8-Man Week 11 Rankings and Playoff Selections
RK.-PV. TEAM (Record; Week 10 result)
- ↑ 3. Corning (9-0; beat Cedar Ridge 46-12)
- ↓ 1. Magazine (9-0; beat Izard County 26-8)
- ↑ 6. Lafayette Co (9-1; beat Strong 54-18)
- ↑ 5. Izard County (8-2; lost to Magazine 26-8)
- ↓ 2. Cedar Ridge (8-1; lost to Corning 46-12)
- ↓ 4. Strong (5-2; lost to Lafayette Co 54-18)
- ↔ 7. SS Bee B (6-4; lost to Cave City 14-44)
- ↔ 8. Brinkley (5-3; Did Not Play)
- ↔ 9. Rose Bud (5-5; beat Guy-Perkins 54-6)
- ↑ NR. Hermitage (5-4; beat Woodlawn 48-42)
NOT RANKED
WEST: Guy-Perkins (1-8), JC Westside (2-8), Arkansas Christian (4-6)
EAST: Marvell (1-7), Midland (2-6), Rector (3-4)
SOUTH: Blevins (0-10), Dermott (1-9), Friendship Aspire (1-9), Woodlawn (4-5)
UNSANCTIONED: Cave City (7-3)
WEEK 11 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted in orange)
HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
East-2 CEDAR RIDGE (8-1) at South-2 Strong (5-2): The past 2 state champions will meet in the first round. Cedar Ridge is coming off a 46-12 loss to Corning. Senior Dawson Engles (120 total yards; TD) led his team; sophomore Jaden Butts (8-105 yards) led in receiving. Cedar Ridge Coach Scott Morgan says, “ Strong is a good team; they’re explosive, big up front, and have a winning tradition. We’re familiar with each other; we’ve played the past 2 years in the playoffs, so both teams know what to expect. Our big thing is mental right now. How will we mentally handle such a long trip, and how will we mentally handle coming off a physical beating last week? If our minds are right and we execute, we can compete with anyone. Our skill guys can match up against anyone, but we’re in that part of the season now where games and championships are won in the trenches.” Strong lost 3 fumbles on its first 3 drives in a 54-18 loss to Lafayette County last week. Senior Cole Fife had a 78-yard TD run. Strong will also miss its leading rusher, sophomore Antonio Hicks, who was ejected in the second quarter and will not play in this game due to AAA ejection rules. Strong Coach Jason Porter says it’s a good feeling to make the playoffs: “We’ve been in the playoffs every year, and we’ve made some deep runs every year. This year is a little different, starting off with Cedar Ridge, which is turning into a perennial power, but that’s kind of how it shook out this year, with us getting the second seed; we kind of had to wash that Lafayette game out of our brains after watching the film. We’ve moved on to Cedar Ridge. They are really talented, and they do a lot of things really well. We had a pretty uncharacteristic game against Lafayette County, but give them all the credit, they played very well.”
Cedar Ridge makes the nearly 4-hour trip, but with Strong’s defense looking vulnerable and its leading rusher out, Cedar Ridge has the momentum and gets the win.
TOP OF THE BRACKET
FIRST-ROUND BYE Magazine (9-0); Lafayette County (9-1)
East-4 Rector (3-4) at South-3 HERMITAGE (5-4): Hermitage beat Woodlawn 48-42 in overtime to not only secure a playoff spot, but a home playoff game. Rector did not play Friday because Marvell forfeited. Rector Coach Robert Dorman says his team is battling an injury bug. “We know Hermitage will be a tough game for us, but we are going to give it what we have,” Dorman says. Hermitage’s last playoff win came in 2007, and it gets another here.
West-No.4 ROSE BUD (5-5) at East-3 Brinkley (5-3): Rose Bud beat Guy-Perkins 54-6 last Friday to secure its first winning season. Sophomore Kade Wortham (120 total yards; 3 TDs) keeps leading his team. Brinkley, hosting its first playoff game since 2024, has been one of the more underrated teams this year. Brinkley has played Midland, which has an offense similar to Rose Bud, but Rose Bud has a better defense to go along with it. “We feel good where we ended up in the bracket,” Rose Bud Coach Garrett Haag says. “We are hoping Eli Jordan will be 100 percent on Friday. We will need all hands on deck to help contain Brinkley’s speed. They have some really good athletes, and they will be tough to stop on defense, but I think we have a solid game plan: Control the clock and limit possessions. Our guys are ready to compete and make some noise in the playoffs. It should be a fun atmosphere of playoff football.”
BOTTOM OF THE BRACKET
FIRST-ROUND BYE Corning (9-0); Izard County (8-2)
South-No.4 Woodlawn (4-5) at West-No.3 SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH (6-4): This is a rematch from Week 0 when Woodlawn won 66-62. Woodlawn lost to Hermitage 48-42 last week in overtime. Senior Ethan Saeler (20-296 rushing, 4TDs) leads his team despite a nagging arm injury. Woodlawn has had an up-and-down season under Coach Doug Means, who says: “Bee Branch is a good team and matches up well against us. We finally have most of our kids healthy and back. Seventeen out of 18 are good to go.” Bee Branch ended its regular season with a 44-14 loss to unsanctioned Cave City. Senior Cade Mahan (100 total yards; 2 TDs) keeps his senior campaign rolling as Bee Branch hosts its first playoff game in the first year of its brand-new stadium. Bee Branch wants revenge from earlier this season; Bee Branch gets the win.
East-2 CEDAR RIDGE (8-1) at South-No.2 Strong (5-2)
(See Hootens.com Game of the Week)