Benton Panthers: Bounce Back Team of the Regular Season
In this article:
The Benton Panthers are constantly loaded with great talent year after year. This season alone, I’ve seen more talent on the roster in all classes from Sophomore all the way to the Senior class. One of the tougher games at…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Benton Panthers are constantly loaded with great talent year after year. This season alone, I’ve seen more talent on the roster in all classes from Sophomore all the way to the Senior class. One of the tougher games at the beginning of the season was against the cross town rivals, the Bryant Hornets. Now, you can write an entire book over the Hornets and their years of success against the Panthers. Every year these two squads match up in the biggest rivalry in the state at War Memorial Stadium called the Salt Bowl. Now in the end the Hornets did pull off the win against the Panthers 38-17, which was to be expected. As the season continued challenges kept coming up and eventually in week three the Panthers dropped their second loss to the Catholic Rockets with a 38-14 score.
Now one of the more interesting stories of the year is Junior Braylen Russel. Russel is a move in from Lakeside and is an explosive back as the season kept going and the Offensive Line kept improving. Braylen is a phenomenal athlete with great breakaway speed with some really strong lower body strength!
One of the surprising elements of this Panther squad is how the offensive line bounced back immediately after the Catholic loss in week three. One of the more underrated players on that line is Karter Sanders. Sanders is really a strong big body player with some athleticism to back up his playing ability. I think that the offensive line as a whole has improved dramatically over the course of this season. The Panthers offensive line does face an okay, at times, Sheridan Yellow Jacket defensive line this coming Friday night as their last game of the season. I think they will dominate all over the field and pull out a win to improve to a solid 8-2 going into the playoffs.
One of the most overlooked areas of a team is the young players. As for Benton, they have a wide selection of talent in the Sophomore class. Lets just start with a monster 6″4 Parker Glaze Parker Glaze 6'4" | 270 lbs | OL Benton | 2025 State AR . Glaze has overcame some obstacles to prove himself as one of the better lineman in his class, and let me be the first to say, he has done just that. In every opportunity he’s had, he has shown out. I’m am also looking at two receivers with Maddox Davis and O’marcus King O’marcus King 5'7" | 150 lbs | WR Benton | 2025 State AR . King and Davis are really solid in the open field and have talented hands to show for their speed. In one game alone Davis had three receiving touchdowns. I look for those three guys to be the guys that lead the Sophomore class ahead of next season. They all three have great potential and some really solid ability to show out for college programs.
On the defensive side, one of the weak points for the Panthers is their passing defense. The defense at linebacker is solid with great depth and solid younger guys that will head up the defense when the time is right. Walter Hicks is one of the strongest and also physical defenders in his class, in my own opinion. Seeing him in workouts and games in person I can say he’s a great athlete and kid at heart. He has the determination to be a leader on that Panther squad.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Panthers bounce back after a rocky start to the season. This Friday night they should pick up the win against Sheridan. Historically, Benton has struggled early on in the game against the Yellow Jackets, but, they do usually pick up the win. This week I look to the younger guys to make some plays early on and for the seniors to ball out in their last regular season outing!