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.