Class 2A Week 6 Rankings and Selections

HOOTENS.COM WEEK 6 RANKINGS

RK — PR. TEAM (RECORD; WEEK 5 RESULTS)

↔ 1. Mount Ida (6-0; beat Mountainburg 47-34)

2. ↔ 2. Baptist Prep (5-0; beat England 41-6)

3. ↔ 3. Bigelow (3-3; beat Mountain Pine 46-16)

4. ↔ 4. Earle (4-1; beat McCrory 62-0)

5. ↔ 5. Gurdon (3-2; did not play)

6. ↔ 6. Dierks (4-1; beat Spring Hill 46-20)

7.  ↑ 8. Hector (4-1; did not play)

8.  ↑ 9. Bearden (4-1; beat Hampton 44-14)

9.  ↑ 10. Poyen (4-1; beat LR Episcopal 42-19)

10. ↑ 13. Marked Tree (4-1; beat Des Arc 36-22)

11. ↔  11. Hazen (4-1; beat Carlisle 12-7)

12. ↑ 17. East Poinsett County (4-1; beat Cross County 32-22)

13. ↓ 12. Des Arc (3-2; lost to Marked Tree 36-22)

14. ↑ 20. Mineral Springs (3-3; beat Junction City 30-22)

15. ↓  7. Junction City (2-4; lost to Mineral Springs 30-22)

16. ↓ 15. Magnet Cove (3-2; beat Hackett 30-24)

17. ↓ 16. England (3-1; lost to Baptist Prep 41-6)

18. ↓ 14. Carlisle (2-3; lost to Hazen 12-7)

19. ↓  18. Mountainburg (1-5; lost to Mount Ida 47-34)

20.  ↑ NR. Clarendon (3-2, beat Marianna 38-12)

NOT RANKED

1-2A: Mountain Pine (0-5), Hackett (1-4):

2-2A: Cross County (2-3), Marianna (1-4)

3-2A: Foreman (2-3), Spring Hill (1-5), Murfreesboro (0-5)

4-2A: LR Episcopal (1-4), Hampton (0-5)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 12 East Poinsett County (4-1, 2-0) at No. 4 EARLE (4-1, 2-0)

East Poinsett County, which started the season unranked, has moved up the poll following wins over McCrory and Cross County. The game with Cross County was a rematch of last year’s 2A state title game. Kavon James led the Warriors with 166 yards rushing and 4 TDs on 22 carries. Jeb Holiman threw a 53-yard TD pass to Quincy Perry. Ashton Reel had 20 tackles and an INT. Hunter Thrasher had 15 tackles.

“Earle is going to be fast as usual,” EPC Coach Justin Lovell says. “So we have to play disciplined defense and use our angles and leverage to keep them in front of us. Offensively, we have to keep getting better on our run game and get more physical with our blocking assignments.”

Earle, averaging 40.0 points per game, routed McCrory 62-0 in its fourth straight win. Darrion Maples and Tarreze Jarrett each scored multiple touchdowns.

If Earle can use its speed to its advantage, then the Bulldogs have a chance to take a step toward a showdown with Marked Tree in Week 10 for the conference championship.

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 11 of 14 games (79 percent) involving Class 2A teams. (79 percent) and for the season has correctly predicted 80 of 109 games (73 percent).

WEEK 6 GAMES 

1-2A

Mountain Pine (0-5, 0-2) at No. 1 MOUNT IDA (6-0, 2-0): Mountain Pine’s Mason Matlock caught a 65-yard TD pass and returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD in the Red Devils’ loss to Bigelow. Mount Ida turned back Mountainburg’s challenge behind Kaceston Phimvongsa, who had 158 yards rushing and 3 TDs. Jett Brooks had 172 yards and a TD. Chris Dorrell had 138 yards rushing and 2 TDs and had 8 tackles.

No. 16 Magnet Cove (3-2, 2-0) at No. 7 HECTOR (4-1, 1-0): After a 1-2 start, Magnet Cove is 2-0 in league play after beating Hackett. Nehemiah Norwood rushed for 151 yards and 2 TDs, while Blaze Crutchfield had 100 yards and a TD. He also had 7 tackles and recovered a fumble. Hector was idle last week. Two weeks ago, Hector QB Cayden Manrique rushed for 302 yards and 4 TDs on 20 carries in a win over Mountain Pine. Gavin Lusk scored 3 TDs.

Hackett (1-4, 0-1) at No. 3 BIGELOW (3-3, 2-0): Hackett gave Magnet Cove all it wanted in a 1-possession loss last week. Hagen Moses threw 2 TD passes. Tomas Ruiz had 16 tackles, and Rodney Stiles had 7 tackles and returned a fumble 64 yards for a TD. Bigelow routed Mountain Pine behind Wrangler Manes, who had 375 total yards and 5 TDs. Jake Piro and Hunter Hudspeth each had 7 tackles.

OPEN Mountainburg (1-5, 0-2)

2-2A

No. 13 DES ARC (3-2, 1-1) at Cross County (2-3, 0-2): Des Arc’s defense could not slow down Marked Tree in last week’s game, but the Eagles did have 2 backs with more than 100 yards, including CJ Willhite (114 rushing, 2 TDs) and Hudson Goodma, who had 100 yards. Jamie Collins also scored. Cross County, which is starting many new players this year, gave East Poinsett County a good game, falling 32-22. Kolby Walker rushed for 108 yards on 26 carries. Caden Finley had 7 1/2 tackles while Ryan Lamb had 6 and a fumble recovery.

Marianna (1-5, 0-2) at No. 10 MARKED TREE (4-1, 2-0): Marianna scored 2 TDs in a loss to Clarendon last week; Marked Tree QB PJ Powell passed for 283 yards and 4 TDs and rushed for another in a win over Des Arc. Deangelo Risper rushed for 126 yards and a TD on 11 carries.

No. 12 East Poinsett County (4-1, 2-0) at No. 4 EARLE (4-1, 2-0): See Hootens.com Game of the Week  

McCrory (0-5, 0-2) at No. 20 CLARENDON (3-2, 1-1): McCrory’s struggles continued last week in a lopsided loss to Earle. One bright spot is defensive leader Briceton Cornelious. Clarendon continued its revival season with a rout of Marianna. Kyle James passed for 121 yards and a TD. Will Wise rushed for 117 yards and had 5 tackles.

3-2A

No. 5 GURDON (3-2, 1-0) at No. 15 Junction City (2-3, 1-1): Gurdon was idle last week after beating Murfreesboro 2 weeks ago. In that game, Demonta Smallwood, Braxton Nolan, and Eric Hughes each scored rushing TDs. Junction City fell to Mineral Springs last week. Jeremaine Kennedy passed for 125 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for 131 yards and a TD on 15 carries.  Kennedy and Delonte Duff each had 6 tackles to lead the Dragons.

No. 14 MINERAL SPRINGS (3-3, 2-0) at Foreman (2-3, 1-1): Mineral Springs stayed undefeated in conference play with a win over Junction City.  Sophomore QB Jamerian Staten rushed for 237 yards and 4 TDs on 34 carries. He also passed for 72 yards. “He’s the best sophomore QB in the state,” Junction City Coach Devin Ball says. Foreman evened its conference mark with a 44-36 win over Murfreesboro last week. QB Briley Shoals passed for 250 yards and 3 TDs.

Murfreesboro (0-5, 0-2) at No. 6 DIERKS (4-1, 1-0): Murfreesboro’s struggles continued with an 8-point loss to Foreman last week. QB Kooper Caldwell passed for 230 yards and 3 TDs. Dierks opened league play with a 46-20 win over Spring Hill. QB Maclane Smith passed for 166 yards and 2 TDs and rushed for 106 yards and 3 TDs on 11 carries. He also had 3 tackles. Maxton Green led the defense with 11 tackles.

OPEN Spring Hill (1-4, 0-2)

4-2A

No. 17 ENGLAND (3-1, 1-1) at No. 18 Carlisle (2-3, 1-1): The England Lions held their own with Baptist Prep for a half before falling 41-6 to the Eagles. England trailed 13-6 at halftime. Mason Guess rushed for 103 yards on 24 carries. Dallys Woods scored a rushing TD. Jarvis Drayer led the Eagles with 7 tackles. The Bison offense struggled without injured QB Baylor Hauk in a 12-7 loss to Hazen. Michael Spingola rushed for 133 yards and a TD on 28 carries. He also passed for 53 yards.

No. 11 Hazen (4-1, 1-1) at No. 9 POYEN (4-1, 2-0): Hazen’s Dalton Jones and Noah Adkins each scored rushing TDs in Hazen’s 12-7 win over Carlisle. Adkins led Hazen with 73 yards rushing and 19 tackles. Poyen has not missed a beat since QB Colt Barrett graduated, as the Indians beat LR Episcopal last week. Baylor Groomes led Poyen with 160 yards and 2 TDs on 21 carries. Kaden Rushing had 153 yards on 19 carries. QB Mason Camp passed for 112 yards and 2 TDs.

Hampton (0-5, 0-2) at No. 2 BAPTIST PREP (5-0, 2-0): Baptist Prep led 13-6 at halftime against England before pulling away for a 41-6 win. QB Titus Benton passed for 222 yards and 2 TDs. He also rushed for 56 yards and 2 TDs. Boaz Benson had 17 tackles. Hampton’s young squad lost 44-14 last week, but Dallas Jimerson and Aeneas Braison each scored TDs.

LR Episcopal (1-4, 0-2) at No. 8 BEARDEN (4-1, 2-0): Episcopal dropped its third consecutive game last Friday night, falling to Poyen 42-19. Bearden beat Hampton 44-14, led by Michael Lovelace, who rushed for 163 yards and 2 TDs. Treydon Quarles had an INT; Kavarus Williams and Matthew Chambers anchored the defense, combining for 4 sacks and 14 tackles.