Class 2A Week 9 Rankings and Selections

Class 2A Rankings

Week 9, 2025

RK-PV Team (Record; Week 7 Result)

1. ↔  1. East Poinsett County (7-1; beat Marianna 40-0)
2. ↔  2. Junction City (7-1; beat Murfreesboro 53-0)
3. ↔  3. Mount Ida (7-1; beat Bigelow 51-13)
4. ↔  4. Carlisle (7-1; beat Bearden 23-22)
5. ↔  5. Cross County (6-2; beat Des Arc 24-14)
6. ↔  6. Bearden (5-3; lost to Carlisle 23-22)
7. ↔  7. Hampton (7-1; beat England 52-18)
8. ↔  8. Hector (7-1; beat JC Westside 47-18)
9. ↔  9. Earle (6-2; beat McCrory 26-22)
10. ↔ 10. Des Arc (5-3; lost to Cross County 24-14)
11. ↔  11. Marked Tree (5-3; beat Izard County 58-0)
12. ↑   13. Poyen (4-4; beat Baptist Prep 28-21)
13. ↑   14. Conway Christian (5-3; beat Magazine 12-0)
14. ↓  12. Murfreesboro (5-3; lost to Junction City 53-0)
15. ↔ 15. Magazine (5-3; lost to Conway Christian 12-0)
16. ↔ 16. McCrory (3-5; lost Earle 26-22)
17. ↔ 17. Dierks (4-4; beat Foreman 47-46)
18. ↔ 18. Gurdon (5-3; beat Spring Hill 26-6)
19. ↔ 19. Foreman (3-5; lost to Dierks 47-46)
20. ↔ 20. Mountainburg (4-4; beat Mountain Pine 54-18)

Not ranked: 

1-2A: Mountain Pine (1-7), Johnson County Westside (0-7), Bigelow (2-6)

2-2A: Izard County (1-7) and Marianna (0-7)

3-2A: Mineral Springs (2-6), Lafayette County (1-7), Spring Hill (4-4)

4-2A: Baptist Prep (2-6), Hazen (3-5), England (3-5) and Clarendon (0-8)

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 15 of 16 games (94 percent) involving Class 2A teams and has correctly predicted 123 of 160 games (77 percent) for the season.

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 8 HECTOR (7-1, 4-1) at No. 13 Conway Christian (5-2, 4-1)

The No. 2 seed in the 1-2A and a home playoff game are on the line when Hector plays at Conway Christian. 

Both teams have lost to Mount Ida in conference play. 

Hector enters off a 47-18 win over JC Westside with RB Lucas Baker (15-315 rushing, 4 TDs) leading the way. Hayden Millsaps ran for a TD and passed for another to Grayson Mulder. Braxton Noles (9 tackles, 2 sacks) and Remington Patterson (6 tackles, sack).

“We are going to have to make plays and tackle well in space,” Hector Coach Trevor Cooper said. 

Conway Christian, the defending state champion, is hitting its stride, including a 12-0 win over Magazine last Friday, a game delayed by severe weather. 

Isiah Brister scored 2 rushing TDs; Caleb McKinney rushed for 78 yards on 32 carries. 

Conway Christian coach Justin Kramer says he is proud of his players and staff regardless of Friday’s outcome.

“It’s extremely hard, especially in 2A in my opinion, to lose three-quarters of your starters from a state championship team and complete,” Kramer says. “We have because of the leadership of our seniors, the commitment to growth and owning your role by our sophomores, and our coaches’ steady had and believe in what do.”

1-2A

No. 20 Mountainburg (4-4, 2-3) at No. 3 MOUNT IDA (7-1, 5-0): Mountainburg climbed back into the playoff race with a 54-18 win over Mountain Pine. QB Ryan Allen passed for 4 TDs and rushed for another; Adam Longley had 8 tackles and returned an INT 83 yards for a TD. Mount Ida, entering off a 51-13 win over Bigelow, can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win. Kaceston Phimvongsa scored 3 TDs and Cain McCullough scored 2 TDs. Brady Rowland had 5 tackles and an INT. 

BIGELOW (2-6, 2-3) at JC Westside (0-7, 0-5): Bigelow still has a shot at the playoffs despite a 51-13 loss to Mount Ida. Easton Platt caught a TD pass and Wrangler Manes ran for a TD. JC Westside is winless after falling to Hector 47-18. Moose Yarbrough passed for 2 TDs and ran for another. Payton Williamson caught 2 TD passes. 

HECTOR (7-1, 4-1) at Conway Christian (5-2, 4-1): See Hootens.com Game of the Week, above

Mountain Pine (1-7, 1-4) at No. 15 MAGAZINE (5-3, 2-3): Mountain Pine fell to Mountainburg 54-18 last week. Zach Middleton rushed for 102 yards and a TD. Antonio Rookery and Caleb Beach also scored TDs. Magazine fell to Conway Christian 12-0 in a game delayed by weather. “It was tough conditions for both teams,” Magazine Coach Ryan Chambers said. “We had our opportunities early inside the red zone 2 times in the first quarter. We just didn’t capitalize.”

2-2A

No. 10 Des Arc (5-3, 3-2) at No. 1 EAST POINSETT COUNTY (7-1, 5-0): Des Arc fell to fifth-ranked Cross County 24-14 last week. Hudson Goodman threw a 24-yard TD pass to Brayden Knupp and CJ Wichita scored on a 65-yard kickoff return. EPC beat Marianna 40-0 to clinch the No. 1 seed. Jacob Gaines scored 2 TDs, with Cam Thomas, AJ Johnson, Bari Shepherd and Hunter Thrasher also scoring.

No. 5 CROSS COUNTY (6-2, 4-1) at No. 11 Marked Tree (5-3, 3-2): Cross County knocked off No. 10 Des Arc 24-14 last week as Caden Crawford rushed for 201 yards and 2 TDs. Marked Tree routed Izard County 58-6, with PJ Powell rushing for 2 TDs and throwing TD passes to Jaiden Andrews and CJ Williams. 

Izard County (1-7, 0-5) at No. 9 EARLE (6-2, 4-1): Izard County’s Landon Aultman led the Cougars with 14 tackles in the loss to Marked Tree. Benaiah Spray caught 3 passes for 89 yards and a TD. Earle edged McCrory 26-22 as Ta’Ron Hurst passed for 305 yards and a TD. He also scored a TD. Hurst led the Bulldogs on a 99-yard TD drive that started with 1:48 left on the clock and no timeouts. 

Marianna (0-8, 0-5) at No. 16 MCCRORY (3-5, 1-4): Marianna fell to EPC 40-0 last week to fall to 0-8 on the season. McCrory had a chance to beat Earle but couldn’t stop the Bulldogs on a late drive. Jackson Leonard rushed for 60 yards and scored a TD. Trey Kittrell rushed for 79 yards on 13 carries. 

3-2A 

Lafayette County (1-7, 0-5) at No. 2 JUNCTION CITY (7-1, 5-0): Lafayette County enters off a 30-2 loss to Mineral Springs. Zakarian Lawson had 18 tackles, including 3 TFLs and a forced fumble. Junction City can sew up a No. 1 seed with a win after the Dragons beat Murfreesboro 53-0. DaKorey Larry passed for a TD and ran for another and Brennan Lee scored 2 TDs. Jermaine Kennedy caught a TD pass, ran for another, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble. 

No. 14 MURFREESBORO (5-3, 3-2) at Spring Hill (4-4, 3-2): Murfreesboro enters off a 53-0 loss to Junction City. Kooper Caldwell passed for 113 yards. Spring Hill has dropped 2 in a row, falling to Gurdon 24-6 last week. Henry Townsend rushed for 107 yards, and Jaxon Smith scored a TD. 

Mineral Springs (2-6, 2-3) at No. 17 DIERKS (4-4, 2-3): Mineral Springs routed Lafayette County 30-2 last week as QB Keithen Dixon rushed for 2 TDs and threw a TD pass to Keiandrian Nunally. Dierks won a wild one over Foreman 47-46. The Outlaws outscored the Gators 20-14 in the 4th quarter to get the win. QB Maclane Smith rushed for 4 TDs and passed for 1, passing for120 yards and rushing for 102. Drake Thatcher rushed for 159 yards and a TD on 16 carries. 

No. 18 GURDON (5-3, 4-1) at Foreman (3-5, 1-4): Uriah Gatlin rushed for 158 yards and a TD in the Go-Devils’ win over Spring Hill. Eric Hughes rushed for a TD, and Andres Camarillo caught a TD pass from Jonah Jester. Foreman lost to Dierks, 47-46, last week. Brody Bearden rushed for 141 yards and 3 TDs. Vicktron Moore returned an INT 50 yards for a TD and Keenan Marshall returned a kickoff 65 yards for a TD. 

4-2A

No. 4 CARLISLE (7-1, 4-1) at England (3-5, 2-3): Carlisle edged Bearden 23-22 to create a 3-way tie for first place. Mason Boyle caught a TD pass from Baylor Hauk. Cajuan Pernell returned a KO for a TD and Kolton Bartley returned an INT for a TD. Jimmy Cham kicked a 37-yard FG. England lost to Hampton 52-18. Joel Miller, Jarvis Drayer and Mason Guess scored TDs for England.

No. 6 BEARDEN (5-3, 4-1) at No. 12 Poyen (4-4, 3-2): Bearden fell into a first-place tie with Hampton and Carlisle after a 23-22 loss to Carlisle. QB Landon Faucett passed for 154 yards and 2 TDs with Kamari Nettles (8-125 receiving, TD) as his primary target. Nettles also had an INT. “We got off to a sluggish start against Carlisle,” Coach Brandon Austin says. “We’ll need to play better for 4 quarters to improve on last week’s loss.” Poyen edged Baptist Prep 28-21 as QB Colt Barrett passed for 213 yards and ran for 2 TDs. Austin Harness rushed for 103 yards and a TD. 

No. 7 HAMPTON (7-1, 4-1) at Hazen (3-5, 2-3): Hampton RB Aden Williams rushed for 173 yards and 4 TDs on 8 carries in the Bulldogs’ win over England. QB DJ Clarke passed for 116 yards and a TD. Hazen beat Clarendon 44-24 for its second consecutive win. QB JJ Pinkney (30-212 rushing, 3 TDs) and Noah Adkins had 140 yards and 2 TDs with Adkins leading the Hornets in tackles with 13. 

Clarendon (0-8, 0-5) at BAPTIST PREP (2-6, 1-4): Clarendon put up a fight against Hazen but came away with a 20-point loss. Baptist Prep had a chance to upset Poyen but came up short, 28-21. Ben Brown had 2 TD receptions, Austin Herring had 1; Jacob Dunn (12 tackles) led the defense.