Benton one of best in Class 6A
The Benton Panthers appear to be every bit as good as their preseason billing.
Benton, which hosts Siloam Springs on Friday, is the No. 2-ranked team in Class 6A and No. 9 overall in all classifications by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Since a 28-14 loss to Saline County rival Bryant in the annual Salt Bowl at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Aug. 25 — a game that was canceled in the
second half after a fight broke out in the stands — Benton has won three straight games, including a 27-0 win last week at Russellville to open 6A-West Conference play.
Benton (3-1, 1-0) also whipped then Class 4A No. 3 Arkadelphia 56-17 on Aug. 31 and Class 7A No. 6 Cabot 56-41 on Sept. 14.
“They’re an outstanding team,” said Siloam Springs coach Brandon Craig. “They’ve got size up front and speed where they need it. So it makes for a deadly combination. They’re really good. They’ve done a great job so far to this point. They’re a team that can go a long way if they stay focused.”
Benton and Siloam Springs have played the last two seasons in a battle of maroon Panthers. Benton won both meetings — hammering Siloam Springs 63-0 at Benton in 2016 and then picking up a 49-14 road win last year.
Benton finished the 2017 season losing four of its last six games to finish 7-5.
Benton was a preseason favorite to challenge in 2018 in Class 6A along with fellow 6A-West members Greenwood and El Dorado and 6A-East standouts Pine Bluff and West Memphis.
“As far as their team goes, their defensive line we’re going to have to find
a way to neutralize them, which is going to be a big task for our offensive line,” Craig said. “Offensively their running back (Zak Wallace) is an outstanding running back. We’re going to have to keep him caged up and try not to let him break a lot of runs on us because he’s a kid that can obviously make a lot of plays.”
Siloam Springs (3-1, 1-0) has its own challenges Friday night, not just the opponent but the 230-mile trip down to Benton — the longest road trip of the season so far.
“Obviously, it’s a long trip,” Craig said. “You just have to break it up and give the kids a chance to get off the bus a little bit and find time to not be sitting for so long.”
The Panthers are coming off a 24-14 win against Sheridan last week where it played well defensively, giving up just 97 yards. But special teams blunders helped Sheridan take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Siloam Springs rallied to tie the game 14-14 at halftime and scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to earn the win.
“Our defense gave up 97 yards of offense so you wouldn’t expect to be in a 14-14 situation, but we had some special teams errors that cost us,” Craig said. “That’s an area that we’re continuing to work on, trying to find kids that will step up and play for us in that area and understand how impactful it is. I mean, it’s something that can change the course of a game dramatically, and we have to understand that and get better at it.
“From the standpoint of what we did, we handled the fact that we were down 14-0 and came back and played solid football the rest of the way. Anytime your defense gives up 97 yards, that’s something you have to be ecstatic about no matter who you’re playing. Our kids did a great job of adjusting and taking care of that. Hats off for having the courage to keep fighting and find a way to win the football game.”
Offensively, Siloam Springs senior running back Kaiden Thrailkill had his fourth straight game with more than 100 yards rushing, this time carrying 36 times for 165 yards. On the season, Thrailkill has 119 carries for 692 yards and eight touchdowns.