After a crazy first week to the high school football season which saw the Salt Bowl get called shortly after halftime, the Benton Panthers have no time to dwell as they head to Arkadelphia today to take on the 4A defending champion Badgers.
Trailing 21-14 at the half, the Panthers would fall 28-14 to rival Bryant Hornets in Salt Bowl XIX as the game was canceled with 9:22 left in the third quarter after a fight broke out and a shout of “gun” was heard sending many fans sprinting across the bleachers of the stadium and onto the field. Though no shots were fired, the hysteria caused by the event left many of the record-breaking 38,215 who attended the Salt Bowl rattled. Benton Coach Brad Harris spent the first part of Monday’s practice talking it out with his Panthers.
“We scaled practice back a lot Monday because we really didn’t know what we would get, how the guys would be mentally and all that,” Harris said. “For the first 30 minutes or so, we just talked about the happenings of what went on. Some guys shared some information that not everybody knew and we just talked about it a while, let everybody ease their mind. I did most of the talking about different situations and how proud I was of them.”
Despite the melee this past Saturday, a lot of good came out of it as the community banded together to help one another throughout the ordeal.
“We kind of got back to normal,” Harris said. “We had a good Tuesday practice.”
For those who can’t make it to Arkadelphia, the game will be broadcast on 106.7 The Ride. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at AllCare Field at Badger Stadium.
Read the rest in Friday's The Saline Courier.