After two straight losses, including a 3-point heartbreaker to Lake Hamilton on Senior Night, the Benton Panthers regrouped to smoke the Sheridan Yellowjackets 49-14 just in time for the 6A State Playoffs, which begin Friday.
Senior Nate Beck had a solid outing throwing for 243 yards an three touchdowns as seniors Trey Pepper, Ty Callahan and Brandon Hunter all had TD receptions.
The West No. 4 seed, the Panthers (6-4) will host the East No. 5 seed Mountain Home Bombers (4-6) Friday at Panthers Stadium. The Bombers are on a roll, winners of three straight and four of their past five after starting the season 0-5. Mountain Home beat a good West Memphis team in the final regular-season game, 14-7, and come in hot against the Panthers.
The Bombers are led by quarterback Isaac McKay, who ran for 131 yards in a 42-41 over Searcy two weeks ago and accounted for three TDs, two passing, in a 40-12 win over Hall three weeks ago. Running back Junior Williams had two TDs in the Hall win and ran for 150 yards in the Searcy win.
Panther senior defensive lineman Chandler Clift has been a beast this year on the front line. Last week, Clift had five tackles, two for loss, and two fumble recoveries, including one returned for a 21-yard TD. Clift has 54 tackles on the year, leading the team with 20 for loss, 14 quarterback hurries and six sacks. senior linebacker Dawson Morris leads the team with 63 tackles, adding two sacks, and senior linebacker Brayden Harris has 62 tackles with nine QB hurries.
The winner between the Panthers and the Bombers will play East No. 1 seed Jonesboro. Friday's kickoff at the Benton Athletic Complex is 7 p.m. Should the Panthers win, Benton Coach Brad Harris will be the first Panther head man to win a playoff game in his first season. Also, this year's senior class would be the winningest at Benton.
For fans unable to attend the game, a live radio broadcast will be available on Fox Sports Arkansas (690 A.M./93.7 F.M.). Also, a live video broadcast courtesy of Fidelity Local 6 will be available through a link provided on bentonpantherfootball.com.