Panthers pounce on Lions, a win away
BENTON -- The
Benton Panthers won their seventh straight game on Friday night, downing the Searcy
Lions 50-20 at Panther Stadium in Benton.
The Panthers tied their school-record streak of scoring 50 or more points to their fifth consecutive game, which they set last season. Even more impressive is Benton has scored at least 50 in the first half of the past five games.
The Panthers (7-1, 7-0) were dominant from the outset Friday, offensively and defensively, as the defense held the Lions to just 47 yards of offense in the first half on their way to a 50-0 lead at intermission. On the flipside, the Panthers gained 396 yards in that first half.
The win puts the Panthers a win away from clinching the 6A East, which will be no easy task on the road at West Memphis this Friday. The Blue Devils downed Greene County Tech 49-13 last night to improve to 6-1 in the East.
“Next week is conference championship week,” Benton Coach Brad Harris said in an interview with sideline reporter and former Panther quarterback Cason Maertens. “We have to go to West Memphis. They’re a very good football team. I understand they may have some injuries, but we can’t plan on that. We have to get ready this week, win each day to go try to win a conference championship.”
Maertens currently holds the Benton school record with 34 touchdowns in a season, but current sophomore Panther QB Drew Davis is on his heels. Davis, who broke a single-game record of seven TDS earlier this year, finished
12 of 14 for 260 yards and three touchdowns, putting him at 31 TDS for the season with two regular-season games to go, not counting the playoffs.
After Davis threw his second TD of the game, a 12-yard TD to junior receiver Maddox Davis to put Benton up 30-0 after Garrett Honeycutt’s extra point with 5:30 left to go in the half, Maertens realized his record was no longer safe.
“I’m scared,” Maertens said during the broadcast, unaware he held the school record before Friday night.
After the Panther
defense held Searcy to just 2 yards on their opening drive, it didn’t take long for Benton to get on the board. Davis hit Maddox Davis for 36and 2-yard gains before senior Braylen Russell took it to pay dirt from 14 yards out for the early 7-0 lead after Honeycutt’s point-after barely two minutes in.
Another forced punt by the Benton D, and the Benton O needed just one play to score again. A double pass from Drew Davis to Maddox Davis led to a 46-yard TD pass to junior Elias Payne and 13-0 lead after a muffed XP.
Benton scored once
more in the first quarter as Drew Davis found Payne for a 62-yard bomb for the 20-0 lead, and Honeycutt hit a 19-yard field goal for the 23-0 advantage early in the second.
The Panther defense held Searcy to minus-8 yards on the next drive and capped off a 10-play, 57-yard drive with a
Drew Davis to Maddox Davis 12-yard TD. The Lions punted once again and Drew Davis hit
Payne for a 78-yard gain before he hit Maddox Davis for an 8-yard TD for the 37-0 lead with about two minutes to go.
The Benton defense dug in even more as
Nick Wright sacked the Searcy QB, his second of the game, forcing a fumble, and Walter Hicks scooped and scored from 17 yards away for the
43-0 lead. Chris Barnard picked off a pass the next series and Russell capped a short drive with a 2-yard shovel pass TD to Maddox Davis for the 50-0 lead at the half.
“I’m really proud the way we came out and played,” Harris said.
“The first half, I was real pleased with them. Real surprised as well as we played against them. I thought we played well. Real proud of the effort.”
The Panthers were outscored 20-0 in the second half with the backups in.
“I wish we would have played a little better in the second half,” Harris said. “I didn’t think we played well offensively or defensively, of course.”
Payne had four catches for 181 yards an a TD, while Maddox Davis had seven for 74 and three TDS, throwing for another. Russell finished with six carries for 43 yards and TD, caught two for 37 and threw a TD pass.
In the first half, the Panther defense forced six punts and two turnovers, not allowing more than 18 yards in a drive. Searcy did not cross the 50-yard line in the first half.