Class 2A Week 5 Rankings and Selections

RK — PR. TEAM (RECORD; WEEK 4 RESULTS)

1. ↔  1. Mount Ida (5-0; beat Bigelow 25-20) 
2. ↔  2. Baptist Prep (4-0; beat Hazen 40-14)
3. ↔  3. Bigelow (2-3; lost Mount Ida 25-20)
4.   ↑   7. Earle (3-1; beat Marianna 44-0)
5.   ↑   6. Gurdon (3-2; beat Murfreesboro 28-12)
6.   ↑   8. Dierks (3-1; did not play)
7.   ↑  11. Junction City (2-3; beat Foreman 32-12)
8.   ↑   9. Hector (4-1; beat Mountain Pine 52-40)
9.   ↑  10. Bearden (3-1; beat Poyen 42-28)
10.   ↓   5. Poyen (3-1; lost to Bearden 42-28)
11.   ↓   4  Hazen (3-1; lost to Baptist Prep 40-14)
12. ↔ 12. Des Arc (2-2; beat Clarendon 42-6)
13. ↑  15. Marked Tree (3-1; beat Cross County 46-24)
14. ↔ 13. Carlisle (2-2; beat LR Episcopal 22-15)
15. ↓  14. Magnet Cove (2-2; beat Mountainburg 51-33)
16. ↔ 16. England (3-0; beat Hampton 43-6)
17. ↔ 17. East Poinsett County (3-1; beat McCrory 54-8)
18. ↔ 18. Mountainburg (1-4; lost to Magnet Cove 51-33) 
19. ↔ 19. Murfreesboro (0-4; lost to Gurdon 28-12)
20. ↑  NR: Mineral Springs (2-3; beat Spring Hill 42-24)

NOT RANKED

1-2A: Mountain Pine (0-4), Hackett (1-3)

2-2A: Clarendon (2-2), Cross County (2-2), Marianna (1-3)

3-2A: Foreman (1-3), Mineral Springs (2-3), Spring Hill (1-4)

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

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

Marked Tree (3-1, 1-0) at DES ARC (2-2, 1-0): This game could have a lasting impact on the conference title race and playoff seedings. Marked Tree, which missed the playoffs last year, beat defending state champion Cross County handily last week. PJ Powell completed 7 of 8 passes for 181 yards and 2 TDs. He also rushed for 81 yards and a TD. Deangelo Risper had 105 yards and 2 TDs on 7 carries. Damarion White caught 4 passes for 160 yards and 2 TDs and recovered a fumble for a TD.  “I just hope we can compete with them,” Marked Tree Coach Waylon Dunn said of Des Arc. “They are well coached. They have an experienced quarterback that does a great job running the offense, and defensively, they are well disciplined. So, we are going to have to play disciplined ourselves on defense and execute on offense and not let them control the clock.” The Eagles aim to control the clock with their potent running game, as evidenced by their performance against Clarendon. Des Arc rushed for 433 yards and had 3 backs rush for more than 100 yards: CJ Willhite (6-200-3 rushing); Luke McIntosh (10-104-2 rushing); and Jamie Collins (17-100-1 rushing). “Coach [Waylon] Dunn does a really good job with them,” Des Arc Coach Nick Smith says of Marked Tree. “They have a ton of team speed. They have a really good quarterback. They have some good playmakers. Up front, they do a good job with their line.” If Des Arc can control the clock with its running game and play keepaway from Marked Tree’s explosive playmakers, the Eagles will be tough to beat.

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 12 of 13 games (92 percent)  involving Class 2A teams and 69 of 95 games (73 percent) for the season.

1-2A

No. 1 MOUNT IDA (5-0, 1-0) at Mountainburg (1-4, 0-1): Mount Ida’s Chris Dorrell had 209 total yards and 2 TDs in the Lions’ win over Bigelow, and Kaceston Phimvongosa had 115 yards and 2 TDs. Mountainburg QB Easton Overbey passed for 336 yards and 5 TDs in a loss to Magnet Cove; Adam Longley caught a TD pass and led the defense with 11 tackles. 

No. 15 MAGNET COVE  (2-2, 1-0) at Hackett (1-3, 0-0): Magnet Cove opened conference play with an 18-point win over Mountainburg, with Nehemiah Norwood rushing for 311 yards and 4 TDs. Truett Scott, Riley Petty and Hendrix Mavity had 5 tackles each. Hackett did not play last week, but 2 weeks ago Hagen Moses threw 3 TD passes and caught 1 in a 48-20 win over 3A Two Rivers. Remington Hodges scored a defensive TD; Rodney Stiles had 4 tackles for loss and 6 pancake blocks. 

Mountain Pine (0-4, 0-1) at No. 3 BIGELOW (2-3, 0-1): Mountain Pine gave Hector all it wanted in a 52-40 loss.  QB Michael Rice (235 passing, 3 TDs; 10-125 rushing, TD). Bigelow gave No. 1 Mount Ida all it wanted in a 5-point loss. Guy Starks led the Panthers with 19 tackles; Nathan Brackett had 17. JaCour Dunlap caught 5 passes for 176 yards and 2 TDs. This could be a bounce-back win for the Panthers. 

OPEN No. 8 Hector (4-1, 1-0)

2-2A 

Cross County (2-2, 0-1) at No. 17 EAST POINSETT COUNTY (3-1, 1-0): Defending state champion Cross County could not keep up with Marked Tree last Friday. Kolby Walker, Caden Finley and Ayden Craft each rushed for more than 100 yards. EPC routed McCrory behind Kavon James, who rushed for 138 yards and a TD. Jeb Holiman passed for 130 yards. This is a rematch of last year’s state-title game. EPC should take this one.

No. 13 Marked Tree (3-1, 1-0) at No. 12 DES ARC (2-2, 1-0): See Hootens.com Game of the Week.

No. 4 EARLE (3-1, 1-0) at McCrory (0-4, 0-1): Earle continued its roll by shutting out Marianna last week. Darrion Maples (168 rushing, 3 TDs), QB Aiden Davis (178 passing; 104 rushing, 2 TDs) and Dontae Bell (5-yard INT. TD return) led Earle. McCrory has struggled all year, including a loss to EPC. Cayden Ayers ran for a TD while Briceton Cornelious led the Jaguars in tackles. 

CLARENDON (2-2, 0-1) at Marianna (1-3, 0-1): Clarendon’s Rod Stewart scored a TD, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and had 10 tackles in a loss to Des Arc.; William Wise (5-70 receiving; 10 tackles) contributed. Marianna could not get anything going in a 44-0 loss to Earle.  

3-2A 

No. 7 JUNCTION CITY (2-3, 1-0) at No. 20 Mineral Springs (2-3, 1-0): The Dragons broke a skid with a 32-12 win over Foreman. Jermaine Kennedy passed for 170 yards and 2 TDs; Nemo Caldwell ran for 2 TDs; and Kam Murphy had 3 INTs. Mineral Springs QB Jamerian Staten rushed for 180 yards and a TD while passing for 59 yards in the Hornets’ win over Spring Hill. Carter Steward scored 3 TDs. 

Foreman (1-3, 0-1) at MURFREESBORO (0-4, 0-1): Foreman played Junction City tough in a 20-point loss. Murfreesboro QB Kooper Caldwell passed for 240 yards and 2 TDs in a loss to Gurdon. 

No. 6 DIERKS (3-1, 0-0) at Spring Hill (1-4, 0-1): Dierks was off after taking 4A CAC to the brink 2 weeks ago. Maclane Smith and Drake Thatcher each rushed for more than 110 yards and scored 2 TDs. Spring Hill’s Levi Askey rushed for 203 yards in the Bears’ loss to Mineral Springs. Wyatt Penny had 6.5 tackles and Lucas Smith had an INT. 

OPEN Gurdon (3-2, 1-0)

4-2A 

No. 14 Carlisle (2-2, 1-0) at No. 11 HAZEN (3-1, 0-1): One of Arkansas’ most tradition-rich rivalries resumes this Friday. The Bison, playing without injured QB Baylor Hauk, went back to their roots — running the ball — in a win over Episcopal. Michael Springola and Remington Gisclair each rushed for more than 110 yards. Zayden Hale scored 2 TDs. The Hornets were overwhelmed in a loss to Baptist Prep. Noah Adkins led the Hornets in rushing. He also returned a blocked punt for a TD. 

No. 10 POYEN (3-1, 0-1) at LR Episcopal (1-3, 0-1): Poyen’s Mason Camp passed for over 200 yards and 3 TDs in a loss to Bearden. Mason Shuff caught 2 TD passes. “We gave up too many big plays,” Poyen Coach Keith Barrett says. Episcopal gave Carlisle fits in a 7-point loss to the Bison. The Wildcats lost their best player, Jasir Lockridge, early in the game. Kristian Grosvold passed for 151 yards and 2 TDs. 

No. 2 BAPTIST PREP (4-0, 1-0) at No. 16 England (3-0, 1-0): Baptist Prep proved its start was no fluke by routing Hazen last week. QB Titus Benton passed for 230 yards and 2 TDs and rushed for 3 more. Boaz Benson scored 2 TDs and had 10 tackles on defense. Brodie Babcock recovered 2 Hazen fumbles. England QB Dallys Woods passed for 230 yards and 3 TDs and ran for another in the Lions’ rout of Hampton. Ryan King had 6 tackles, including 4 TFL and 1 sack. He also scored a rushing TD. 

No. 9 BEARDEN (3-1, 1-0) at Hampton (0-4, 0-1): Bearden’s Kyson Hartley rushed for 141 yards and 3 TDs in the Bears’ win over Poyen; Tarion Vaughn returned an interception for a 62-yard TD; and Michael Lovelace scored twice. Hampton QB Krypton Rowland threw a TD pass to Aeneas Braison in a loss to England.