Hootens.com Rankings
Class 2A, Week 1, 2009
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

1. Junction City
2. Bearden
3. Strong
4. Mineral Springs
5. Cross County
6. Hazen
7. Smackover
8. Bigelow
9. Woodlawn
10. McCrory
11. Des Arc
12. Mountain Pine
13. Carlisle
14. Spring Hill
15. Murfreesboro
16. Danville
17. Mount Ida
18. E. Poinsett County
19. Magazine
20. Horatio
21. Dierks
22. Union Christian
23. Two Rivers
24. Marked Tree
25. Walnut Ridge
26. Conway Christian
27. Augusta
28. J.C. Westside
29. Hampton
30. Hackett
31. Norphlet
32. Salem
33. Hermitage
34. Hughes
35. Rector
36. Palestine-Wheatley
37. Cutter M. Star
38. Cedar Ridge
39. Clarendon
40. Foreman
41. Marvell
42. Quitman
43. Western Yell
44. Lutheran
45. Dermott

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 2 Bearden vs. Camden Harmony Grove
This matchup caps Night 3 of Simmons First Kickoff Week on Sept. 3 at Henderson State University at Arkadelphia. Bearden advanced to the Class 2A semifinals last year after a state runner-up finish in 2007. Bearden boasts two of the better defensive linemen in the state in seniors Chris Jenkins (6-1, 248) and Davidell Collins (6-6, 245). Harmony Grove, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, counters with a huge line, and senior speedster Bryceson Thomas (5-10, 180) has moved back to the Grove after playing at Liberty (Texas) Eylau. Bearden beat Harmony Grove 34-13 a year ago.

HOOTENS TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football will not air Week 1 due to CBS's coverage of the U.S. Open. The show debuts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 on KFSM in Fort Smith/Fayetteville and Today's THV 11 in Little Rock. It will air 11 a.m. Saturdays the remainder of the season.

LAST YEAR
Hootens.com correctly picked 231 of 272 (85 percent) games involving Class 2A teams in 2008.

3-2A
Cross County at HARRISBURG (7): Harrisburg QB Zach Davis completed 20 of 33 passes for 236 yards and three TDs in last year's 22-17 comeback win at Cross County.
Hughes at MCCRORY (21): With EPC in disarray and Marked Tree rebuilding, McCrory should battle Cross County for the 3-2A title. Former University of Memphis receiver and new Hughes head coach Russell Jones could get the Blue Devils going again ... in time.
CORNING (15) at E. Poinsett County: Corning's Kenneth Moore travels to Lepanto for his first game as a head coach and leaves with his first victory. Numbers were dangerously low two weeks ago at EPC before a coaching change. EPC all-league RB Dustin Beatty has dropped out of school.
RIVERVIEW (12) at Marked Tree: Riverview's three-point win against the Indians last year proved not to be a fluke. The Class 3A Raiders won four more to earn a playoff berth. Coach Tim Branum left Marked Tree in the spring for Class 5A Paragould.
CAVE CITY (6) at Walnut Ridge: Class 3A No. 19 Cave City looks to return the favor after Walnut Ridge slipped out of Cave City last year with a 47-36 win.
Manila at RECTOR (4): Manila RB John Wilbanks ran 63 yards for a TD against Rector in last year's 13-6 win.
JONESBORO WESTSIDE (3) at Salem: The Warriors have beaten Salem the past three years by a combined 12 points.
Augusta at HAZEN (19): High expectations for No. 6 Hazen. A Week 1 slipup against Augusta would be damaging.

4-2A
MOUNTAINBURG (18) at Hackett: Mountainburg is a darkhorse in the 1-3A and will compete for a playoff berth. The Dragons hammered Hackett 40-0 in 2008.
J.C. Westside at LAMAR (28): Coach Jay Holland's expectations for Lamar rise in 2009 after losing by seven to eventual state champion Charleston in the 2008 semifinals. The same difficult non-conference schedule did not hurt Westside last year when the Rebels claimed their first outright league title.
SUBIACO ACADEMY (12) at Magazine: League favorite Magazine could get the attention of fans outside the 4-2A with an upset of 3A Subiaco. That's not likely. Subiaco won this matchup 40-0 last year.
CUTTER M. STAR (7) at Western Yell: A precious win for Cutter, which likely moves up to Class 3A next year.
Booneville JV at UNION CHRISTIAN (9): UC successfully starts its purge of a disappointing 2008 season.  

5-2A
Benton Harmony Grove at TWO RIVERS (28): Coach Josh Harrison era opens at Two Rivers with a win over newcomer Harmony Grove, coached by 77-year-old Jimmy "Red" Parker.
Bigelow at PERRYVILLE (10): The Mustangs galloped to an eight-win season and a share of the 4-3A title last season, which started with a 20-point win at Bigelow.
CUTTER M STAR (15) at Western Yell: A precious win for Cutter, which likely moves up to 3A next year.
Danville at DARDANELLE (4):  Dardanelle has won three straight in series by combined 54 points, but Sand Lizards are green at the skilled positions.
JESSIEVILLE (2) at Mountain Pine: Jessieville won just two games a year ago, their worst output since going 1-9 in 1987, including an eight-point loss to Mountain Pine.
Conway Christian at EARLE (17): New head coach Jeff Spaletta would love to start his tenure at Earle with a repeat of last year's 42-0 win over Conway Christian.
ROSE BUD (8) at Quitman: Rose Bud's only win last year: 25-16 over Quitman.
ARKANSAS BAPTIST (35) at Lutheran: Baptist won seven games and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2004 after winning just five games from 2005-2007.

6-2A
England at CARLISLE (5): New head coach Brandon Barbaree unveils his Double Wing offense for England.
BRINKLEY (16) at Clarendon: Brinkley welcomes former Hot Spring Lakeside player and new Clarendon head coach Hugh Lumpkin to Monroe County.
Marvell at LAKE VILLAGE (21): Marvell won a playoff game last winter for the first time since capturing a state title in 1985.  
Augusta at HAZEN (19): High expectations for No. 6 Hazen. A Week 1 slipup against Augusta would be damaging.
Hughes at MCCRORY (21): With EPC in disarray and Marked Tree rebuilding, McCrory should battle Cross County for the 3-2A title. Former University of Memphis receiver and new Hughes head coach Russell Jones could get the Blue Devils going again ... in time.
Palestine-Wheatley at CEDAR RIDGE (2): Cedar Ridge gets its first victory in varsity football.
DES ARC is open.

7-2A
Norphlet at MINERAL SPRINGS (16): Mineral Springs coach Gary Segrest has retired (for now), and RB Rodrae Jones now runs for Spring Hill, but all-league RB Shawn Richardson and a senior line return for Hornets.
Mount Ida at MAGNET COVE (12): The Panthers won their first five games in 2008, including a five-point victory at Mount Ida to start the season. A senior-laden offensive line clears a path back to the playoffs in a salty 5-3A.
Gurdon at MURFREESBORO (6): After a two-win season in 2008, Gurdon starts 0-1. A minus-14 turnover margin killed Murfreesboro in 2008.
DIERKS (11) at Fouke: Fouke bounced back from a 28-point loss to the Outlaws a year ago and finished the season with  five wins and a playoff berth.
LAFAYETTE COUNTY (2) at Spring Hill: Stamps native Jason Clark takes over at Lafayette County and must teach the Cougars how to compete on the road with just three home games this season. Spring Hill expected to play for a 7-2A playoff berth even before 1,000-yard rusher Rodrae Jones moved back from Mineral Springs. LC won this matchup 20-14 last year.
CENTERPOINT (7) at Horatio: Centerpoint continues to build a program that has won nine games over the past two seasons after averaging just two wins per year from 2004-2006. Expectations at an all-time high at 7-2A Horatio after its junior high team captured a league title in 2008.
HAMPTON (3) at Foreman: Both teams rebuilding under new coaches. Hampton whipped Foreman 42-8 last year.

8-2A
Fountain Lake vs. JUNCTION CITY (1): The Cobras encounter a tough schedule in 2009, starting with Junction City during Simmns First Kickoff Week. The Fountain Lake goes to Hot Springs Lakeside, and faces conference road games at Bauxite, Glen Rose and Arkansas Baptist. Junction City will start three two-way linemen, and a lack of depth may drag on the Dragons in the fourth quarter.
BEARDEN (2) at Harmony Grove: A stable of running backs and a 1,200-pound offensive line have Harmony Grove buzzing about 2009, but Bearden boasts two of the better defensive linemen in the state in seniors Chris Jenkins (6-1, 248) and Davidell Collins (6-6, 245).
Parkers Chapel at STRONG (16): Parkers Chapel QB Jacob Midyett accounted for 141 yards of offense and returned a kickoff 93 yards for a TD against Strong a year ago.
BARTON (2) at Woodlawn: Barton returns 13 starters from an eight-win team and enough team speed to give Woodlawn problems.
Episcopal at SMACKOVER (15): The Buckaroos blanked Episcopal last year in Little Rock.
HAMPTON (3) at Foreman: Both teams rebuilding under new coaches. Hampton whipped Foreman 42-8 last year.
Norphlet at MINERAL SPRINGS (16): Mineral Springs coach Gary Segrest has retired (for now), and RB Rodrae Jones now runs for Spring Hill, but all-league RB Shawn Richardson and a senior line return for Hornets.
PRESCOTT (22) at Hermitage: The Curley Wolves return three starters on offense and four on defense from a squad that earned the 7-3A title and lost to state runner-up Fountain Lake by one point in the quarterfinals.
Dermott at DREW CENTRAL (7): These teams did not play last year because Hurricane Ike remnants left Dermott's field under four inches of water, and Drew Central did not have a field. Dermott hopes to dress out 14 players for the 2009 opener. Drew Central should dress more than 30 players.

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