Panthers earn All-state, other honors
BENTON – After a season cut short due to the coronavirus COVID-19, the Benton Panthers had a plethora of players earn postseason honors, including three All-state selections and 10 All-conference footballers.
Earning All-state for the Panthers, which finished
6-5 on the season with their first-round 6A state playoff game canceled against Marion due to the virus, was senior quarterback Garrett Brown, senior defensive lineman Justin Walker and junior wide receiver Cameron Harris.
Brown started for the Panthers midway through his sophomore campaign and went on to break every major career passing record at Benton, and he did it early during his senior season in which he threw for 2,877 yards and 26 touchdowns vs. just four interceptions.
“He’s been a heck of a player for us throughout his whole career and we’re definitely going to miss him next year,” Benton Coach Brad Harris said. “This year he was continuing that until everything happened with the COVID all the way up until the end.”
Brown, who surpassed former Panther Cason Maertens records (2015), now is the all-time leader in completions (576), attempts (968), yards (8,001) and touchdowns (70).
“Just a great kid,” Harris said. “He worked hard for us and did a really good job at the quarterback position.”
Though not showered with the fanfare many offensive players receiver, or even defensive players for that matter, senior defensive lineman Justin Walker has been a stalwart in the middle for the Panthers for the past two seasons, his last doing double duty.
“He’s done a tremendous job for us - the last two years on the defensive line and this year he became a twoway guy for us and played some offensive line, too,” Harris said. “He don’t put up a ton of stats with tackles and stuff, but he’s just a real dominate force in the middle. He had to play both ways a lot and I know that wore him down. He’s going to be a senior we’re definitely going to miss, also.”
Walker finished with 19 tackles, four for loss, a fumble recovery and seven quarterback hurries, but it was him taking on the offensive lineman, sometimes two at a time, that freed others to make plays.
“He’s had two really good years for us as our man in the middle,” Harris said.
“He didn’t make a lot of tackles, but he created a lot of tackles and let other people make the plays. I’m proud of what he’s done this year.”
The junior Harris was definitely one of Brown’s favorite targets as the main
deep threat for the Panthers. Harris finished with 56 receptions, which tied fellow junior Andre Lane for the team lead, and led Benton with 884 receiving yards, a 15.8 yards-per-catch average and 12 TDS.
“Cam has a ton of upside,” Coach Harris said. “We’re real proud we’ve got him back for another year. He had some really big plays this year and I think he’s got a lot to grow as a receiver. At times he looks like a different level than some of those guys that we were going against.
“He led our team in touchdown receptions, led our team in yards. He just had a really good year coming off of a sophomore year where he was really just getting back to form from a knee injury.”
Benton also had 10 AllConference performers, six on the first team.
Junior running back
Casey Johnson made the first team after leading the Panthers with 1,140 yards on the ground and 14 TDS on a Saline County leading 192 carries. Johnson settled for second in the county in rushing by just 20 yards and likely would have been the county leader if the Panthers first-round playoff game wasn’t nixed.
“Casey is our guy. He was our leading rusher and had a really good year,” Harris said. “He really came on at the end of the year after starting a little bit slow, but he really picked it up at the end of the year. Excited to have him back for next year. We’re looking for big things this offseason going into his senior year.”
A starter since his sophomore season, junior Cain Simmons has been a force for the Panther defense the past two seasons, accumulating over 100 tackles each year to also earn first-team All-conference. Simmons finished his junior year with 102 tackles, three for loss, and five pass breakups and has 208 tackles over his two seasons with his sights on the all-time record next year.
“He had another really solid year,” Harris said of Simmons. “He turned in over 100 tackles again. He’s a two-year starter for us that has over 200 tackles in his career already. In his exit interview he said, ‘Hey Coach, what’s the career tackles list? I’m going to go for it my senior year.’ Hopefully he gets a shot at that. He’s a guy that does a tremendous job from our safety position and has a great nose for the ball.”
1st-team All-conference
WR Andre Lane (Jr.) : 56 catches, 604 yards (10.8 YPC), one TD.
WR Trevor Standridge (Sr.): 43 catches, 625 yards (14.5 YPC), four TDS.
LB Beau Wright (Jr.): 90 tackles, eight for loss, two sacks, one interception, one pass breakup, one fumble recovery for TD, six QB hurries.
OL Colby Reeves
(Sr.): Blocked for a Benton offense which gained almost 4,400 yards of total offense, including almost 3,000 passing and almost 1,400 rushing.
2nd-team All-conference
LB Zac Feimster (Sr.): 43 tackles, eight for loss, two sacks, eight QB hurries.
DL Hayden Purdy
(Sr.): 29 tackles, five for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and recovery, seven QB hurries.
OL Walker Davis (Soph.): Blocked for a Benton offense which gained almost 4,400 yards of total offense, including almost 3,000 passing and almost 1,400 rushing.
OL Garrett Davis
(Sr.): Blocked for a Benton offense which gained almost 4,400 yards of total offense, including almost 3,000 passing and almost 1,400 rushing.