Hooten’s Arkansas Football Rankings

Class 2A, Week 8, 2023

Copyright Seventy Seven’s Publishing

1. Mineral Springs (7-0)

2. Bigelow (7-0)

3. Carlisle (6-1)

4. Des Arc (6-1)

5. Hazen (6-1)

6. EPC (6-1)

7. Conway Christian (6-1)

8. Murfreesboro (7-0)

9. Marked Tree (5-1)

10. England (4-3)

11. Poyen (4-4)

12. Bearden (4-4)

13. Hector (3-4)

14. McCrory (3-4)

15. Earle (3-4)

16. Cross County (3-3)

17. Dierks (3-5)

18. Mountainburg (3-3)

19. Mount Ida (1-5)

20. Lafayette County (2-6) 

21. JC Westside (2-5)

22. Baptist Prep (2-6)

23. Clarendon (1-6)

24. Marianna (1-6)

25. Magazine (1-6)

26. LR Episcopal (0-6)

27. Hampton (0-6)

28. Foreman (0-6)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

DES ARC (6-1, 4-0) at Cross County (3-3, 2-2)

Des Arc won 54-22 last year, and while Des Arc hasn’t changed much, Cross County has been bolstered by some transfers from Wynne High School. The Eagles have been rolling offensively since a loss to Carlisle in Week 2. Last Friday, Des Arc beat Clarendon for the first time since 2020 with two 100-yard rushers — Dayvion Bell (195 yards, 3 TDs) and Gabe Berry (150 rushing, TD). Cross County moved to 3-3 with a 38-14 win over Marianna. The Thunderbirds also had two 100-yard rushers — Cardarian Washington (26-196 rushing, 2 TDs) and Jordan Whiteside (10-132 rushing, 3 TDs). Des Arc has shown more by virtue of its win over defending state champion Hazen, but Cross County lost only 7-0 to state runner-up Carlisle earlier this year. 

LAST WEEK 

Hootens.com correctly predicted all 12 games (100 percent) involving 2A schools. Hootens.com is 88-20 (81 percent) for the season.

1-2A

BIGELOW (8-0, 3-0) at JC Westside (2-5, 1-2): Bigelow’s Carter Alexander (6-117 rushing, TD) led the Panthers' 41-20 win over Magazine. Brandt Tipton caught 2 passes for 75 yards and  2 TDs along with a 51 yard TD on the ground. Silas Schichtl had 5 tackles and a sack, giving him 9 for the season. JC Westside fell behind 35-0 at halftime to Conway Christian in a 35-14 loss. Kyle Wahn threw TD passes of 42 and 39 yards to Cooper Hilton. 

Mountainburg (3-2, 1-1) at CONWAY CHRISTIAN (6-1, 2-0): Mountainburg was idle last week after beating Magazine 35-13 two weeks ago. Ryan Allen (27-266 rushing, 3 TDs) and Levi Pense (13-98 rushing; 9 tackles) were top contributors. Conway Christian QB Jeryn Thomas (105 passing, 4 TDs in 1st half) made his first start of the season and Aaron Lovelace (15-95 rushing in 1st half) got Conway Christian off to a fast start.

Magazine (1-6, 0-3) at HECTOR (3-4, 1-2): Dosson Littleton recovered 2 fumbles while Choking Yang scored his first TD in Magazine's 41-20 loss to Bigelow. Hector was off last week after falling to Conway Christian 21-14. Brent Casto (111 rushing; 10 tackles), Peter Waite (17 tackles) and Hayden Millsaps (9 tackles) were top contributors. Hector has been the more complete team this season. Magazine is trying to re-establish it’s program under Ryan Chambers.

2A-2

EPC (6-1, 4-0) at Marianna (1-6, 0-4): EPC’s Dennis Gaines (15-219 rushing, 3 TDs) fueled the Warriors’ 58-26 win over Earle. Tyler Moore rushed for a TD and caught a TD pass. Marianna fell to Cross County 38-14. The Trojans has struggled since beating Lafayette County in the second week of the season.

MARKED TREE (5-1, 3-1) at Clarendon (1-6, 0-4): Marked Tree’s Kenyon Carter completed 20 of 27 passes for 467 yards and 7 TDs in the Indians’ 52-48 win over McCrory. Clarendon’s Daniel Brown scored his team’s TD in a 44-8 loss to Des Arc. Marked Tree won 44-30 and there should be a similar outcome this year.

DES ARC at Cross County: See Hootens.com Game of the Week, above. 

MCCRORY (3-4, 2-2) at Earle (3-4, 1-3): McCrory played Marked Tree down to the wire in a 52-48 loss. Leevi Tucker (291 rushing, 3 TDs; 9 tackles) and Reece Rushing (99 rushing, 3 TDs) led McCrory. Earle has dropped 3 of its last 4 games, the lone win 22-16 over Marianna. If McCrory can do what it did against Marked Tree, the Jaguars should be able to get the victory.

2A-3

Mount Ida (1-5, 1-2) at MINERAL SPRINGS (7-0, 3-0): Mount Ida is struggling this year, but it did battle undefeated Murfreesboro in an 8-6 loss. The loss of QB Cain McCullough to a season-ending leg injury against Murfreesboro doesn't help the Lions' cause. Mineral Springs has been the No. 1 team since Hazen lost to Des Arc in Week 1. The Hornets were idle last week after beating Dierks 42-6. Evan Erwin passed for 200 yards and 5 TDs in the win. Malik Matthews caught 4 passes for 80 yards and 2 TDs. Rahmaij Ware had 11 tackles.

POYEN (4-4, 3-1) at Dierks (3-5, 1-3): Poyen’s Kevin Freeman (126 rushing, 3 TDs) and Colt Barrett (114 passing, TD) led Poyen to a 42-14 win over Lafayette County. Dierks routed Foreman 49-6. QB Andrew Mack passed for 82 yards and 2 TDs and rushed for 99 yards and a TD. Poyen, 3-1 in league play, can stay in the conference race with a road win.

MURFREESBORO (7-0, 3-0) at Foreman: (0-7, 0-3): Murfreesboro struggled offensively in an 8-6 win over Mount Ida. Murfreesboro was averaging 42 points per game prior to the win over Mount Ida. Brandt Stevens had 140 yards rushing in the win. Foreman is giving up 49 points per game this season.

OPEN Lafayette County

2A-4

HAZEN (6-1, 3-0) at LR Episcopal (0-6, 0-3): Hazen was off last week after beating England 53-18. Braylan Anderson (194 rushing, 3 TDs) and Justin Schlenker (4-39 receiving, TD; 2 INTs, 1 for TD) accounted for 5 TDs. Episcopal lost to England 44-0 last week. Erik Joyner rushed for 30 yards. Hazen has been working on new wrinkles as the playoffs near.

England (4-3, 2-1) at BEARDEN (4-4, 3-1): England bounced back from a loss to Hazen by beating LR Episcopal 44-0. Nick Brown Jr. (7-9 passing, 133 yards, TD; 103 rushing, 3 TDs) led the way. Ty’un Miller returned an interception for a TD. Justin Barber had 2 INTs. Bearden’s Matthew Chambers (97 rushing, TD; 10 tackles, 5 sacks) contributed mightily in a 49-14 win over Baptist Prep. Bryce Whisenhunt had 108 yards passing and 65 yards rushing. Bearden’s home-field advantage could be the difference with these two evenly-matched teams.

Baptist Prep (2-6, 1-3) at CARLISLE (6-1, 3-0): Baptist Prep’s Titus Yager (106 receiving, 2 TDs; 8 tackles and forced fumble) was all over the field in the Eagles’ loss to Bearden. Carlisle QB Holden Jones passed for 5 TDs for the Bison in a 70-6 win over Hampton. Bison freshman kicker Jimmy Cham set a school record by making 10 of 10 extra points. Carlisle’s versatility should not be touched as the Bison inch closer to a showdown with Hazen in Week 10.

NONCONFERENCE

3A JUNCTION CITY (4-3) at Hampton (0-7): Hampton scored on an 85-yard pass in the fourth quarter of a 70-6 loss to Carlisle last week. The going gets even tougher this week against Class 3A Junction City.