Hootens.com Rankings
Class 2A, Week 11, 2010
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

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

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 11 Parkers Chapel at No. 18 Walnut Ridge
Parkers Chapel (8-2A fifth seed), near El Dorado, travels 250 miles to Walnut Ridge in Northeast Arkansas. Can Parkers Chapel leave a season of turnovers behind in South Arkansas? Coach Mark King has called his turnover-prone Trojans "snake-bit." Parkers Chapel has lost three straight, to No. 4 Strong 36-20, No. 1 Bearden 41-6 and No. 7 Junction City 56-26. In those three losses, a minus-11 turnover margin gutted the Trojans. Last week, Parkers Chapel lost four fumbles and an interception against Junction City, but the Trojans managed 300 yards of offense as senior quarterback Zach Abbott (1,377 total yards this season) completed four passes for 121 yards. A month ago, Abbott ran for 175 yards and passed for 127 yards Week 6 in a 39-10 win over Woodlawn, but the Parkers Chapel defense allowed two Bears to rush for 100 yards. Parkers Chapel junior fullback Randy Taylor has rushed for 744 yards this fall, and sophomore Phillip Hayes has rushed for 700 yards in five games.

The 3-2A co-champ Walnut Ridge runs well out of a shotgun Flexbone with junior fullback Trevor Phillips (498 yards, six TDs), sophomore halfback Eric Wilcoxson (782 yards, eight TDs) and senior Preston Matthews (958 yards, nine TDs) working behind senior strongside guard Dallin Ginn (6-2, 230) and senior strongside tackle Alex Williams (5-9, 230). Sophomore QB Payton Poole has completed 90 of 140 attempts (61 percent) to six receivers for 1,173 yards and 10 TDs with six interceptions.

Walnut Ridge seeks its first playoff victory since 1997; Parkers Chapel goes after its first postseason win in five years of varsity football.

TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football airs at 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX 16, KFSM Channel 5.2, and Saturday afternoon on hootens.com, featuring Augusta at Magnet Cove, Hackett at Hazen and Union Christian at Carlisle.

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly picked 22 of 24 (92 percent) involving Class 2A teams. HAFR is 227-50 (82 percent) for the season.

WEEK 11 PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
TOP HALF OF THE BRACKET
Click to watch game highlights from 2A
MAGAZINE has a bye.
Murfreesboro at STRONG (12): Strong has won six straight after a 55-6 loss Week 4 at Bearden. Senior QB Kenneth Dixon makes the Bulldogs go. He ran on 15 of Strong's first 17 plays in a 36-20 win at Parkers Chapel, eventually rushing for 185 yards on 25 carries. Norphlet keyed on Dixon and he still ran for 108 yards. Dixon accounted for 207 of Strong's 270 yards in a 22-14 win over Junction City. Murfreesboro gave up 385 rushing yards two weeks ago in a 36-18 loss to Gurdon and 464 rushing yards last week in a 35-26 loss at Spring Hill.

Union Christian at CARLISLE (35): Carlisle's huge line cleared the way for 241 rushing yards (senior D.J. Miller 153 yards, four TDs) last week against rival and No. 12 Hazen. And the Bison defense held Hazen to just 115 yards. Hazen junior RB Matt Tenison had to earn every step of his 81 yards on 18 carries.
Conway Christian at E. POINSETT COUNTY (2): Conway Christian has dropped two straight, losing Week 9 at No. 8 Magnet Cove 42-8 and last week at No. 9 Bigelow 60-12. EPC quarterback Darius Barnes (1,035 rushing yards, 13 TDs, 12 ypc) has passed for 1,011 yards and 15 TDs with six interceptions. Senior Byron Ford has rushed for 937 yards and 11 TDs and caught 19 passes for 339 yards and four TDs. Junior A.J. Turner paces EPC with 126 tackles.

Clarendon at SPRING HILL (21): No. 2 Spring Hill has allowed 34, 40, 41 and 26 points the past four weeks in close victories. Senior RB Rodrea Jones (ankle) did not play last week in the 35-26 win over Murfreesboro, but the Bears still rolled up 464 rushing yards with junior Routon Hendrix running for 220 yards (14.7 ypc) and two TDs.
Hackett at HAZEN (15): No. 12 Hazen must quickly get over last week's emotional (32-0) loss at rival Carlisle because 4-2A Hackett comes to Prairie County riding a four-game winning streak. Hackett senior QB and scholar athlete Evan Ray (4.0 GPA) ran for a TD and passed for three more last week in a 41-21 win over Hartford. Hazen sophomore QB Devin Bonds endured the brunt of Carlisle's attacking defense last week with five rushing attempts for minus-41 yards. Hazen managed 59 yards on 32 rushing attempts at Carlisle.

GURDON (1) at McCrory: Gurdon looks hungry in November for the first time in three years. Gurdon has not won a playoff game since 2005. Two weeks ago, senior RB Keon Holiman and junior Juan Williams combined for 296 yards and five TDs in a 36-18 win at Murfreesboro. McCrory defended its 3-2A crown by starting six sophomores, including 1,000-yard rusher Logan Best. McCrory defeated run-first teams Augusta (16-12), Cross County (8-6) and Marked Tree (30-26) in 3-2A action.
Augusta at MAGNET COVE (30): Should be same song, second verse. Magnet Cove ripped Augusta 35-6 Week 5, holding Augusta senior TB Ishma Clark to 68 yards on 23 carries.

BOTTOM HALF OF THE BRACKET
Click to watch game highlights from 2A
BIGELOW has a bye.
Quitman at DES ARC (28): Des Arc, the 2008 state runner-up, has won three straight since losing to Carlisle 32-0 Week 7. Des Arc senior safety Cody Robinson (elbow) and senior end Josh Childers (knee) have returned from injuries. Childers came back last week and helped contain Clarendon QB Jamarlin Jackson. Robinson ran for 113 yards a week ago, while senior quarterback Justin Hollis ran for 184 yards and passed for 100 yards at Clarendon.

Cedar Ridge at BEARDEN (38): Cedar Ridge earns a playoff berth in its third year of varsity football. Top-ranked Bearden expects to play for a state title for the third time in four years. The Bears lead the state (all classes) in scoring defense (9.9 ppg).
Mountainburg at JUNCTION CITY (28): Two-time defending state champion Junction City starts its title defense against the fourth seed from the 4-2A. Mountainburg struggled to slow down No. 5 Danville and No. 3 Magazine, the most athletic teams in the 4-2A. Led by senior RB Rodney Larry (1,182 yards), Junction City averages 266 rushing yards and 33 ppg.

PARKERS CHAPEL (4) at Walnut Ridge: See Game of the Week.
MINERAL SPRINGS (14) at Mountain Pine: Mineral Springs sophomore RB Rashad Williams approaching 2,000 yards rushing, and he's not the only weapon in Coach Vince Perrin's stocked arsenal. Senior QB Jason Ware is one of the better dual-threat QBs in 2A football. Mineral Springs has an opportunity to make its deepest postseason run since reaching the quarterfinals in 2006 when it lost to eventual state champion Jessieville 28-21.

Norphlet at DANVILLE (10): The tradition-rich Little Johns quietly go 9-1 and reach the postseason for the 33rd time in school history. Norphlet (1-9 in 2009) returns to the postseason for the first time in four years. Norphlet employs an opportunistic defense and a potent passing attack with sophomore QB Michael Tipton passing to classmates Korey Purifoy and Vincent Hegler and senior Daniel Ellen.
England at HORATIO (6): Horatio junior QB Corey Moreland triggers a balanced offense that outscored Mineral Springs 35-26 and scored 40 points in a two-point loss to Spring Hill. Horatio (5-5) forfeited two games at midseason due to an ineligible player. Horatio has not won a playoff game since 1996 when it reached the state semifinals with wins over Rison, Shiloh Christian and Sparkman. England senior and leading rusher Mark Hatton injured a knee last week but still played. England has not won a playoff game since 1983 when it beat Vilonia 46-18.