Worth its salt
Hornets, Panthers keep 32,123 entertained to end
The cities of Benton and Bryant once again came out in force at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium on Saturday, as the high school rivals opened their football seasons in the annual Salt Bowl in front of an announced crowd of 32,123, just shy of the state-record 34,086 at the event in 2015. Bryant took a 49-42 victory over the Panthers, improving to 15-2-2 in the series since 2000. Ren Hefley’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Latavion Scott with 10:56 left broke a 35-35 tie.
Bryant preserved its Salt Bowl victory over Benton on the game’s final play at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.
For the second consecutive season.
Benton junior quarterback Colen Morrow’s last-gasp pass on fourth down from the Panthers’ 32 fell incomplete on fourth and 9, and the Hornets held on to beat their Saline County rival Panthers 49-42 on Saturday night in front of 32,123 fans.
Bryant Coach Buck James, who led the Hornets to their first Class 7A state semifinal appearance last season, said he was relieved to escape with the victory.
“We made enough stops to win the football game,” James said. “This is one of those games where you’ll take the win and try to improve from week 1 to week 2. But I still think we have a lot of ways to go as a football team. If we can get there, we can be a pretty good one.”
Bryant won 10-7 last year when former Hornets defensive back Collin Welch ran down former Panthers wide receiver Preston Stone 10 yards short of the end zone with no time remaining.
Hornets senior Cameron Vail, who scored three rushing touchdowns of 2, 1 and 6 yards, finished 3-0 as a senior in the Salt Bowl.
“This is huge,” said Vail, who is the stepson of Bauxite Coach Daryl Patton, a former Bryant quarterback and coach. “I’ve never seen Bryant lose. I didn’t want to start it this year in the Salt Bowl.”
This year’s Salt Bowl produced more offense than a year ago.
The teams combined for 91 points and 930 yards. It was the highest-scoring game between the two teams since the series moved to War Memorial Stadium in 2004.
Saturday’s attendance mark falls short of the 2015 Salt Bowl, which drew a state-record 34,086, but it does rank No. 2 in all-time attendance.
It was the first time in the series that the game was played on a Saturday. Little Rock Catholic, which plays all of its home games at War Memorial Stadium, hosted Sylvan Hills at the stadium Friday.
Benton junior running back Zak Wallace, who carried 22 times for 175 yards and 5 touchdowns, scored from the 1 at the end of the third quarter to tie the game at 35-35.
Bryant took a 42-35 lead with 10:26 remaining when junior quarterback Ren Hefley found junior running back Latavion Scott for a 30yard touchdown.
Vail’s 6-yard run with 5:36 left to play made it 49-35.
The Panthers cut the lead to 49-42 with 3:00 remaining on Wallace’s fifth touchdown, a 3-yard run.
Benton outgained Bryant 472-458, but it wasn’t enough.
“Same story, second verse this year,” Benton Coach Brad Harris said. “The offense showed up this time. But we knew we were young defensively. You saw it tonight. We had to replace eight guys from last year’s defense. It’s tough. They’re really good.
“We won’t see another team as good as them [Bryant] other than Greenwood this year. We played our hearts out here tonight.”
Bryant led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter thanks to runs of 2 yards by Vail, 6 yards by Hefley and 2 yards by Scott. Benton tied the game at 21-21 with 31 seconds left in the second quarter on Wallace’s 20-yard run.
The Hornets led 28-21 at halftime after Hefley threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Luke Curtis with 9 seconds left.
Benton tied the game at 28-28 on the third quarter’s first offensive play, Wallace’s 55-yard touchdown run.
Vail put Bryant back on top, 35-28, when he scored from the 1 with 5:25 left in the quarter.
Bryant’s Hefley completed 14 of 19 passes for 278 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Scott rushed 26 times for 112 yards and 1 touchdown and caught 6 passes for 76 yards and 1 touchdown.
Morrow, in his first varsity start, finished 17-of-27 passing for 222 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Gavin Wells caught five passes for 79 yards. Wallace also had five receptions for 74 yards.