Class 2A Week 7 Rankings and Selections

RK — PR. TEAM (RECORD, WEEK 6 RESULTS)

1. ↔ 1. Mount Ida (7-0; beat Mountain Pine 42-12) 
2. ↔ 2. Baptist Prep (6-0; beat Hampton 56-16)
3.  ↑  4. Earle (5-1; beat East Poinsett County 36-8)
4.  ↓  3. Bigelow (4-3; beat Hackett 21-6)
5. ↔ 5. Gurdon (4-2; beat Junction City 32-28)
6. ↔  6. Dierks (5-1; beat Murfreesboro 42-6)
7.   ↑  8. Bearden (5-1; beat LR Episcopal 55-13)
8.   ↑  9. Poyen (5-1; beat Hazen 42-20)
9.   ↑ 10. Marked Tree (5-1; beat Marianna 60-0)
10.   ↓ 7. Hector (4-2; lost to Magnet Cove 24-22)
11. ↔ 11. Hazen (4-2; lost to Poyen 42-20)
12. ↑ 17. East Poinsett County (4-2; lost to Earle 36-8)
13. ↓ 12. Des Arc (4-2; beat Cross County 44-14)
14. ↑ 16. Magnet Cove (4-2; beat Hector 24-22)
15. ↓  7. Junction City (2-5; lost to Gurdon 32-28)
16. ↑ 18. Carlisle (3-3; beat England 24-14)
17. ↔ 17. England (3-2; lost to Carlisle 24-14)
18. ↑  20. Clarendon (4-2; beat McCrory 28-22)
19. ↑  NR. Foreman (3-3; beat Mineral Springs 50-0)
20. ↓ 14. Mineral Springs (3-4; lost to Foreman 50-0)

NOT RANKED

1-2A: Mountain Pine (0-6), Hackett (1-5), Mountainburg (1-5)

2-2A: Cross County (2-4), Marianna (1-5)

3-2A: Spring Hill (1-5), Murfreesboro (0-6)

4-2A: LR Episcopal (1-5), Hampton (0-6)

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 7 Bearden (5-1) at NO. 2 BAPTIST PREP (6-0)

This game should help decide which team gets the No. 1 seed from the 4-2A in the Class 2A state playoffs.

Bearden has won 5 in a row after a season-opening loss to current No. 1 Mount Ida, 27-14. Last week, the Bears routed Little Rock Episcopal 55-13. Michael Lovelace rushed for 112 yards and a TD; Kyson Hartley rushed for  2 TDs and caught a TD pass. Treydon Quarles and Kaden Broadnax each had an INT. Matthew Chambers recorded 3 sacks, while Jackie Flint recorded 2.

“Bearden has done a good job for a long time of taking advantage of their opponents with talent,” Baptist Prep coach Riley Perkins says. “This year, they have tons of it. Speed, athleticism and size up front has been their huge advantage so far, and their coaching staff has done a great job of putting their players in great spots to succeed. 

“We are excited for the challenge of hosting one of the best teams in the state this Friday night.”

Baptist Prep averages 49.7 points per game and allows 8.0.

“Baptist Prep is a really good team,” Bearden Coach Brandon Austin says. “They have multiple weapons, multiple looks, and a lot of speed. It’s going to take tremendous execution and urgency to get the win.”

Baptist Prep, which is off to the best start in school history, beat Hampton 56-16. QB Titus Benson completed 11 of 12 passes for 260 yards and 5 TDs. Boaz Benson had 14 tackles and caught 2 passes, 1 for a TD. Brodie Babcock caught a TD pass and had more than 10 tackles. Shep Garrison had a rushing TD and returned an INT for a TD. 

Baptist Prep may take advantage of its home turf, but this game could go either way, especially if Bearden can somehow contain Benson. 

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 11 of 14 games (79 percent) involving Class 2A teams and 91 of 123 games (74 percent) this season.

WEEK 7 PREDICTIONS (Favored team ALL CAPS and highlighted in orange)

1-2A

No. 10 Hector (4-2, 1-1) at No. 1 MOUNT IDA (7-0, 3-0): Hector dropped its first conference game last week, a 2-point loss to Magnet Cove. Dawson Hall and Cayden Manrique each scored a rushing TD, and Hudson McAlister threw a 60-yard TD pass to Hall. Easton Pruitt led the Wildcats with 16 tackles. Mount Ida cruised past Mountain Pine by 30 after putting up 373 yards in the first half, and was led by Eli McCullough, Eli Porter, Jake Gaston, Jacob Clark, Buck Miller and Aaron Gregory. They will be hard to stop. 

No. 4 BIGELOW (4-3, 3-0) at No. 14 Magnet Cove (4-2, 3-0): Bigelow, which started 1-3 that included a 5-point loss to No. 1 Mount Ida, has won 3 in a row. Isaac Howell rushed for 75 yards and had 2 sacks. Guy Starks had 13 tackles, including 5 for losses. Magnet Cove, also rolling after a 1-2 start,  edged Hector by 2 last week. Nehemiah Norwood led Magnet Cove with 202 yards rushing and a TD.  Bobby Scott had 6 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery. 

MOUNTAINBURG (1-5, 0-2) at Hackett (1-5, 0-2): Mountainburg, off last week, had QB Easton Overbey pass for 199 yards and rush for 2 TDs 2 weeks ago in a loss to Mount Ida. Dayton Reed led the Dragons with 16 tackles. Caed Cowett and Daniel Soule had 13 each. Tomas Ruiz rushed for 89 yards and a TD against Mount Ida, and Remington Hodges had 9 tackles. This game is coming at the right time for both teams. 

Mountain Pine (0-5, 0-3) at MURFREESBORO (0-6, 0-3): This is a nonconference game. Mountain Pine QB Michael Rice passed for 170 yards and 2 TDs last week against Mount Ida. Murfreesboro QB Kooper Caldwell was injured in the Rattlers’ loss to Dierks and may be done for the year. 

2-2A

CROSS COUNTY (2-4, 0-3) at Marianna (1-5, 0-3): Cross County could not slow down Des Arc’s running attack in a 44-14 loss. Ayden Kraft rushed for 63 yards and a TD and threw a 60-yard TD pass to Noah Carnell. Marianna had no answers in a 60-0 loss to Marked Tree. 

No. 13 Des Arc (4-2, 2-1) at No. 12 EAST POINSETT COUNTY (4-2, 2-1): Des Arc QB Hudson Goodman rushed for 2 TDs and passed for another in a rout of Cross County. EPC could not stop Earle in a 36-8 loss to the Bulldogs. Zachary Patterson scored on a 38-yard TD run. Kavon James scored a 2-point conversion, and Ashton Reel had 6 tackles. 

 No. 9 MARKED TREE (5-1, 3-0) at McCrory (0-6, 0-3): Marked Tree rolled past Marianna behind the play of PJ Powell (5-5-90 passing, TD). DJ Stacy rushed 3 times for 11 yards and 2 TDs. McCrory improved but fell short against Clarendon.

 No. 18 Clarendon (4-2, 2-1) at No. 3 EARLE (5-1, 3-0): The Clarendon Lions have been a big surprise, winning 4 games this season after going winless for 2 years. QB Kylen James passed for 300 yards and 4 TDs in a 28-22 win over McCrory. Jamen Jackson had 15 tackles, including 2 tackles for losses, a sack, and a fumble recovery. Earle, coming off a 36-8 win over EPC, is on a 5-game winning streak after opening the season with a 49-28 loss to West Helena. The Bulldogs cannot look past Clarendon as a showdown with Marked Tree looms on Oct. 23. 

3-2A

Mountain Pine (0-5, 0-3) at MURFREESBORO (0-6, 0-3): See note in 1-2A. 

No. 15 Junction City (2-5, 1-2) at No. 6 DIERKS (5-1, 2-0): Junction City’s Nemo Caldwell rushed for 102 yards and 2 TDs in a loss to Gurdon. QB Jermaine Kennedy passed for 120 yards and a TD. Dierks QB Maclane Smith passed for 150 yards and a TD and rushed for 62 yards and 2 TDs in the Outlaws’ win over Murfreesboro. Drake Thatcher rushed for 128 yards and 2 TDs. 

No. 20 Mineral Springs (3-4, 2-1) at No. 5 GURDON (4-2, 2-0): A week after beating Junction City, Mineral Springs lost 50-0 to Foreman. Jamerian Staten rushed for 30 yards to lead the Hornets. Gurdon QB Jonah Jester passed for 107 yards and a TD and ran for another. Demonta Smallwood led the Go-Devils with 84 yards rushing and 2 TDs. 

Spring Hill (1-4, 0-3) at No. 19 FOREMAN (3-3, 2-1): Spring Hill has had 2 weeks to recover from its loss to Dierks. Tim Landes rushed for 129 yards on 7 carries. Foreman continues to rise, following a 50-0 win over Mineral Springs. QB Briley Shoals passed for 282 yards and 5 TDs. Vicktron Moore caught 2 of the TD passes. Aiden Forrest and Kaylon Easter each had INTs. 

4-2A 

No. 7 Bearden (5-1, 3-0) at No. 2 BAPTIST PREP (6-0, 3-0): See Hootens.com Game of the Week. 

No. 16 CARLISLE (3-3, 2-1) at Hampton (0-6, 0-3): The Carlisle Bison edged England last week, led by QB Michael Spingola, who rushed for 160 yards and 2 TDs and threw for another TD. He also led Carlisle in tackles with 10. Hampton QB Kypton Rowland passed for 112 yards and a TD in a loss to Baptist Prep. Dallas Jimerson also scored a TD.  

No. 9 POYEN (5-1, 3-0) at No. 17 England (3-2, 1-2): Poyen needs this game against the upstart Lions to keep pace with the winner of Bearden-Baptist Prep. The Indians beat Hazen last week, with QB Mason Camp passing for 263 yards and 4 TDs. He also scored a rushing TD, and Baylor Groomes did too. Walker Smith caught 3 TD passes. England QB Dallys Woods passed for 190 yards and a TD and ran for another in a loss to Carlisle. Jarvis Drayer caught 6 passes for 130 yards. Oracle Gonzales led the defense with 4 tackles for losses and a sack. 

LR Episcopal (1-5, 0-3) at No. 11 HAZEN (4-2, 1-2): Episcopal, under first-year coach Tye Forte, remained competitive, falling to Bearden 55-13. Hazen, down 3 starters, including QB Morgan Berg, fell to Poyen despite Noah Adkins’ performance: 165 yards and 3 TDs on 19 carries.