LITTLE ROCK — The biggest winner Tuesday night might have been Hurricane Gustav.
Remnants of the once powerful storm lashed War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, nearly washing away the ninth annual Salt Bowl between Saline County rivals Benton and Bryant.
An estimated crowd of 3,000 braved persistent rain and winds of about 35 mph.
The Salt Bowl normally draws more than 20,000 fans, making it the most heavily attended high school game in the state.
Charlie Staggs, manager of War Memorial Stadium, said he would have liked to move the game to Sunday, but the Arkansas Activities Association prohibits athletic competition on that day.
Thursday was unavailable because Fort Smith Southside and Little Rock Catholic already had the date booked.
Those schools had to open tonight instead of Friday because of turnaround time needed to prepare War Memorial for Saturday's Arkansas-Louisiana Monroe game.
"We tried to find another date," Staggs said. "There just wasn't anything out there."
Jacksonville and Cabot were scheduled to play Tuesday night in the inaugural Backyard Brawl at Jan Crowe Stadium.
But school officials decided Sunday night to move the game to Friday because of the forecast of heavy rain.
"Opening games are big for everybody, for their budget," Cabot Athletic Director Johnny White said. "We would have probably changed the game if it was here, too."
Panther Stadium has an artificial playing surface. Jan Crowe Stadium is natural grass.
All in the family?
When Little Rock Catholic meets top-ranked Fort Smith Southside tonight, Rockets Coach Ellis "Scooter" Register will see some familiar faces on the other sideline.
Rebels Coach Jeff Williams, defensive coordinator Keith Fimple, offensive coordinator Justin Key and offensive line coach Tadd Stewart worked under Register when he coached El Dorado from 1995-2002.
"It will be fun," Register said. "They're all great guys and great teachers of the game.
They're doing well."
Williams succeeded Register at El Dorado before moving to Southside in 2005.
This will be the first meeting between teacher and pupil.
Williams said Southside and Catholic were supposed to play two years ago, but a snag forced the Rebels to pick up Greenwood instead.
"It's kind of one of those deals that's going to be weird because I talk to him so much during the year," Williams said.
"I've got a lot of respect for that guy. I've learned a lot of football from him."
Sports, Pages 24 on 09/04/2008