BENTON PANTHER GAMEDAY - GREENWOOD

It’s time for Benton Panther Football!

Tonight at Smith Robinson Stadium in Greenwood, the Benton Panthers (9-2) and Greenwood Bulldogs (11-0) will tangle in a 6-A State Semifinal game at 7:00. The other semifinal pairing will match the Shiloh Christian Saints (9-2) at the Sylvan Hills Bears (10-1). The winners will meet on Saturday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium for the 6-A State Championship.

The Panthers and Bulldogs will play for the 10^th time, the first since a 31-24 Greenwood Semifinal win in 2022. However, the Panthers and Bulldogs have split the past meetings, with Benton winning in 2019 and 2021.

Tonight’s game has been framed as a duel between the top two starting quarterbacks in Arkansas high school football. Benton’s Drew Davis has completed 68% of his passes for 8,898 yards (117 TD) while rushing for 951 yards (22 TD) as a three-year starter. For Greenwood, Kane Archer, also a three-year starter, has completed 75% of his passes for 9,947 yards (125 TD) while rushing for 2,605 yards (54 TD). On the season, Davis (54) and Archer (50) have accounted for over 100 TDs combined rushing and passing.

This marks the seventh time in Brad Harris’ ten-year tenure that the Panthers have played on Black Friday and the fourth consecutive season. Greenwood has advanced to the State Championship game in all five previous seasons under Chris Young.

To add to the storyline, Greenwood has won 37 consecutive games, and their last home loss came in the Quarterfinal Round in 2014. The Bulldogs have won 76 straight times at Smith Robinson Stadium.

It’s been a record-breaking season for the Panthers already, and more records can fall tonight. With a win, this senior class will become the winningest class in Benton High School history with 30. Will Carter is one TD away from setting a new single season receiving record with 16 TDs (he’s also one yard away from 1,000). Poot Collatt is 125 yards away from reaching 1,000 yards receiving. And Drew Davis can set three new records: 9 completions will give him the career completion record, 25 completions will give him the single season completion record, and 252 passing yards will give him the single season passing yards record.

There’s a ton on the line, not the least of which is a spot in next Saturday’s State Championship game.

Per Arkansas Activities Association policy, all tickets for playoff games must be purchased online and are $8. Tickets can be purchased at this link: https://gofan.co/event/5487338?schoolId=AR16995.

For Panther fans unable to make the long trip to attend in person, you can watch all the action on the Benton Football Network YouTube channel at this link. An alternate Vimeo stream is also available at this link. The Everett Buick GMC Panther pregame show will begin at 6:30 p.m.  Tonight’s Hamilton Family Dentistry halftime guest will be Benton alum and Fort Smith attorney, Jay Kutchka.

Panther football on the Benton Football Network is presented by Everett Buick GMC. Also sponsoring Panther broadcasts are Lost Pizza, Legends MVP, Hamilton Family Dentistry, Merchants & Farmers Bank, Jones Heating & Air, Alcoa Community Federal Credit Union, Midtown Mechanical, Neo Home Loans, Black, Corley, Owens & Hughes, Solux Aesthetics, the City of Benton, Elliott Electrical, Truman Ball Realtors, Layne’s Chicken Fingers, Allied Glass, First Security Bank, Riverside Grocery & Catering, ACDI, True Gentlemen & Boutique, Congo Fireplace & Patio, Edward Jones agent Kaitlin King, Westside Wellness, and Herzfeld Insurance agent Jasen Kelly.

Go Panthers!