Darius) Barnes," an opposing 3-2A coach said. "Being in position is not good enough. You have to be athletic enough to tackle him. I'm not sure we could have hit him with a hand full of gravel."

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 20 of 23 (87 percent) games involving Class 2A teams. Hootens.com is 151-39 (79 percent) for the season.

WEEK 8 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
3-2A
Salem at E. POINSETT COUNTY (6): See 2A Game of the Week.
Cedar Ridge at AUGUSTA (1): Augusta keeps Cedar Ridge winless. Cedar Ridge managed 143 yards last week in a 54-8 loss to No. 6 EPC.
Cross County at MCCRORY (10): Cross County idle last week when Melbourne did not have enough bodies to play. McCrory junior RB Logan Best leads the state with 1,508 rushing yards (and 15 TDs).
BIGELOW (5) at Marked Tree: This was an ugly non-conference game a year ago when Bigelow defeated Marked Tree 28-6, one week after it topped Magnet Cove. Last week, Magnet Cove beat Bigelow 40-22 to move atop the 5-2A standings, while Marked Tree gave up 440 yards in a 40-14 loss at No. 11 Salem.

4-2A
DANVILLE (35) at Decatur: Second-ranked Little Johns healthy and rolling after their Week 5 loss to top-ranked Magazine (35-28). Senior Blake Noakes scored four TDs last week vs. Union Christian, including a 35-yard interception return for a score. Junior DE Montel Jiles collected 13 tackles last week, 15 against Magazine and 12 stops vs. Mountainburg.
Hartford at UNION CHRISTIAN (19): UC exploded for 22 points late last week at Danville, led by all-league senior Matt Callaway's 11 rushes for 126 yards and a 96-yard kickoff return for a TD.
MAGAZINE (35) at J.C. Westside: Senior all-state LB Josh Dority (4.5 speed) paces No. 1 Magazine with 67 tackles, including three sacks, and a blocked punt. Senior OT Skyler McElroy (6-5, 285) has delivered 25 pancake blocks, grading above 80 percent weekly.
MOUNTAINBURG (28) at Western Yell: No. 14 Mountainburg took a big step toward claiming the No. 3 playoff seed last week by beating Hackett 35-32. The Dragons play host to Magazine Week 9 with the 4-2A title on the line.
HACKETT (18) at Two Rivers: Hackett bounces back from a tough loss at Mountainburg. Hackett took the 4-2A third playoff seed last year and advanced to the state quarterfinals.

5-2A
Hector at CONWAY CHRISTIAN (32): No. 25 Conway Christian boasts plenty of firepower in junior QB Tanner Stevenson (323 passing yards and four TDs last week vs. Poyen), Chandler Ferrand (332 total yards vs. Poyen) and Andrew Dather (seven receptions for 133 yards vs. Poyen).
MAGNET COVE (12) at Quitman: Magnet Cove senior RB Jeff Pinkston (1,299 yards, 24 TDs) ran for 185 yards and two TDs last week, including an 80-yarder, against a solid Bigelow defense. Quitman junior Allen Mannon ran for 207 yards in a 41-12 win over Two Rivers.
Mountain Pine at POYEN (1): Poyen keeps Mountain Pine winless.
HACKETT (18) at Two Rivers: Hackett bounces back from a tough loss at Mountainburg. Hackett took the 4-2A third playoff seed last year and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
BIGELOW (5) at Marked Tree: This was an ugly non-conference game a year ago when Bigelow defeated Marked Tree 28-6, one week after it topped Magnet Cove. Last week, Magnet Cove whipped Bigelow 40-22 to move atop the 5-2A standings, while Marked Tree gave up 440 yards in a 40-14 loss at No. 11 Salem.

6-2A
CARLISLE (35) at Palestine-Wheatley: Des Arc pushed No. 5 Carlisle last week. The Bison trailed early and did not take the lead until late in the third quarter and then scored twice in the fourth for a 28-8 victory. P-W ended its five-game losing skid last week at Marvell, 26-24.
DES ARC (1) at Woodlawn: Des Arc pushed No. 5 Carlisle last week, while Woodlawn allowed five TDs in a row in the first half of a 40-12 loss at Norphlet.
Clarendon at ENGLAND (25): The winner stays in contention for the 6-2A No. 3 playoff seed. Senior RB Quinton Woods led England last week with 63 hard-earned yards on 16 carries at fourth-ranked Bearden.
HAZEN (45) at Marvell: No. 9 Hazen rolling through midseason with home games against No. 22 England and No. 5 Carlisle coming up. Marvell has lost 12 in a row.
DES ARC (1) at Woodlawn: Des Arc pushed No. 5 Carlisle last week, while Woodlawn allowed five TDs in a row in the first half of a 40-12 loss at Norphlet.

7-2A
Dierks at GURDON (8): Gurdon jumped to the top of the 7-2A standings with a 42-26 win over Spring Hill last week. Gurdon sophomore QB Austin Kirkpatrick ran for two TDs and completed a 90-yard TD pass to junior Chris Penny (5-6, 150). Dierks gave up 34 points at home to improving Mount Ida and lost by 13 points.
Horatio at SPRING HILL (2): Expect a shootout. No. 15 Spring Hill dropped its first game of the season last week at Gurdon (42-26), while Horatio gave up 50 points to Mineral Springs after tying the game at 22-22 in the second quarter.
MINERAL SPRINGS (42) at Foreman: Mineral Springs senior QB JaJuan Turner ran for 122 yards and five TDs and passed for 63 yards and a score last week in a 50-36 win over Horatio.
Murfreesboro at MOUNT IDA (9): Mount Ida surging behind junior athlete Josh Hall, winning last week at Dierks 34-21. Murfreesboro allows 338 yards and 33 points per game.

8-2A
Hampton at BEARDEN (28): Bearden makes it 10 in a row over Hampton. No. 4 Bearden held England's explosive Double Wing to 114 yards on 37 attempts (3 ypc) last week.
Parkers Chapel at STRONG (12): One observer called Strong's Kenneth Dixon the second coming of O.J. Simpson last week after Dixon ran for 391 yards and six TDs, including 94- and 97-yarders, in a 72-38 win over Hampton. But Hampton led Strong until late in the second quarter. Parkers Chapel was idle last week after edging Woodlawn 34-32 Week 6.
DES ARC (1) at Woodlawn: Des Arc pushed No. 5 Carlisle last week, while Woodlawn allowed five TDs in a row in the first half of a 40-12 loss at Norphlet.
NORPHLET is open.
JUNCTION CITY is open.