A heart-breaking loss last week in the Salt Bowl, the Benton Panthers look to rebound against a familiar foe tonight at Panthers Stadium in the Benton Athletic Complex at 7 p.m. The Panthers welcome the former fellow 6A South squad Parkview Patriots, which not only have many new faces, but has non-football related issues going on.
“They look like a totally different team than what they did last year,” Benton Coach Brad Harris said. “They had a really good senior class last year and their quarterback Jackson transferred schools. And then they’ve had a lot of off-the-field issues with their coaching staff. They really look like a different team.”
Koilan Jackson, son of Arkansas native and former NFLer Keith Jackson, was Parkview’s quarterback last season who made it tough on the Panther defense the past two seasons, though Benton came away with victories both years, transferred to Pulaki Robinson in the offseason. Those off-the-field issues the Patriots are dealing with is the fact that Head Coach William Hardiman was arrested on a first-degree sexual assault charge, allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a female student during the 2014-2015 school year.
“They’re still a Spread-based team,” Harris explained. “(Interim) Coach (Kenny) Stephens has come in there and is trying to get everything going in the right direction. You can tell they don’t quite have the athletes they have in the past two years, but they do have a couple guys that can go. Their tailback is very explosive. He had a 60-yard touchdown run in their scrimmage game against Pine Bluff in the second quarter. If you can break a long one against Pine Bluff, you know you’re explosive and have some speed.”