Class 2A Week 11 Rankings, Playoff Matchups and Selections

Class 2A Rankings

Week 11, 2025

RK-PV Team (Record; Week 10 Result)

1. ↔ 1. East Poinsett County (9-1; beat Marked Tree 42-12)
2. ↔ 2. Junction City (9-1; beat Spring Hill 53-0)
3. ↔ 3. Mount Ida (9-1; beat Mountain Pine 42-8)
4. ↔ 4. Carlisle (9-1; beat Hazen 35-0)
5. ↔ 5. Cross County (8-2; beat Earle 60-38)
6. ↔ 6. Hampton (9-1; beat Baptist Prep 48-34)
7. ↔ 7. Hector (9-1; beat Magazine 50-22)
8.  ↑  9. Poyen (6-4; beat Clarendon 28-8)
9.  ↑ 10. Des Arc (6-4; beat McCrory 30-16)
10. ↑ 11.  Bearden (6-4; beat England 50-14)
11. ↑ NR.Bigelow (4-6; beat Conway Christian 34-16)
12. ↑ 13. Conway Christian (5-5, lost to Bigelow 34-16)
13. ↑ 15. McCrory (6-4; lost to Des Arc 30-16)
14. ↑ 17. Gurdon (6-4; beat Dierks 49-12)
15. ↑ 16. Spring Hill (5-5; lost to Junction City 53-0) 
16. ↑ 20. Mineral Springs (4-6; beat Murfreesboro 30-6)
17. ↑ 18. Murfreesboro (5-5; lost to Mineral Springs 30-6)
18. ↑ 19. Foreman (4-6; lost to Lafayette County 26-12)
19. ↓  8. Earle (5-5; lost to Cross County 60-38)
20. ↓ 14. Magazine (6-4; lost to Hector 50-22)

NOT RANKED:

1-2A: Mountain Pine (1-9), Johnson County Westside (0-9), Bigelow (4-6), Mountainburg (5-5)

2-2A: Izard County (1-9), Marked Tree (1-9) and Marianna (1-8)

3-2A: Lafayette County (2-8), Dierks (4-6)

4-2A: Baptist Prep (3-7), Hazen (3-7), England (3-7) and Clarendon (0-10)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

4-2A (3) POYEN (6-4) at 3-2A (2) Gurdon (6-4)

This might be the most competitive game of the matchups between 2 and 3 seeds. Poyen has won 3 in a row, including a 50-14 victory over then first-place Bearden on Halloween. Last week, Poyen beat Clarendon 28-8. QB Colt Barrett passed for 123 yards and 2 TDs. He also scored a rushing TD. RB Austin Harness rushed for 178 yards and a TD on 30 carries. 

Poyen Coach Vick Barrett says he knows this will be a tough matchup for his team. 

“We have to stop the run,” Barrett says. “We have to score and be efficient on offense.”

The Go-Devils finished second in the 3-2A behind Junction City. They finished 5-2 in conference play but lost to nonplayoff team Foreman 52-20 on Halloween. 

Gurdon beat Dierks 49-12 last week, with Uriah Gatlin rushing for 164 yards and 3 TDs on 19 carries. Demonta Smallwood scored 2 TDs and Jamauriae Moss scored 1. 

“Poyen is a sound team that doesn’t make many mistakes,” Gurdon Coach Kyle Jackson says. The QB is obviously one of the best we have seen this year and the best one we have seen in a long time. Defensively, there’s 8 or 9 guys around each tackle.”

Poyen might have the edge with UAM commit Colt Barrett at QB. That could be the difference in this game for Poyen on the road. 

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 13 of 16 games (81 percent) involving Class 2A teams and has correctly predicted 148 of 176 games (77 percent) for the season.

TOP HALF OF BRACKET

3-2A (4) Mineral Springs (4-6) at 4-2A (1) HAMPTON (9-1): Mineral Springs won its final 3 games to make the playoffs, including a 30-6 win over Murfreesboro last week. Keithen Dixon (127 rushing yards, TD; 159 passing yards, 2 TDs) led the offense. “Hampton is a very talented ball club, and they’re 9-1 for a reason,” Mineral Springs Coach Jarrod Jackson said. “Our guys have been playing some really good football lately.” Hampton, which went 3-7 a year ago, turned it around under first-year coach Nick Palese, ending the regular season by beating Baptist Prep 48-24. Deondre Smith (3 rushing TDs), Aden Williams (160 rushing, 2 TDs) and QB DJ Clarke (300 yards of total offense) sparked the offense.

2-2A (3) Des Arc (6-4) at 1-2A (2)HECTOR (9-1): Des Arc received a 3 seed after acquiring forfeit wins over Earle and Marked Tree, knocking those teams out of the playoffs. The Eagles beat McCrory 30-16 last week as Jamie Collins rushed for 113 yards and a TD and Hudson Goodman scored 2 TDs. Des Arc Coach Nick Smith says he knows Hector will be a tough test. “Their RB just surpassed 2,000 yards, and they have a quality QB. He’s crafty and throws the ball well. They attack where your weaknesses are. They fly to the football.” Hector QB Drew Newport passed for 266 yards and 3 TDs in a win over Magazine. Lucas Baker rushed for 257 yards and 4 TDs, giving him 2,205 on the season. “Des Arc is a good team. … They are disciplined and hard to stop on offense,” Coach Trevor Cooper says. “We are going to have to play our best defense of the year to stop them.”

4-2A (4) Bearden (6-4) at 3-2A (1) JUNCTION CITY (9-1): Bearden ended a 2-game skid by routing England last week as Landon Faucett threw for 225 yards and 4 TDs. Marky Jimmerson scored 3 TDs. Kamari Nettles had 236 yards receiving and 2 TDs with an interception on defense. “It was good performance to get back on track,” Bearden Coach Brandon Austin says. “We’ll need to carry that into this week.” Dakorey Larry rushed for 3 TDs and 103 yards in a rout of Spring Hill. “This is great opportunity to rekindle our rivalry with Bearden,” Coach Devin Ball says. “We expect this to be a hard-fought game with history proving it’s going to be a battle.”

1-2A (3) Bigelow (4-6) at 2-2A (2) CROSS COUNTY (8-2): Bigelow clinched the third seed with a 34-16 win over Conway Christian. Easton Platt caught 6 passes for 82 yards and 2 TDs. Wrangler Manes ran for a TD and caught another. Guy Starks led the defense with 13 tackles. Bradley Griffis had 7 tackles and 2 sacks. “Cross County is huge up front,” Bigelow Coach Luke Starks says. “We’re going to need to win on first down and play with leverage.” Cross County finished the regular season with a 60-38 win over Earle. Caden Crawford (16-208 rushing, 4 TDs) and Ayden Kraft (11-147 rushing, 2 TDs) led the offense. “We’re excited to be playing in November,” Cross County Coach Van Paschal says.

BOTTOM HALF OF BRACKET

1-2A (4) Conway Christian (5-5) at 2-2A (1) EAST POINSETT COUNTY (9-1): This is a rematch of last year’s state title game, won by Conway Christian. The Eagles fell to fourth in the conference with a loss to Bigelow. QB Zander Stone passed for 132 yards and a TD. He also scored a rushing TD. Conway Christian Coach Justin Kramer says EPC Coach Brandon Powell has built a consistent winner. “Which is very difficult in 2A,” Kramer says. “We made great progress this year, and I’m extremely proud of our guys. We will give them our absolute best shot and see what happens.” EPC is coming off a rout of Marked Tree in which Jacob Gaines and Dee Buchanan each scored 2 TDs. “This will be the third year in a row that we have met in the postseason,” Powell says. “So both teams are pretty familiar with each other, almost like a conference game. Coach Kramer and his staff do a great job over there. I know they will have a good game plan, and he will have his kids prepared to play.”

4-2A (3) POYEN (6-4) at 3-2A (2) Gurdon (7-3): See Hootens.com Game of the Week, above.

2-2A (4) McCrory (6-4) at 1-2A (1) MOUNT IDA (9-1): McCrory picked up forfeit victories from Earle and Marked Tree last week, putting the Jaguars into the playoffs. McCrory played Des Arc tough in a 30-16 loss last week in the regular-season finale. Jackson Leonard and Keaton Massanelli each scored TDs. McCrory Coach Cade Campbell says Coach Mike White’s Mount Ida team will be fundamentally sound. “We know his guys will execute their offense effectively. We will have to find a way to get some stops and hopefully have a chance to win a road playoff game.” Mount Ida enters off a 42-8 win over Mountain Pine. Kaceston Phimvongsa rushed for 119 yards and a TD on 7 carries. Jackson White had 8 tackles and a fumble recovery on defense. White says the Jaguars are good at running the double wing. “They keep pad level low and come right at you,” he says. “We will have to play very physical on both sides of the ball to win.”

3-2A (3) Spring Hill (5-5) at 4-2A (2) CARLISLE (9-1): Spring Hill, which played for the 8-man state title in 2023, returns to the 11-man playoffs after finishing third in the 3-2A. The Bears were held to 83 yards in a 53-0 loss to Junction City last week. Spring Hill Coach Greg Smith says Carlisle’s size and ability to throw the ball will provide a challenge. “We need to establish our ground game and grind out first downs, eat clock, take care of the ball and be good in the red zone,” Smith says. Carlisle enters off a 35-0 win over Hazen with QB Baylor Hauk throwing 5 TD passes. Coach Gary Wilson says Spring Hill will challenge Carlisle with multiple formations. “We’ve got to make sure we get aligned right,” he says. “Offensively, we’ve got to continue to make it a point to start faster because we look good when things get rolling. But, for whatever reason, it’s a slow start most weeks.”