BENTON PANTHER GAMEDAY – MOUNTAIN HOME

It’s time for Benton Panther Football!

The second season for the Panthers begins tonight when the Mountain Home Bombers come to the Palace for a 6-A State Playoff Quarterfinal matchup. Gates open at 5:00 and kickoff will be at 7:00.

The Panthers (8-2) earned the number two seed from the 6-A East and earned a first round bye. Mountain Home (9-2) is the three seed from the 6-A West and defeated Sheridan 78-42 in last Friday’s opening round of the playoffs.

Brad Harris’ Panthers will seek to win their opening playoff game for the eighth time in nine years. Harris (86-32 overall at Benton) teams have gone 10-8 in playoff games during his tenure and have reached the semifinal round in six of the previous nine seasons. This year’s senior class has won 28 games (and three consecutive conference championships) as Panthers and a win tonight will tie this group of seniors with last year’s senior class as the winningest in Benton High School football history.

Mountain Home, led by Missouri State Hall of Fame head coach Steve Ary, has won a playoff game in each of the past six seasons and advanced to the semifinals last season before falling at Greenwood.

Tonight will be the fourth-ever matchup between Benton and Mountain Home with the Panthers winning the previous three games: 42-21 (2016), 35-7 (2020), and 53-24 (2021).

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/5421724?schoolId=AR4644.

It’s going to be a comfortable November night and a perfect opportunity for fans to Pack the Palace to support the Panthers with a big homefield advantage.

For Panther fans unable 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 Rick Spivey, quarterback of the 1977 State Championship team.

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!