Class 4A Week 12 Rankings, Matchups and Selections

Class 4A Rankings

Week 12, 2025

1. ↔  1. Dardanelle (11-0; beat Malvern 56-14)
2. ↔ 2. Elkins (10-1; beat Forrest City 52-14)
3. ↑  4. Arkadelphia (10-1; beat Highland 44-6)
4. ↑ 5. Stuttgart (10-0; first-round bye)
5. ↑ 6. Gosnell (10-0; first-round bye)
6. ↑ 7. Hamburg (9-2; beat Mena 42-21)
7. ↑ 8. Warren (8-3; beat Gentry 42-23)
8. ↑ 9. Clinton (10-1; beat Fountain Lake 62-32)
9. ↑ 10. Southside (10-1; beat Huntsville 42-14)
10. ↑ 11. Bauxite (8-3; beat Ozark 28-26)
11. ↑ 12. Mills (10-1; beat Helena 40-38)
12. ↑  13. Gravette (9-2; beat CAC 64-14)
13. ↑ 16. Monticello (6-5; beat Lonoke 42-25)
14. ↑ 17. Prairie Grove (6-5; beat Heber Springs 34-14)
15. ↑ 18. Blytheville (7-3; beat Pottsville 42-27)
16. ↑  NR. Pocahontas (5-5; beat Nashville 32-13)
17. ↓ 15. Ozark (7-4; lost to Bauxite 28-26)
18. ↓  3.  Nashville (8-3; lost to Pocahontas 32-13)
19. ↓ 14. Lonoke (7-4; lost to Monticello 42-25)
20. ↓ NR. Helena (4-6; lost to Mills 40-38)

Not Ranked

1-4A: Berryville (5-5), Gentry (7-4), Green Forest (3-7), Huntsville (4-7), Lincoln (2-8)

2-4A: Bald Knob (3-7), CAC (4-7), Forrest City (5-6), Hall Steam (0-10), Heber Springs (5-6), Riverview (1-9)

3-4A: Highland (5-6), Jonesboro Westside (1-8), Trumann (2-7)

4-4A: Dover (0-10), Lamar (4-6), Mena (6-5), Pottsville (6-5), Waldron (1-9)

7-4A: Ashdown (1-9), Fountain Lake (6-5), Genoa Central (1-9), HG Haskell (4-6), Malvern (4-7)

8-4A: Crossett (2-8), DeWitt (4-6), Star City (0-10)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

3-4A (2) No. 9 Southside (10-1) at 1-4A (1) No. 2 ELKINS (10-1) 

These schools, who’ve combined for 20 wins this season, meet for the first time. Southside (3-4A runner-up) has lost once, to undefeated Gosnell by 13 points. Southside hammered Huntsville 42-14 last week, with senior RB/LB Braden Simpson running for 2 touchdowns and making 14 tackles. Senior Owen McLaughlin ran 12 times for 125 yards and 1 TD, and QB Trey Allen accounted for 3 TDs (2 passing, 1 rushing).

 Elkins’ only loss this season came at No. 1 Dardanelle by 4 points in Week 1. The Elks have won 9 consecutive games by an average of 42 points. Connor Hamm ran 8 times for 98 yards and 2 TDs, and senior QB Ben Napier threw 2 TD passes in last week’s 52-14 win over Forrest City.

“Elkins is very balanced on offense,” Southside Coach Kenny Simpson says.

Josh Hamm, Connor’s brother, recorded 2 tackles, returned an interception 76 yards for a TD, and a punt 44 yards for another TD. Senior linebacker Brooks Williams (8 tackles) and Cason Roten (3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) led the defense.  

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 13 of 14 games (93 percent) and, for the season, has picked 265 of 308 games (86 percent).

WEEK 12 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS and highlighted)

TOP OF THE BRACKET

3-4A (3) Blytheville (7-3) at 8-4A (1) STUTTGART (10-0): Blytheville won a playoff game for the fifth time, beating Pottsville 42-27. Senior Courtney Rogers ran 7 times for 216 yards and 3 TDs, and senior receiver Johmir Guyton caught 3 passes for 151 yards and 3 TDs. Junior QB Chad Bell passed for 165 yards and threw the 3 TDs to Guyton. Junior free safety Trevon Orr (16 tackles), junior end Trevon Lewis (11 tackles) and junior LB Xzavion Liddell (10 tackles, 1 forced fumble) led the defense. Stuttgart earned a first-round bye after securing the league title with a 52-41 win at Hamburg. Junior QB Cain Price passed for 287 yards and threw TD passes to Jeremiah Jackson and QT Johnson. Knox Hillman made 10 tackles, and disruptive DE Beau Barnes recorded 1 sack, 1 INT. and broke up 1 pass.

 7-4A (3) BAUXITE (8-3) at 2-4A (1) Mills (10-1): These teams have never played, and advanced to this matchup by winning 2-point games (Bauxite beat Ozark 28-26, Mills beat Helena 40-38). Bauxite freshman QB Wyatt Foreman passed for 77 yards and threw a TD on the Miners’ second play. He ran 26 times for 210 yards and 2 TDs, and picked up a first down on the final drive to seal the victory. Senior Cole Witherington caught the TD pass, and Caden Metzger ran for 93 yards and 1 TD. Aden Daniel (16 tackles, forced fumble) and Lane Hartwick (13 tackles) led on defense. Mills sophomore QB Elijah Moody ran 3 yards for the winning TD with no time left last week, lifting the Comets to a 40-38 decision over Helena. The Comets threw an incomplete pass one play earlier as time expired but received a final play after a defensive penalty was called. Mills’ Zamarion McDonald and Moody each ran for 2 TDs; Aaron Frierson returned an interception 43 yards for another TD.

3-4A (2) Southside (10-1) at 1-4A (1) ELKINS (10-1): Hootens.com Class 4A Game of the Week, above.

4-4A (2) Clinton (10-1) at 7-4A (2) ARKADELPHIA (10-1): Arkadelphia has beaten Clinton in the playoffs twice in the past four seasons (56-26 in the 2021 first round and 49-21 in the 2022 first round). Arkadelphia gave up 224 yards and 6 points in last week’s 38-point victory over Highland. Clinton’s only loss to date was to No. 1-ranked Dardanelle 26-24 in Week 6. The Yellow Jackets have scored at least 41 points in the 5 games since, including last week’s 62-32 win over Fountain Lake. Senior QB Brodie Dufrene (6-6 passing, 136 yards, TD; 35-yard rushing TD) orchestrated an offense that received strong efforts from seniors Rylan Jones (16-169 rushing, 2 TDs) and Zach Hunt-Gonzalez (96 rushing, 4 TDs). Hunt-Gonzalez (8.5 tackles) and senior Briar Gadberry (5.5 tackles) were stalwarts on defense.

BOTTOM OF THE BRACKET

8-4A (3) Warren (8-3) at 3-4A (1) GOSNELL (10-0): The teams have played once before, with Warren taking down then-No. 1 Gosnell 43-28 in the 2002 quarterfinal. Warren jumped on Gentry early last week (led 42-7 at halftime) en route to a 42-23 decision. Senior RB Aaron Davis and senior WR Bleyze Fellows both scored TDs, and junior QB Jackson Denton played one of his better games. Coach Bo Hembree credits his defense with improving weekly. “Gosnell is very talented, we will have to play perfect,” the coach says. Undefeated Gosnell swept through the 3-4A this fall, beating Highland by 6 points in Week 5 and Southside by 13 points in Week 8. The biggest obstacle for Gosnell is its been off 2 of the past 3 weeks, and beat 1-win Jonesboro Westside 60-7 in Week 10.

3-4A (5) Pocahontas (5-5) at 1-4A (3) PRAIRIE GROVE (6-5): Pocahontas recorded one of last week’s biggest surprises, taking down 7-4A champion Nashville 32-13. Junior QB Spencer James (228 passing yards, 2 TDs; 2 rushing TDs), junior Xavyer Ballard (rushing TD), WR/DB Mason Priest (3-138 receiving, 2 TDs; 7 tackles) and WR/DB Brendyn Arnold (6-48 receiving; 7 tackles) were major contributors. LB Ryder Baltz (10 tackles), Ryder Starr (2 INTs), Austin George (5 tackles) and freshman sensation LB Memphis Bazzell (6 tackles, fumble recovery) led on defense. Bazzell’s fumble recovery occurred on a play when he took the ball as the QB handed it off. Prairie Grove senior RB Elijah Sugg (30-252 rushing, 3 TDs) and classmate Blake Coughran (101 rushing yards, TD) led the Tigers in a 34-14 win at Heber Springs. TE/LB Corbin Stearman played well, as did senior 3-year OT Conner Reed, who returned from an injury.

8-4A (2) Hamburg (9-2) at 4-4A (1) DARDANELLE (11-0): Dardanelle beat Hamburg 28-14 in the second round (2014) and 45-7 in the second round (2015). Last week, the top-ranked Sand Lizards stuffed Malvern 56-14 behind senior QB Creed Vega (345 passing yards, 3 TDs; 77 rushing). Vega got plenty of support from Rod Chaten (9-217 receiving, TD), senior WR Bo Miller (2-63, TD) and sophomore RB Jayvon Chaten (88 rushing, TD). Breydin Hardy (12 tackles) and Kam Olson (11 tackles, 2 pass break-ups), Vega (8 tackles) and Chaten (5 tackles, 1 interception return for a TD) played key roles on defense. Hamburg hammered Mena 42-21 last week, led on offense by senior Ni’kel Lewis (164 rushing, 3 TDs), junior QB Kaeden Thomas (229 passing, 3 TDs) and Jade Canley (4-90 receiving, 2 TDs). Defensively, LB Kyle Carpenter recorded 9 stops, while Canley intercepted 1 pass.

8-4A (4) Monticello (6-5) at 1-4A (2) GRAVETTE (9-2): Monticello was the only No. 4 seed to win in Class 4A last week, taking down Lonoke 42-25. Senior RB Joseph Acccelus ran 29 times for 219 yards and 2 TDs;  QB Hudson Harvey (7-9 passing, 170 yards, 2 TDs) and WR Jaxon Rawls (5-120 receiving, 2 TDs) also enjoyed a big game. Ed Ramos led Monticello’s defense with 14 tackles, including 1 sack, and Jon Luke Brotherton made 7 tackles. Gravette scored a school-record 64 points in last week’s 50-point victory over CAC. The Lions scored 50 first-half points with TDs on 6 of 7 possessions. RB Joseph Beem ran for 126 yards (123 in the first half) and 3 TDs; QB Cameron Bedwell ran for 2 TDs. Bedwell also returned an interception 44 yards for a TD.