Junction City favored to advance

HOOTENS,COM GAME OF THE WEEK No. 5 Gurdon at No. 2 Hazen

Strength of schedule nod goes to 7-2A second seed Gurdon, which beat No. 6 Mount Ida 14-6 and lost to No. 1 Foreman 26-10 in the past three weeks.

Led by senior linebacker and leading tackler Cam Lollis (90 stops) and interior linemen Remi Williams (6-4, 285) and Markell Pollins, Gurdon held Mount Ida to 11 first downs and less than 200 yards. It held all Foreman rushers not named Kyren Batey to 43 yards. Gurdon sophomore speedster Jameson Threadgill has rushed for a team-high 909 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Hazen counters with senior linebacker and top tackler Kade Perry and junior lineman Blayne Toll. Hazen held No. 8 Des Arc to 3.4 yards per carry Week 6. Hazen junior running backs Ay'Jon Green (1,092 yards, 20 touchdowns) and Tarrell Penn (1,069, 17 touchdowns) topped the 1,000-yard barrier last week by rushing for 191 and 163 yards respectively in a 47-8 rout of Quitman.

Common opponent: Hazen whipped Clarendon 60-6 Week 7, while Gurdon defeated Clarendon 42-6 last week.

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly picked 13 of 14 games (93 percent) last week. Hootens.com has picked 216 of 270 (80 percent) for the season.

WEEK 12 PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS (favored team in CAPS followed by point spread)

TOP HALF OF THE BRACKET

Magazine at FOREMAN (28): A week ago, 4-2A member Magazine notched its first playoff win since 2011 by whipping Carlisle 26-6.

Junior running back Caleb Hyatt ran for 147 of Magazine's 311 total yards, and the Rattlers forced seven fumbles, recovered three and intercepted two passes.

Top-ranked and defending state champion Foreman enjoyed a firstround bye and should be mostly healthy by Friday night.

Earle at SALEM (6): This is a rematch of a 2017 quarterfinal game Earle won 50-31, but had to forfeit (ineligible player). As former 3-2A members, Earle pulled away from Salem in the second half of regular-season victories in 2016 and 2017.

Earle playmaking quarterback Tavarius Thomas (ankle) has not played the past two weeks in wins over Carlisle and England, and junior Jaylon Coopwood (6-0, 265) played limited snaps on offense in those victories. Coopwood anchors the defensive front.

Salem junior linebacker Tommy Perkins leads the Greyhounds in tackles, and junior defensive end Game Miller has recorded 10 1/2 sacks. Senior running back Jordan Turner has carried 200 times for 2,630 yards and 37 touchdowns. At linebacker, Turner returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown last week in a 62-7 win over Dierks.

Mountainburg at JUNCTION CITY (33): Dragons versus Dragons. No. 3 Junction City hammered 4-2A member Hector 48-7 Week 9, and a week later Hector took the 4-2A top seed from Mountainburg in a 26-22 win.

Junction City senior Dhante Gibson has rushed for a team-high 1,065 yards (7.4 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns. Sophomore Tanner Barnett (64 stops) and junior Kyle Kidwell (53 stops) lead Junction City in tackles.

Mountainburg senior Austin Taylor has rushed for a team-high 1,129 yards and 16 touchdowns, while senior James Vanourny (102 tackles) leads 17 defenders with double-digit tackles.

DES ARC (2) at Mountain Pine: No. 8 Des Arc outscored Magnet Cove 35-31 a week ago by rushing 71 times for 320 yards.

Junior Jackson Morton carried 35 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Des Arc gave up 244 rushing and 105 passing yards to Magnet Cove, which dropped four passing, including two wouldbe touchdowns.

Mountain Pine took down Magnet Cove 33-24 Week 7 with junior quarterback/safety Collin Smith making timely plays on both sides of the ball, converting key third downs and a fourth-and-3 to seal the win.

Smith has accounted for more than 2,000 yards this fall, and leading receiver Josh Walpole averages 19.4 yards per reception.

Mountain Pine senior Elijah Browning has rushed for 1,100 yards.

BOTTOM HALF OF THE BRACKET

MOUNT IDA (12) at Hector: Strength of schedule nod goes to 7-2A three seed Mount Ida, which lost to No. 1 Foreman (3413) and No. 5 Gurdon (146) in the past five weeks.

Mount Ida senior quarterback Cade Jackson (980 rushing yards) and halfback Jonathan Lagrange (1,056 yards) combined for 298 yards and four touchdowns last week in a 22-point win over Bearden.

Lagrange leads Mount Ida with 75 tackles at linebacker with eight tackles for loss.

Hector counters with senior quarterback Cody Day, who has passed for 1,271 yards and 14 touchdowns with just three interceptions and rushed for another 857 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first year to play varsity quarterback.

Fordyce at CONWAY CHRISTIAN (8): No. 4 Conway Christian faces the most defensive team speed it has seen this year in No. 9 Fordyce. Fordyce faces the most versatile quarterback it has seen this year in Conway Christian senior quarterback Jacob Wood.

The Fordyce defense features sophomore linebacker Josh Harrington (58 stops) and senior linebackers Wanya Morris (75 tackles) and Ja'Rod Allen (75 tackles).

Wood has completed 111-of-192 passes (58 percent) for 1,608 yards and 28 touchdowns with five interceptions.

The senior quarterback has rushed for another 832 yards and 18 touchdowns. Senior running back Wyatt Lawrence has rushed for 1,097 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns.

Wood passes to a trio of 6-foot-3-inch receivers in Nick Scherrey (14 yards per reception, 12 touchdowns), Brandon Shaw (14.5 yards per reception, seven touchdowns) and Jesse Dather (16.9 yards per reception, five touchdowns).

Gurdon at HAZEN (1): See Game of the Week.

HAMPTON (10) at Mineral Springs: This is a rematch of a 2017 firstround game that visiting Mineral Springs won 18-14 in a mild upset.

Mineral Springs has already pulled a major upset this fall, taking down No. 1 Foreman 14-13 Week 8.

It blew out one-win Lafayette County and Spring Hill to cap the regular season before escaping 3-2A second seed East Poinsett County last week with a 20-14 victory.

Hampton has stacked three dominating performances, defeating No. 9 Fordyce 21-7, Class 3A No. 10 Harding Academy 37-28 and Cross County 50-2.

Hampton's first-team offense ran just 10 plays and had scored 50 points by early in the second quarter against Cross County. Senior quarterback Gauge Welch leads Hampton in rushing, while senior running back/linebacker D.D. Stephens has been the most consistent performer on both sides of the ball.