Class 2A Week 4 Rankings and Selections

RK —  PV. TEAM (RECORD, WEEK 3 RESULTS)

1. ↔  1. Mount Ida (4-0; beat Gurdon 37-30) 
2.   ↑   4. Baptist Prep (3-0; beat 3A Cossatot River 57-6)
3.   ↔ 3. Bigelow (2-2; lost to 3A Atkins 48-14)
4.   ↑   5. Hazen (3-0; beat McCrory 48-0)
5.   ↑   6. Poyen (3-0; was idle)
6.   ↑  10. Gurdon (2-2; lost to Mount Ida 37-30)
7. ↔  7. Earle (2-1; beat 3A McGehee 30-20)
8.   ↑ 12. Dierks (3-1; lost to 4A Central Arkansas Christian 33-32)
9.   ↓   8. Hector (3-1; lost to 3A Paris 27-26)
10.   ↓ 9. Bearden (2-1; beat 3A Parker’s Chapel 50-20)
11.   ↓  2. Junction City (1-3; lost to 3A Rison 56-38)
12. ↔  12. Des Arc (1-2; was idle)
13. ↔ 13. Carlisle (1-2; was idle)
14. ↔ 14. Magnet Cove (1-2; was idle)
15. ↔  15. Marked Tree (2-1; was idle)
16. ↔  16. England (2-0; was idle)
17. ↔  17. East Poinsett County (2-1; was idle)
18. ↔  18. Mountainburg (1-3; lost to 3A Lavaca 47-7) 
19. ↔  19. Murfreesboro (0-3; was idle)
20. ↔  20. McCrory (0-3; lost to Hazen 48-0)

NOT RANKED

1-2A: Mountain Pine (0-3), Hackett (1-3)

2-2A: Clarendon (2-1), Cross County (2-1), Marianna (1-2)

3-2A: Foreman (1-2), Mineral Springs (1-3), Spring Hill (1-3)

4-2A: LR Episcopal (1-2), Hampton (0-3)

Hootens.com Game of the Week 

No. 4 Hazen (3-0) at No. 2 BAPTIST PREP (3-0):

The surprising Hazen Hornets, under new head coach and future Hall of Famer Clay Totty, are 3-0 for the first time since 2022, when Hazen won the 2A state title. They are coming off a 48-0 dismantling of McCrory; Noah Adkins rushed for 151 yards and 2 TDs, Dalton Jones scored 2 TDs and QB Morgan Berg threw a TD and ran for another. Mandrell Humbert led the Hornets with 9 tackles. Jones and Donnie Hudson interceptedMcCrory passes, which could be key against Baptist Prep and its potent air attack.  “They are very good and very talented,” Totty says of the Eagles. “They’ve got a huge roster. Those are some things that jump out to you. They throw the ball quite a bit. They can do it because of all the depth that they have. It’s going to be a little bit of a different challenge than what we’ve seen. “We’re going to have to play real well. I think they are ranked real high in every poll in the state, for a reason. It will be a good challenge for us.” Baptist Prep beat 3A Cossatot River 57-6 last Friday. QB Titus Benson threw for 4 TDs and ran for 2 more. He finished with 275 yards in less than 2 quarters. Boaz Benson caught 2 TD passes while Aaron Fielder had 1. Baptist Prep Coach Riley Perkins says his team needs a good week of practice to have a chance. To overcome what Hazen does on both sides of the football,” Perkins says. “They are very well coached and cause a lot of problems for their opponents. “Coach Totty runs his offense well as he has for years. If we don’t respond physically, we could be in for a long night. “We are excited for the challenge to kick off conference play against one of the best teams in the entire state,” Perkins said. If Hazen can control the clock with its running attack and keep the ball out of Benson’s hands, the Hornets will have a chance to get a leg up in the 4-2A. If Benson has another career night, it could be a long game for the Hornets.

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 9 of 15 games involving Class 2A teams. (60 percent) and has correctly predicted 57 of 82 games (70 percent). 

1-2A

No. 3 Bigelow (2-2) at No. 1 MOUNT IDA (4-0): Bigelow is coming off a 48-14 loss to 3A Atkins. JaCour Dunlap returned a kickoff for a TD. Bowen Peoples scored an offensive TD. Mount Ida QB Chris Dorrell rushed for 180 yards and 3 TDs and threw a TD pass in the Lions’ 37-30 win over Gurdon. Kaceston Phimvongsa rushed for 114 yards on 20 carries. Coach Mike White says the O-Line of Eli McCullough, Eli Porter, Jacob Clark, Buck Miller and Jake Gaston played well against Gurdon. This game could come down to a final possession. 

No. 18 Mountainburg (1-3) at No. 14 MAGNET COVE (1-2): Mountainburg QB Easton Overbey threw a TD pass to Levi Crow in a 47-7 loss to 3A Lavaca. Daniel Soule led the Dragons with 12 tackles. Magnet Cove was idle last week following a 38-14 loss to Poyen.

No. 9 HECTOR (3-1) at Mountain Pine (0-3): Hector lost 27-26 to 3A Paris last week. Hudson McAlister and Cayden Manrique each scored TDs in the loss. Mountain Pine was idle last week after losing to Spring Hill 50-18 2 weeks ago The Red Devils have scored 32 points in 3 games while giving up an average of 49 per game. 

OPEN Hackett

2-2A

Cross County (2-1) at No. 15 MARKED TREE (2-1): Cross County beat 4A Star City 42-24 behind the running game of Ayden Kraft, Koby Walker, and Caden Finley, who each rushed for more than 100 yards. Kraft and Finley each scored 2 TDs. Finley also led the defense with 11 tackles. Marked Tree was idle last week after beating LR Episcopal 44-6 2 weeks ago. PJ Powell ran for 3 TDs and passed for 2 more in the win. 

No. 12 DES ARC (1-2) at Clarendon (2-1): Both teams were idle last week. Des Arc held on for a 32-24 win over Carlisle 2 weeks ago. Jamie Collins rushed for 121 yards and 2 TDs; Clarendon beat Riverview 40-14 in its last game. QB Kylen James passed for 307 yards and 4 TDs. Rod Stewart caught 9 passes for 270 yards and 3 TDs. 

Marianna (1-2) at No. 7 EARLE (2-1): Marianna beat 4A Piggott 32-6 two weeks ago. William Barnes rushed for 107 yards and a TD in the win. QB Julian Wilson completed 8 of 12 passes for 221 yards and 4 TDs. Earle had an impressive 30-20 win over 3A McGehee last week. 

No. 17 EAST POINSETT COUNTY (2-1) at No. 20 McCrory (0-3):  EPC was idle last week after beating 3A Cutter-Morning Star 36-28. Kavon James led the Warriors with 153 yards rushing and 2 TDs on 20 carries. QB Jeb Holiman passed for 213 yards. Hunter Thrasher led EPC with 9 tackles. McCrory could not get anything going in a 48-0 loss to Hazen last week. 

3-2A

Foreman (1-2) at No. 11 JUNCTION CITY (1-3): Foreman was idle last week after beating 3A Horatio 58-14. QB Briley Shoals passed for 154 yards and 3 TDs and ran for another. Hayden Hardaway returned a fumble 80 yards for a TD. Junction City lost its third consecutive game, falling to 3A Rison 58-38 last week. Nemo Caldwell rushed for 128 yards and 3 TDs in the loss. Jeremaine Kennedy and Jaden Mosley had 9 tackles each. 

Spring Hill (1-3) at MINERAL SPRINGS (1-3): Spring Hill fell to 3A Centerpoint 28-20 last week as Tim Landes passed for 91 yards and rushed for 77 yards and 2 TDs in the loss. Mineral Springs lost to Queen City, Texas, last week. Jamerian Staten rushed for 255 yards and 3 TDs and passed for 96 yards in the loss. 

No. 19 Murfreesboro (1-3) at No. 6 GURDON (2-2): Murfreesboro did not play after a 16-14 loss to Genoa Central 2 weeks ago. QB Kooper Caldwell passed for 118 yards and a TD in the loss. He also rushed for a TD. Aden Stinson caught the TD pass. Gurdon gave Mount Ida fits in a 37-30 loss. “I’m proud of our kids for the way they competed,” Coach Kyle Jackson says. “It was two good teams battling it out, and Mount Ida made 1 more play than us.” Eric Hughes rushed for 93 yards and 2 TDs. 

OPEN Dierks

4-2A 

No. 13 CARLISLE (1-2) at LR Episcopal (1-2)l Carlisle did not play last week after losing to Des Arc 32-24. In that game, the Bison lost senior QB Baylor Hauk to an ACL injury. Michael Spingola rushed for 139 yards and 2 TDs against Des Arc. Jimmy Cham kicked a 43-yard field goal.