Hootens.com Rankings
Class 2A, Week 11, 2011
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

1. Magazine (10-0)
2. Danville (8-2)
3. Junction City (7-1)
4. Bearden (8-1)
5. Carlisle (10-0)
6. E. Poinsett County (8-0)
7. Magnet Cove (9-1)
8. Hazen (8-1-1)
9. McCrory (7-3)
10. Mountainburg (8-2)
11. Salem (8-2)
12. Gurdon (8-2)
13. Mineral Springs (9-1)
14. Bigelow (7-2-1)
15. Spring Hill (8-2)
16. Hackett (7-3)
17. Strong (5-3)
18. Norphlet (4-5)
19. Parkers Chapel (4-5)
20. England (5-5)
21. Mount Ida (6-4)
22. Quitman (7-3)
23. Conway Christian (6-4)
24. Walnut Ridge (5-4)
25. Des Arc (5-5)
26. Dierks (5-5)
27. Clarendon (4-6)
28. Hampton (4-5)
29. Horatio (4-3)
30. Cross County (3-5)
31. Marked Tree (4-6)
32. Murfreesboro (4-6)
33. Union Christian (4-5)
34. J.C. Westside (4-6)
35. Poyen (3-7)
36. Woodlawn (1-8)
37. Mountain Pine (2-8)
38. Cedar Ridge (1-8)
39. Augusta (1-7-1)
40. Two Rivers (2-8)
41. Palestine-Wheatley (1-8)
42. Western Yell County (2-8)
43. Foreman (0-10)
44. Hector (1-8)
45. Decatur (1-9)
46. Marvell (0-10)
47. Hartford (0-9)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 21 Mount Ida at No. 14 Bigelow
Red-hot Mount Ida had its best defensive performance of the season last week in a 12-7 win over Gurdon, holding the Go Devils under 250 yards. Senior tackle Swayze Brown, tackle Drew Reynolds and end Trevor Scurlock spearhead the Mount Ida defense. Junior RB Josh Hall has rushed for 1,720 yards and needs just 40 yards this week to break the school's single-season rushing record set by Josh Baker in 2007. After two difficult seasons, this year's seniors have developed into leaders and the Lions are playing their best (hard-hitting) football in three years. Mount Ida is two plays away from an undefeated conference season: Mineral Springs completed a TD pass late on fourth-and-goal from the Mount Ida 38-yard line to win 26-20, and Spring Hill scored with a minute to go to clip Mount Ida 27-26.

Bigelow's explosive backfield of Marcus Davie and Terrell Dunlap combined for 393 yards last week when the Panthers rolled up 657 yards in a 63-31 victory over Conway Christian. Bigelow's boasts its best defense in years in senior LBs Marcus Davie and Brett Story and senior ends Luke Starks and Garrett Gregg.

TV SHOW
Hooten's Arkansas Football airs 7:30 p.m. Thursdays on KARZ (Z42 in Little Rock), Suddenlink Cable 22 in Northeast Arkansas and On Demand in Northwest Arkansas (Cox Ch. 644).

LAST WEEK
Hootens.com correctly picked 21 of 23 (91 percent) games involving Class 2A teams, nailing the 12-point spread on McCrory at Carlisle. Hootens.com is 213-45 (83 percent) for the season.

WEEK 11 PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
TOP HALF OF BRACKET
No. 5 Carlisle has a first-round bye.
Clarendon at DANVILLE (27): Danville senior RB Sean Tyra went off last week at J.C. Westside, rushing for 112 yards and three TDs and catching three passes for 150 yards and two scores. Clarendon senior QB Jamarlin Jackson turned in a similar performance (four TDs) in a 46-44 upset of Des Arc.
Cross County at GURDON (14): Gurdon lost its regular-season finale at Mount Ida 12-7 and dropped out of the Top 10 to No. 12. Mount Ida limited Gurdon sophomore QB Austin Kirkpatrick to 50 rushing yards and 76 passing yards on six of 11 attempts. Cross County struggled with the better teams in the 3-2A, losing to No. 6 EPC 48-0, No. 9 McCrory 36-0 and No. 11 Salem 53-6.
NORPHLET (6) at Spring Hill: Norphlet battled through the rugged 8-2A with 15 players, knocking off talented Parkers Chapel Week 5 to claim the fourth playoff seed. Norphlet managed 190 yards last week at No. 4 Bearden. Spring Hill senior RBs Kevin Aaron and Hendrix Routon run behind a veteran line anchored by senior guard and honor student James Crow (6-2, 250).
Dierks at EPC (38): East Poinsett County did not play last week and has played just seven games this fall. EPC allows just 205 yards and 10 points per game and averages 392 yards and 52 ppg.
Quitman at DES ARC (1): Both finished the regular season with a defensive collapse. Des Arc gave up 46 points in a two-point loss to Clarendon, while Quitman gave up 50 points to Mountainburg.
Hackett at BEARDEN (22): Bearden averages 36.2 ppg and allows 7.2 ppg, second fewest points allowed in the entire state. Bearden all-state QB/S Defonta Lowe (severe ankle sprain) has not played in two weeks, but the Bears did not miss him last week in a 39-12 win over Norphlet. Hackett averages 42.5 ppg this fall with senior RB Dylan Yazel amassing 2,594 all-purpose yards and 29 TDs with NO fumbles.
Mount Ida at BIGELOW (9): See 2A game of the week.

BOTTOM HALF OF BRACKET
Junction City has a first-round bye.
Poyen at MINERAL SPRINGS (28): The AAA investigated accusations Friday that Mineral Springs played an ineligible (backup and special teams) player all season and ruled Monday that player will miss this week's game. Mineral Springs moves past Poyen this week to the second round at Junction City.
Hampton at MAGAZINE (35): Magazine has won 24 games in a row. Senior Cory Chambers, taking over at QB for injured twin Ryan Chambers (broken leg), has completed 33 of 65 passes for 551 yards and rushed for 700 yards (9.4 ypc) and eight TDs. Cory needs just 9 yards to surpass Ryan's rushing total for this season.
England at SALEM (7): No. 11 Salem could not play with No. 6 EPC (49-7 loss) or No. 9 McCrory (26-0), rushing for just 170 yards last week in that loss to McCrory. The Greyhounds should find more yards this week against No. 20 England, which gave up more than 300 yards Week 9 to Hazen. Salem sophomore QB Dillon Turner has passed for 1,150 yards and 17 TDs this fall with four interceptions. Sophomore J.J. Gray has rushed for 1,153 yards. England senior RB Quinton Woods has rushed for 1,333 yards and 18 TDs.
Union Christian at MAGNET COVE (31): No. 7 Magnet Cove has not lost since Parkers Chapel outscored the Panthers 33-29 Week 4. Magnet Cove senior RB Jeff Pinkston has rushed for 1,869 yards and a gaudy 32 TDs.
STRONG (4) at Mountainburg: Can No. 10 Mountainburg join Bearden, Junction City and Parkers Chapel, three athletic defenses, in holding Strong's Kenneth Dixon in check? The Mountainburg defense is sound and did not give up the big play Week 9 to top-ranked Magazine, making the Rattlers drive for TDs. Dixon surpassed 5,000 career rushing yards last week by ripping off 187 yards on nine carries against Woodlawn.
Conway Christian at MCCRORY (21): McCrory junior RB Logan Best ran wild last week at Salem, racking up 285 yards and four TDs. A huge and athletic line has cleared the way for Best to rush for 2,109 yards and 21 TDs this season.
Walnut Ridge at HAZEN (12): No. 8 Hazen plays host to No. 24 Walnut Ridge in the first round after losing the regular-season finale to rival Carlisle by four points. A year ago, Hazen lost to Hackett in the first round by two touchdowns. These Hornets appear more focused and hungry than in years past, led by senior RB/LB Matt Tenison (team-high 132 tackles, 1,412 rushing yards).