RISON - The Rison Wildcats are predicted to finish fifth in the 8-3A conference while the Woodlawn Bears are projected to finish second in the eight-man South Conference according to the coaches' poll in the 2024 edition of Hooten's Arkansas Football magazine.The massive 544-page magazine is available locally at the Shop Wise grocery store in downtown Rison. It includes an in-depth feature article on the Rison-Fordyce rivalary in the preview to the Class 3A section of the magazine.Rison, coming off a 3-8 sesason, is expected to finish fifth in the newly revamped 8-3A conference that now includes McGehee and Dumas, two schools that are dropping down from the Class 4A ranks for the new two-year Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) athletic cycle. McGehee, which went 6-4 last year after falling the first round of the Class 4A playoffs to Bauxite, is picked as the favorite to win the 8-3A this year followed by Fordyce, Dumas and Barton. Three schools from the 8-3A are ranked among Hooten's Class 3A Top 20, including McGehee at no. 7, Fordyce at no. 12, and Dumas at no. 15. No other conference schools are ranked.Rison will play at both McGehee (Oct. 11) and Fordcye (Nov. 1) this year.Woodlawn will be looking to improve on a fourth place finish in the South Conference last year as the Bears were bounced out of the playoffs by eventual state champion Rector, 48-0. The Bears officially finished with a 6-4 record after Strong had to forfeit all of its game for using an ineligible player.The Strong Bulldogs are predicted to win the South Conference this season followed by Woodlawn, Brinkley and Dermott....
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