The Benton Panthers had their five-game win streak broken last week on the road in El Dorado, as the Wildcats outgained the Panthers by almost 150 yards in total offense, and two special teams’ gaffes resulted in two El Dorado touchdowns in the 27-20 loss to drop the Panthers to 5-2 overall, 3-1 in the 6A West Conference.
The Panthers will return home to play tonight, but the road definitely doesn’t get any easier. Benton will host the No. 1 6A team in the state, the Greenwood Bulldogs, which bring a perfect 7-0 record, 4-0 in the West, to Panthers Stadium.
And the stats don’t lie for this Bulldogs team which throttled El Dorado 52-21 in Week 5 and took down the defending 6A champs Russellville 38-13 on the road last week.
“They’ll be the best team we’ve played this year as an overall team - offensively, defensively, special teams,” Benton Coach Brad Harris said. “They can run it, they can throw it, offensively. I think one of the things they’re overlooked for is their defensive play. Their defense is really talented. They play great team defense. They rally to the ball really well and do a great job tackling.”
Greenwood returns senior Connor Noland under center. A spot he split time with his sophomore and junior seasons with Lucas Hales (freshman at UCA), Noland has the quarterback reins all to himself this season. Noland has thrown for 1,517 yards and 19 TDs, vs. just four interceptions, completing 68 percent (117 - 172) of his passes.
Kickoff at Panthers Stadium in the Benton Athletic Complex will be 7 p.m. and listen to the game on 106.7 “The Ride.”