Class 2A Week 0 Rankings and Predicitions
Hootens.com
Class 2A Rankings
Week 0, 2026
1. Junction City
2. Mount Ida
3. Des Arc
4. Magnet Cove
5. Carlisle
6. Bigelow
7. Earle
8. Baptist Prep
9. Poyen
10. Bearden
11. Murfreesboro
12. Gurdon
13. Marked Tree
14. Hector
15. Hackett
16. McCrory
17. Dierks
18. Hampton
19. Hazen
20. Mountainburg
UNRANKED
1-2A: Mountain Pine.
2-2A: Clarendon, Cross County, East Poinsett County, Marianna.
3-2A: Foreman, Mineral Springs, Spring Hill
4-2A: England, LR Episcopal.
HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 2 MOUNT IDA at No. 10 Bearden
Mount Ida, led by QB Jackson White, son of Coach Mike White, made a run to the 2A semifinals a year ago, going 11-2.
The Lions did not play a scrimmage game this year.
“I’d like to get in shape with low numbers,” Coach White says. “With us being relatively young and having to replace several 2-way starters, we have to come out and play aggressive and disciplined defense. If we miss assignments, Bearden has the athletes to make big plays. We have to limit those. We also have to maintain our offense, sustain drives, and protect the football. We’ve got to control the game with long, sustained drives and keep the ball away from their athletes.”
Bearden scrimmaged OC Harmony Grove last week and won 14-8. Matthew Chambers scored 2 TDs on offense; Chambers also caused and recovered a fumble. Landon Faucett intercepted a pass.
“We will have to be more intentional up front on both sides of the ball,” Bearden Coach Brandon Austin says. “Mount Ida is the measuring stick in 2A. Competing with a high-caliber team in Week 0 lets you see where you are.”
LAST YEAR
Hootens.com correctly predicted 159 of 193 games (82 percent)
Week 0 Predictions (Favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted in orange)
1-2A
NO. 2 MOUNT IDA at No. 10 Bearden: See Hootens.com Game of the Week
No. 12 Gurdon at No. 4 MAGNET COVE: Gurdon lost a scrimmage game 20-0 to 3A Smackover. Sophomore LB Isaac Moreno played well, Coach Kyle Jackson says. Jonah Jester ran for 75 yards and passed for another 75. “We played well and moved the ball. We just turned it over twice that they turned into points,” Jackson says. Magnet Cove won 7 games in 3A last year. Nehemiah Norwood and Blaze Crutchfield scored TDs against Spring Hill last week. Coach Dean Adams says Hayden Jones, Parker Scott, Brent Hardwick and Aiden McKinney played well on defense.
No. 17 Dierks at NO. 15 HACKETT: Dierks played 3A Centerpoint in a scrimmage with Maclane Smith, Jason Bailey and Maxton Greene all scoring TDs. QB Jacoby Faulkner threw a TD pass to Johnny Kirby. “Our focus is playing physical, disciplined football. Our guys are ready to get this season kicked off, and we’re ready to see this group experience the rewards of their hard work,” Dierks Coach Lantz Castleman says. Hackett, which was in 3A a year ago, played Lincoln last week. Tomas Ruiz and Landyn Gibbons each scored rushing TDs while Remington Hodges returned an INT for a score. “We were pretty pleased with our first group,” Coach Mason Wann says. “I thought Hagen Moses ran the offense very well and made a lot of plays. Defensively, we controlled up front well.”
CLASS 3A YELLVILLE-SUMMITT at No. 14 Hector: Hector played Atkins in a scrimmage last week. “We competed really well and just ran out of gas,” Hector Coach Tyler Gilliland says. Dawson scored 2 TDs on long runs. “I’m feeling good about it,” Gililland says of the opener. “They are better than last year. They throw it really well, and we are going to have to have a great week in the back end defensively. I was pleased with our physicality in the scrimmage, but we can always improve there.”
NO. 6 BIGELOW at Class 3A Conway Christian: Bigelow played Baptist Prep and Des Arc in last week’s scrimmage. Isaac Howell carried the ball effectively for the Panthers while Angel Alvarado had an INT against Baptist Prep. “Conway Christian is a well-coached football team that is fundamentally sound, and they are disciplined,” Coach Luke Starks says.
No. 20 Mountainburg at CLASS 3A WEST FORK: Mountainburg did not play in a scrimmage this year. “We’re ready to get going … if this heat will break,” Coach Zach Dean says. “West Fork is a little unknown to us. We haven’t played them since I’ve been here, which is 12 years. But we’re definitely ready to strap it up and get going.” The Dragons will be led by senior RB Hayden McGill, who rushed for 224 yards and 3 TDs a year ago.
NO. 9 POYEN at Mountain Pine: The Poyen Indians, under first-year head coach Keith Barrett, beat Jessieville 28-24 in last week’s scrimmage. Walker Smith scored 2 TDs while Mason Shuff and Layton Russell each scored once. “I think it will be a challenging game,” Barrett says. “Coach Alderman is doing a great job over there, and playing at Mountain Pine is never easy. I think it will be a good test for us, especially being the first game and on the road. I think it will tell us more about who we are this year.” Mountain Pine participated in a scrimmage hosted by Cossatot River, playing 12-minute quarters against Foreman, Two Rivers and Cossatot River. “Caleb Beach did a great job running the ball with his eyes and displaying great vision,” Coach Joseph Alderman says. “Linemen Gaige Parker and Peyton Cardenas did a great job with their execution. QB Isaac Canada did a great job managing and controlling the offense.” Alderman says Ezekiel Stone, Cardenas, Mitchell Rice, Peyton Linn and Maximus Alderman all played well on defense. “Poyen is going to be tough,” he says. “They have a great coach, and they always show up prepared. We need to focus on ourselves. We need to be physical, aggressive and fire off at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”
2-2A
CLASS 3A HARRISBURG at Cross County: Cross County beat 4A Blytheville 16-8 in a scrimmage last week. The Thunderbirds passed for 61 yards and rushed for 123 yards. Ayden Kraft and Kolby Walker each scored TDs. Kobe Huckabee recovered a fumble while Corbyn Kraft intercepted a pass. “We played physical and played well together,” Cross County Coach Ty Mimbs says. “We have to fine-tune some tackling and reads.”
Class 3A Palestine-Wheatley at NO. 3 DES ARC: Des Arc scrimmaged Bigelow and Baptist Prep last week with CJ Willhite and Hudson Goodman scoring TDs. Des Arc Coach Nick Smith says Palestine-Wheatley is a quality team. “They’ve got some really good skill guys. For us to have success, we’ve got to come up and tackle. They’ve got good line play.”
CLASS 3A NO. 10 NEWPORT at No. 13 Marked Tree: Marked Tree looks to rebound this season after beating Melbourne 30-22 in a scrimmage last week. “Newport will be a challenge for us,” Coach Waylon Dunn says. “We’ve not fared well against them the last few years. They are big and strong up front with speed everywhere. They are probably one of the best teams we see this year, so we will have to play well to compete with them.”
CLASS 3A NO. 9 WALNUT RIDGE at EAST POINSETT COUNTY: EPC scrimmaged Harrisburg last week. Jeb Holiman threw 2 TD passes — 1 to Quincy Perry and 1 to AJ Johnson. Zachary Patterson also scored a rushing TD. Ashton Reel returned a fumble for a TD. “We have to keep working on our run game and start executing better,” new EPC Coach Justin Lovell says.
Clarendon at LR EPISCOPAL: Clarendon scrimmaged 3A Lake Village last week. The Lions did not score but Coach Trakis Donaldson says his defense played well, led by Robert Harris, Kyrein Stewart and Darrazian Perkins. William Wise rushed for 44 yards on 4 carries. “Both of us are Spread teams,” Donaldson says. “I’ve seen on film that they are a good team. They are athletic. We’re also athletic. I think it’s going to be a good game.” Donaldson says. Episcopal played Cutter-Morning Star in a scrimmage last week with Nick Grady catching a 61-yard TD pass from JC Cooper. Riley Fields scored TDs on runs of 52 and 12 yards.
Marianna at CLASS 4A BALD KNOB: Marianna scrimmaged Class 5A Paragould last week. QB Julin Wilson passed for 132 yards and a TD, Willie Barnes caught 4 passes for 115 yards and a TD. Kobe Washington and Keishun Williams had 5 tackles each.
OPEN Earle, McCrory
3-2A
Class 3A OC Harmony Grove at NO. 1 JUNCTION CITY: QB Jermaine Kennedy showed promise in Junction City’s scrimmage with Fordyce and Hampton last week: “We had some poor snaps and busts offensively that he turned into positives or protected the possession,” Junction City Coach Devin Ball says. Harmony Grove has beaten Junction City 2 of the past 3 seasons. “If we play sloppily as we did at times last night, we’ll be in for a long night.”
Mineral Springs at CLASS 3A JESSIEVILLE: Mineral Springs beat Texarkana’s JV 28-0 in a scrimmage. Jamerian Staten had 2 rushing TDs; Cortney Thomas had 1. Keiandrian Nunnery caught a TD pass from Braxton Keaster.
No. 12 Gurdon at No. 4 MAGNET COVE: See notes in 1-2A.
Class 3A Centerpoint at No. 11 MURFREESBORO: Murfreesboro Coach Jay Turley says his team showed flashes of good play during its scrimmage with 3A Prescott. “We started slow and got tired pretty fast but caught our second wind in the second quarter and put together a couple of drives and stopped them a couple of times,” Turley says. The Rattlers are led by RB Kooper Caldwell, who rushed for more than 2,400 yards and 33 TDs a year ago.
Dierks at HACKETT: Dierks played 3A Centerpoint in a scrimmage with Maclane Smith, Jason Bailey and Maxton Greene all scoring TDs. QB Jacoby Faulkner threw a TD pass to Johnny Kirby. “Our focus is playing physical, disciplined football. Our guys are ready to get this season kicked off, and we’re ready to see this group experience the rewards of their hard work,” Dierks Coach Lantz Castleman says. Hackett, which was 3A a year ago, scrimmaged Lincoln last week. Tomas Ruiz and Landyn Gibbons each scored rushing TDs while Remington Hodges returned an interception for a score. “We were pretty pleased with our first group,” Coach Mason Wann said. “I thought Hagen Moses ran the offense very well and made a lot of plays. Defensively, we controlled up front well.”
Foreman at NO. 8 BAPTIST PREP: Foreman had success in its scrimmage with Cossatot River last week as Hayden Easter passed for 2 TDs and rushed for 87 yards. Vicktron Moore scored 2 TDs. Briley Shoals rushed for 128 yards and 3 TDs. The defense had 4 takeaways. Baptist Prep also had some success in their scrimmage with Des Arc and Bigelow. QB Titus Benson passed for 204 yards and a TD, which went to Brock Mashburn. Boaz Benson had 5 tackles, several receptions and a rushing TD. “We play one of the most improved teams from 2025,” Baptist Prep Coach Riley Perkins says. “They had a lot of success last year and beat playoff teams. They have a new coach, but he has a big-time track record from Arkadelphia. We’re excited for the opportunity to compete.”
Class 3A Genoa Central at Spring Hill: Spring Hill, which made a run to the playoffs last year, scrimmaged Magnet Cove. “Scrimmages are tough to judge because you don’t get many snaps in the condensed version and it was even worse in the bad heat, where we shortened even more and took water breaks,” Spring Hill Coach Greg Smith says. “If we get healthy, which we are not right now, we can be back in the playoff hunt again this year. The Bears will be led by RB Levi Askew, who rushed for more than 900 yards a year ago.
4-2A
Class 3A Lake Village at CARLISLE: The Carlisle Bison lost its scrimmage 28-0 last week to 4A DeWitt. New Bisons Coach BJ Harrison says TJ Jones and Caydn Mask stood out for the Bisons, who are eager to play a well-coached Lake Village team.
POYEN at Mountain Pine. See notes in 1-2A.
Foreman at NO. 8 BAPTIST PREP. See notes in 3-2A.
NO. 2 MOUNT IDA at No. 10 Bearden: See Hootens.com Game of the Week
NO. 19 HAZEN at Class 3A Marshall: Hazen scrimmaged with Quitman and Cedarville last week, with TDs by Morgan Berg, Jamel Paris and Jordan Kelly. New Hazen Coach Clay Totty says he doesn’t know what to expect against Marshall. “It’s an interesting dynamic because they played 8-man last year,” Totty says. “They haven’t played any team camps. They have not done a scrimmage. So I have zero film on them. It’s a different type situation. It kind of makes you a little nervous on what to prepare for. It may be a blessing because there are plenty of things we need to improve upon. It helps keep the focus on us.”
Class 3A Parker’s Chapel at NO. 18 HAMPTON: Hampton, which won the conference title a year ago, scrimmaged with Junction City and Fordyce last week. “Landon Johnston was physical up front all night and was disruptive as a defensive lineman,” Hampton Coach Nick Palese says. “Dallas Jimmerson played RB and OLB. He loves contact and made a few nice plays on the ball. The next 3 weeks of nonconference play aren’t about who’s on the other sideline. We have to focus on us and the things we can do snap to snap to be the best versions of ourselves.”
Clarendon at LR EPISCOPAL: Clarendon scrimmaged 3A Lake Village last week. The Lions did not score but Coach Trakis Donaldson says his defense played well, led by Robert Harris, Kyrein Stewart and Darrazian Perkins. William Wise rushed for 44 yards on 4 carries. “Both of us are Spread teams. I’ve seen on film that they are a good team. They are athletic. We’re also athletic. I think it’s going to be a good game,” Donaldson says. Episcopal scrimmaged Cutter-Morning Star last week with Nick Grady catching a 61-yard TD pass from JC Cooper. Riley Fields scored TDs on runs of 52 and 12 yards.
OPEN England