Hootens.com Rankings
Class 2A, Week 7, 2011
Copyright Hooten Publishing, Inc.

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

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 8 Spring Hill at No. 13 Gurdon
Defending league champion Spring Hill winning close games behind senior RB Kevin Aaron's 700 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior utility man Hendrix Routon leads the Bears in receiving and return yards. Aaron and fellow senior linebacker Zach Winfield pace Spring Hill in tackles. Spring Hill coach Tommy Poole calls Gurdon "extremely dangerous with very good athletic ability at every position." While Gurdon is athletic, it's also young, starting six sophomores. Sophomore QB Austin Kirkpatrick has rushed for more than 400 yards, while junior RBs Juan Williams (more than 400 yards) and Kedreas Norvell (more than 500 yards) and senior Jacob Cooley (more than 500 yards) share the carries. Freshman LB Jackson Kirkpatrick (5-7, 160), who did not play last week at Foreman, leads the Go-Devil defense with 49 tackles. Spring Hill defeated Gurdon 36-34 in overtime last week.

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 17 of 22 (77 percent) games involving Class 2A teams. Hootens.com is 131-36 (78 percent) for the season.

WEEK 7 PREDICTIONS (favored team in ALL CAPS followed by point spread)
3-2A
MCCRORY (28) at Augusta: McCrory offensive line dominating. That's the reason junior RB Logan Best leads the entire state with 1,298 yards.
E. POINSETT COUNTY (42) at Cedar Ridge: No. 6 EPC travels to upstart Salem next week for the 3-2A title because it has already defeated McCrory 34-14 Week 2. EPC senior linebacker A.J. Turner (96 tackles; 13 TFL) paces a defense that allows just 193 yards and nine ppg.
Marked Tree at SALEM (35): Salem cannot look ahead to EPC next week even though Marked Tree comes off a 51-20 loss to Walnut Ridge. Salem's balanced attack featured three running backs who carried eight times each last week in a 53-6 crushing of Cross County. Senior RB Nathan King ran for 115 yards and two TDs. Sophomore Augustus Freeman rushed for 96 yards and three TDs, and sophomore J.J. Gray carried for 70 yards.
WALNUT RIDGE (2) at Jonesboro Westside: Walnut Ridge ended a three-game skid last week by exploding for 51 points in a blowout of Marked Tree. Walnut Ridge won this non-conference matchup 40-12 a year ago.
Melbourne at CROSS COUNTY (Tues.) (18): Thunderbirds vent on start-up Melbourne just four days after absorbing 53-6 beating at Salem.

4-2A
Union Christian at DANVILLE (28): Second-ranked Little Johns jumped on Mountainburg last week and then intercepted six passes in a 42-14 blowout. Danville appears to be a lock for the No. 2 playoff seed and a second-round trip to the 6-2A champion, likely the Week 10 Carlisle vs. Hazen winner.   
DECATUR (6) at Western Yell: Decatur keeps Western Yell winless.
HACKETT (2) at Mountainburg: Only Magazine has stymied Hackett senior RB Dylan Yazel. Yazel ran for 229 and three TDs and caught three TD passes last week in a 33-12 win over Union Christian.
Hartford at MAGAZINE (42): Defending state champion Magazine on its way to back-to-back 4-2A titles and another deep run in the playoffs, likely headed to Junction City in the state quarterfinals.
Hector at J.C. WESTSIDE (20): J.C. Westside improves to 4-3 with a non-conference victory.

5-2A
Bigelow at MAGNET COVE (1): The 5-2A Game of the Year. The winner likely claims the 5-2A title and league's top seed, which enjoys a much better playoff draw than the second seed. Defending league champion Bigelow should have its full allotment of players and coaches for the first time since the first quarter of the season-opening tie with Perryville. Bigelow's defense has played better than a year ago with senior LBs Marcus Davie (34 tackles, three INTs) and Brett Story (40 tackles) and senior ends Luke Starks (22 tackles; five sacks) and Garrett Gregg (35 tackles; 10 TFL) leading the charge. Magnet Cove counters with senior RB Jeff Pinkston (1,114 yards, 22 TDs) running behind a line anchored by senior Blake Bratton (6-2, 310). Bigelow junior speedster Terrell Dunlap has rushed for 524 yards and six TDs in four games. Bigelow defeated Magnet Cove 29-22 last year.
CONWAY CHRISTIAN (16) at Poyen: Conway Christian cannot afford a slip-up here with Bigelow and Magnet Cove still on its schedule. All-league junior WR Andrew Dather caught four passes for 138 yards and three TDs last week in a 49-8 win over Decatur.
Mountain Pine at JUNCTION CITY (35): Mountain Pine hung with No. 16 Bigelow for a while last week, trailing 8-0 at halftime. No. 3 Junction City topped No. 4 Bearden 13-12 a week ago to sit atop the 8-2A standings. The Dragons have won 59 of their past 64 league games. Junction City junior QB/DB Shaquille Hunter followed up his four-interception performance against Strong with 11 tackles and an interception at Bearden.
Two Rivers at QUITMAN (21): Multiple injuries and a key defection have thwarted Two Rivers, while Quitman continues to roll up big numbers with junior Allen Mannon running for 198 yards and three TDs last week at Hector.
Hector at J.C. WESTSIDE (20): Westside improves to 4-3 with a non-conference victory.

6-2A
Des Arc at CARLISLE (15): No. 5 Carlisle passed its first big test of the season last week by pulling away from England in the second half for a 30-14 road win. Carlisle held England senior RB Quintin Woods to 55 yards on 20 carries.
Clarendon at HAZEN (28): No. 10 Hazen blew out Norphlet last week, should avenge last year's 33-30 loss to Clarendon this week. Hazen finishes the regular season with England and Carlisle at home.
England at BEARDEN (18): No. 4 Bearden outgained No. 3 Junction City 282 yards and 17 first downs to JC's 193 yards and 12 first downs last week, but lost the game 13-12. Junction City tackled Bearden senior receiver Rico Cone at the goal line as time expired in the first half. England managed just 197 yards a week ago in a 30-14 loss to No. 5 Carlisle.
PAL.-WHEATLEY (6) at Marvell: P-W ends its losing streak at five games and extends Marvell's skid to 12 in a row (dating to Week 5, 2010).

7-2A
Spring Hill at GURDON (3): See Class 2A Game of the Week.
Mount Ida at DIERKS (2): Mount Ida has lost to Mineral Springs (26-20) and Spring Hill (27-26) by a combined seven points. Dierks' young Outlaws are improving weekly. They amassed 487 yards of balanced offense last week in a 58-41 win over Horatio.
Foreman at MURFREESBORO (10): Murfreesboro allowed 510 yards and 62 points last week to rival Mineral Springs. Foreman did not slow down Gurdon in a 55-21 loss.
MINERAL SPRINGS (11) at Horatio: Horatio has lost three of the past four games, allowing 30 ppg for the season. Mineral Springs averages 57 ppg behind Rashad Williams' 872 rushing yards and 13 TDs.

8-2A
STRONG (8) at Hampton: Both teams were idle last week. Strong seeks its first conference win after back-to-back losses to Bearden and Junction City. Both teams trying to avoid fifth and final playoff seed, which travels in the first round to defending state champion Magazine.
Woodlawn at NORPHLET (7): Norphlet coach Doug Means called his Leopards flat last week after a 36-6 non-conference loss to 6-2A member Hazen. Woodlawn pushed Parkers Chapel last week in a 34-32 loss. Norphlet defeated Parkers Chapel 45-33 two weeks ago.
England at BEARDEN (18): No. 4 Bearden outgained No. 3 Junction City 282 yards and 17 first downs to JC's 193 yards and 12 first downs last week, but lost the game 13-12. Junction City tackled Bearden senior receiver Rico Cone at the goal line as time expired in the first half. England managed just 197 yards last week in a 30-14 loss to No. 5 Carlisle.
Mountain Pine at JUNCTION CITY (35): Mountain Pine hung with No. 16 Bigelow for a while last week, trailing 8-0 at halftime. No. 3 Junction City topped No. 4 Bearden 13-12 a week ago to sit atop the 8-2A standings. The Dragons have won 59 of their past 64 league games. Junction City junior QB/DB Shaquille Hunter followed up his four-interception performance against Strong with 11 tackles and an interception at Bearden.