Class 2A Week 5 Rankings and Selections

Class 2A Rankings

Week 5, 2025

RK-PV Team (Record; Week 4 Result)

1. ↔ 1. East Poinsett County (3-1; beat Izard County 58-20)
2. ↔  2. Junction City (3-1; beat Foreman 43-6)
3. ↔  3. Mount Ida (3-1; beat JC Westside 50-6)
4. ↔  4. Carlisle (4-0; beat Baptist Prep 27-6)
5.   ↑  6. Cross County (3-1; beat McCrory 42-0)
6.   ↑  7. Poyen (2-2; beat England 34-20)
7.   ↑  8. Bearden (2-2; beat Hazen 34-25)
8.   ↑  10. Dierks (3-1; beat Lafayette County 47-15)
9.   ↑  11. Hector (4-0; beat Mountain Pine 51-20)
10.   ↑  15. Earle (3-1; beat Des Arc 26-24)
11.  ↓   5. Des Arc (2-2; lost to Earle 26-24)
12.  ↔ 12. Marked Tree (3-1; received forfeit from Marianna)
13.  ↔ 13. Hampton (4-0; beat Clarendon 38-18)
14.  ↑   17. Bigelow (1-3; beat Magazine 49-24)
15.  ↓   14. Magazine (3-1;lost to Bigelow 49-24)
16. ↔  16. Lafayette County (1-3; lost to Dierks 47-15)
17. ↑    20. Conway Christian (2-2; beat Mountainburg 27-20)
18. ↔  8. McCrory (2-2; lost to Cross County 42-0)
19. ↔  19. Foreman (2-2; lost to Junction City 43-6)
20.   ↑  NR. Gurdon (2-2; beat Murfreesboro 48-22)

Not ranked: 

1-2A: Mountainburg (2-2), Mountain Pine (0-4), Mineral Springs (0-4), Johnson County Westside (0-3)

2-2A: Izard County (1-3),  Marianna (0-3)

3-2A: Spring Hill (2-2), Murfreesboro (2-2), Gurdon (2-2) 

4-2A: Baptist Prep (1-3), Hazen (1-3), England (1-3). Clarendon (0-4)

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 13 of 16 games (82 percent) involving Class 2A teams. Hootens.com has correctly predicted 71 of 96 games (74 percent) for the season.

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 10 EARLE at No. 12 Marked Tree

The winner of this game will have a good shot of hosting a first-round playoff game.

Earle is coming off a 26-24 win over Des Arc. QB Ta’Ron Hurst passed for 280 yards; Dontay Bell and Keonta Harris each caught TD passes, and Darion Maples and Zavion Maples each scored rushing TDs. Xavier Jarrett (10 tackles, 4 TFL) led the defense. 

Earle Coach AC Coleman says he knows Marked Tree will be tough.  “They’ve had our number the past couple of years,” he says. “They’re well coached and have some great players, and that’s why they’ve been successful. But, for us, it always comes back to the basics: blocking, tackling and staying focused. We’re taking it day by day and week by week because in the 2-2A, you have to approach it game by game.”

Marked Tree has not played since beating Gurdon 22-0 on Sept. 12. The Indians were idle the following week then received a forfeit win from Marianna, which had too many players suspended for an altercation at Barton on Sept. 12. 

“They [Earle] are really good, and having that much time off is not good, in my opinion,” Marked Tree Coach Waylon Dun says. “You need to play to get better, so we will see. But with all that time off, you can’t replicate their speed.”

1-2A

No. 17 Conway Christian (2-2, 1-0) at No. 3 MOUNT IDA (3-1, 1-0): Conway Christian broke a 2-game skid by beating Mountainburg in the 1-2A opener. QB Xander Stone passed for 118 yards and 2 TDs. Mount Ida’s Cain McCullough had 3 rushing TDs while Jackson White passed for 141 yards and a TD. Andy Black had 4 tackles and an INT as the Lions beat JC Westside. 

No. 14 Bigelow (1-3, 1-0) at No. 9 HECTOR (4-0, 1-0): Bigelow beat Magazine for its first win. QB Cal Adams (243 passing yards, 6 TDs; 63 rushing yards); Arthur Newberry and Jacob Harris each had 9 tackles. Hector is off to its best start since going 7-0 in 2016. QB Drew Newport passed for 253 yards and 4 TDs in a win over Mountain Pine. Lucas Baker rushed for 172 yards and 3 TDs. 

No. 15 MAGAZINE (3-1, 0-1) at Mountainburg (2-2, 0-1): Magazine RB Chakong Yan rushed for 75 yards and a TD as the Rattlers fell to Bigelow. Mountainburg pushed Conway Christian before falling by 7. QB Ryan Allen (181 passing, 2 TDs; 69 rushing, TD) and Hayden McGill (33 total yards; 12 tackles) led Mountainberg.

JC WESTSIDE (0-4, 0-1) at Mt. Pine (0-4, 0-1): The winner of this game will have its first win of the season. Westside enters off a 50-6 loss to Mount Ida. QB Payton Williams threw a TD pass to Zane Smith, who led the defense in tackles with 8. 

2-2A 

No. 1 EAST POINSETT COUNTY (3-1, 1-0) at No. 18 McCrory (2-2, 0-1): EPC pulled away from Izard County in the 2-2A opener, led by Dee Buchanan (4-111 rushing, 3 TDs) and Eli Blagg (107 passing, 3 TDs). McCrory dropped its second consecutive, falling to Cross County 42-0. Jackson Leonard led the Jaguars in tackles. 

No. 5 CROSS COUNTY (3-1, 1-0) at Izard County (1-3, 0-1): Cross County’s Caden Crawford (12-266 rushing, 4 TDs) led the Thunderbirds in their shutout of McCrory. Caden Finley led the defense with 11 tackles. Izard County was unable to keep up with EPC last week. QB Kyler Brashear threw a TD pass to Payton Thompson and scored a rushing TD. Thompson had 11 carries for 74 yards and a TD. 

Marianna (0-3, 0-1) at DES ARC (2-2, 0-1): Marianna forfeited to Marked Tree last week because of the altercation at Barton two weeks prior. Des Arc struggled with Earle’s athleticism in a 2-point loss to the Bulldogs. QB Hudson Goodman rushed for a TD and passed for one to Brayden Knupp. 

No. 10 EARLE (3-1, 1-0) at No. 12 Marked Tree (3-1, 1-0): See Hootens.com Game of the Week.

3-2A

Mineral Springs (0-4, 0-1) at No. 2 JUNCTION CITY (3-1, 1-0): Mineral Springs QB Keithan Dixon passed for 108 yards and a TD and ran for 73 yards as the Hornets fell to Spring Hill 18-6. Amarrion Maxwell had 8 tackles. Junction City routed Foreman 43-6 as QB Dakorey Larry passed for 2 TDs. Six different Dragons scored TDs. Dalton Baker led the defense with 10 tackles. 

Murfreesboro (2-2, 0-1) at FOREMAN (2-2, 0-1): Murfreesboro fell to Gurdon 48-22. QB Kooper Caldwell passed for 127 yards but threw 3 INTs. Alex Parker and Caldwell each scored rushing TDs. Foreman struggled offensively, scoring only 1 TD against Junction City. Hayden Easter scored the lone TD on a rush. Brody Bearden led the Gators with 40 yards rushing. 

Spring Hill (2-2, 1-0) at No. 8 DIERKS (3-1, 1-0): Spring Hill QB Jaxon Smith, son of coach Greg Smith and brother of Des Arc coach Nick Smith, passed for 155 yards and 3 TDs in the Bears’ win over Mineral Springs. Jackson Putz caught 2 TDs passes; Karson Hamilton caught 1. Dierks rolled past Lafayette County. QB Peyton Boeckman (376 passing, 7 TDs) threw 3 TD passes to Maclane Smith. 

No. 20 GURDON (2-2, 1-0) at Lafayette County (1-3, 0-1): Gurdon surprised Murfreesboro last week as Uriah Gatlin and Eric Hughes each scored 2 rushing TDs. Lafayette County’s Jordan Walters (27-190 rushing, 2 TDs) led the way for the Cougars in their loss to Dierks.

4-2A 

Clarendon (0-4, 0-1) at No. 4 CARLISLE (4-0, 1-0): Clarendon gave Hampton trouble in a 38-18 loss to the undefeated Bulldogs. Carlisle, coming off an emotional win over Des Arc, pulled away from Baptist Prep with three fourth–quarter TDs. QB Baylor Hauk passed for a TD and ran for another. Jaden Elliott rushed for a TD and caught 1. 

No. 7 Poyen (2-2, 1-0) at No. 13 HAMPTON (4-0, 1-0): Poyen QB Colt Barrett passed for 181 yards and 2 TDs in the Indians’ win over England. Austin Harness rushed for 121 yards.  Hampton remained undefeated by beating Clarendon. QB DJ Clarke (89 passing yards, TD; 85 rushing, 2 TDs; 2 2-point conversions) and Aden Williams (144 rushing, TD) led on offense. Braden Giraud led the defense with 9 tackles, a sack, and an INT. 

Baptist Prep (1-3, 0-1) at BEARDEN (2-2, 1-0): Baptist Prep forced 5 Carlisle turnovers but came up short 27-6. The score was tied 6-6 heading into the fourth quarter. Aaron Fielder intercepted 2 passes and caught a TD pass. Judah Jones had 2 sacks. Bearden’s Matthew Chambers (14-130 rushing) and Marky Jimerson (6-126 receiving, 2 TDs) led Bearden. 

England (1-3, 0-1) at HAZEN (1-3, 0-1): England returned to action after having to forfeit to Mayflower in a 34-20 loss to Poyen. QB Jordan Palmer passed for 2 TDs — 1 each to Jayquan Mays and Jarvis Drayer. Hazen fell to Bearden in its conference opener. QB JJ Pinkney (8-15 passing, 120 yards; 16-151 rushing, 2 TDs) led on offense. Noah Adkins led the defense with 13 tackles.