Dragons favored to top Bulldogs; Hampton picked to down PC

GAME OF THE WEEK No. 5 Mineral Springs at No. 3 Mount Ida

Mineral Springs has pitched consecutive shutouts, holding England to 103 yards last week in a head-turning 35-0 win. Senior Tahji Beal (5-10, 210) fuels Mineral Springs as a running back and linebacker. Mineral Springs senior quarterback Peyton Haddan rarely commits turnovers and gets the football to playmakers like junior running back Cameron Lee.

No. 3 Mount Ida sputtered for a half last week but pulled away from Magnet Cove 28-7 by limiting the visitors to 31 total yards in the second half.

Senior Ty Abernathy recorded 11 tackles while seniors Jonathan Lagrange and Luke Fiorello logged 10 stops apiece.

3-2A

Marked Tree at CROSS COUNTY (15): Cross County allowed three long touchdown runs last week in an 18-point loss to Earle. Marked Tree, struggling with numbers (17), gave up 274 combined rushing yards to eight Hazen running backs.

Rector at E. POINSETT COUNTY (21): East Poinsett County led Class 3A Corning by 20 points going into the fourth quarter and held on for a 26-20 win, rushing for 291 of its 302 yards.

Rector got past Corning 15-14 two weeks ago, but lost to Class 3A Piggott 52-0 last week.

MCCRORY (27) at Midland: McCrory looks to clean up 11 penalties for more than 100 yards last week in a 34-19 win over Clarendon that was not as close as the final score.

Senior FB/LB Austin McAdams paces Midland on both sides of the ball.

SALEM is open.

4-2A

HACKETT (19) at Magazine: Hackett senior quarterback Brady Hester ran for 149 yards last week in an eight-point loss to Panama, Okla., despite missing three starters on his offensive line.

Magazine just blistered Cutter Morning Star 50-26, but strength of schedule and history (four straight blowouts in this series) favor Hackett.

LAVACA (21) at J.C. Westside: Lavaca averages 6.5 yards per carry as a team with senior Tyler Armstead rushing for a team-high 255 yards and two touchdowns.

HECTOR (16) at Western Yell County: Hector was off last week, while Western Yell County ripped Class 3A Rose Bud 52-12.

MOUNTAINBURG (22) at Marshall: Mountainburg fills the spot vacated by now eight-man Decatur with a road trip to Class 3A Marshall, which was originally scheduled to play Rose Bud, but is transitioning to a JV schedule.

5-2A

Poyen at CONWAY CHRISTIAN (10): Strength of schedules contrast here. No. 6 Conway Christian (1-2) has lost to Class 4A No. 15 Bauxite and Class 3A No. 3 Clinton by a combined 57 points, while Poyen (3-0) has blown out struggling Drew Central, Bismarck and Murfreesboro. Poyen scored 165 of its 173 points in the first half of those wins.

Conway Christian has not lost to Poyen since the series started in 2010, outscoring the Indians 342-87.

Quitman at BIGELOW (2): Bigelow third-year starting quarterback Brady Reed has passed for more than 400 yards this fall, while fellow senior running back Ricky Dunlap leads the Panthers in rushing and in tackles at linebacker.

Quitman starting quarterback Levi Balentine (knee) is out indefinitely, but sophomore quarterback Holden Martin has completed 33-of-38 passes (87 percent) for 575 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.

MOUNTAIN PINE (15) at Cutter M Star: Mountain Pine fell to Class 3A Centerpoint by 30 points last week, while Cutter Morning Star gave up 50 points in a loss to Magazine.

England at MAGNET COVE (6): England appeared offensively inept a week ago when it managed just 103 yards in a 35-0 loss at No. 5 Mineral Springs. Magnet Cove ran for 154 yards in the first half last week at No. 3 Mount Ida, but managed only 31 total yards in the second half of a 28-7 loss.

6-2A

HAZEN (7) at Carlisle: Led by senior linebacker Cade Perry's 13 tackles (six tackles for loss), No. 4 Hazen held Marked Tree to 41 total yards last week, including 28 rushing yards on 30 attempts.

Senior Demariae Buchanan made 10 tackles and returned a fumble for a score. Junior Ay'lon Green led all ball-carriers with 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Carlisle relies heavily on all-league running back JaSean Harper, and junior Ian Seidenschwarz is a tenacious defender. Carlisle tied Class 3A Baptist Prep 12-12 last week.

BRINKLEY (2) at Clarendon: Clarendon played well up front last week in a 15-point loss to McCrory, while Brinkley lost to Class 3A PalestineWheatley 24-0.

Palestine-Wheatley opened the season by crushing Clarendon 42-7.

EARLE (28) at Marianna: Marianna hung with Class 3A Barton last week, trailing by eight points at halftime before falling 36-20. Earle dumped Barton 36-16 Week 2.

DES ARC (35) at Marvell: Des Arc was idle last week after falling to McCrory 30-28. Look for Des Arc senior quarterback Garrett Goodman to return from an injury, allowing junior Cooper Roberts to shift back to running back.

Marvell scored 12 and 26 points the past two weeks in losses to Class 3A Palestine-Wheatley and Manila.

7-2A

Mineral Springs at MOUNT IDA (13): See Game of the Week.

Dierks at GURDON (32): Gurdon climbs four spots to No. 12 after escaping Bearden last week with a 10-8 win.

The Gurdon defense forced four turnovers and held Bearden to 177 yards. Junior Fernando Garcia kicked a 31-yard field goal with three minutes left to win it.

Lafayette County at MURFREESBORO (4): Murfreesboro must contain sophomore quarterback C.J. Williams, the brother of former Lafayette County great and current Louisiana Tech wide receiver Cualan Williams.

Murfreesboro's defense gave up 524 yards and touchdowns on eight of 11 possessions last week at Poyen.

FOREMAN (36) at Spring Hill: Topranked Foreman has not been tested since the opening game against Class 3A Smackover, a 46-20 loss on the field that Smackover forfeited for playing an ineligible player.

8-2A

FORDYCE (8) at Bearden: Bearden, which committed four turnovers last week, needed a 35-yard double-reverse pass to score its touchdown in a 10-8 loss to Gurdon. Fordyce throttled Class 4A Monticello (41-6) for the second year in a row.

Parkers Chapel at HAMPTON (18): No. 4 Hampton just held Class 4A Star City to less than 200 total yards, led by sophomore Cymeon McRae (nine tackles, two tackles for loss), senior defensive end Desmond Brown (eight tackles, two tackles for loss) and senior corner Ethan Pennington (two interceptions).

Parkers Chapel gave up 395 rushing yards in a 52-8 loss to Class 3A Mayflower.

JUNCTION CITY (38) at Strong: Junction City went down hard last week at Louisiana small school power Haynesville 33-0.

Strong netted 28 total yards, picked up two first downs (one by penalty) and did not cross the 50-yard line in a 53-0 loss to Class 3A Rison.