BENTON — The opening week of football season will be a special one for fans in Saline County as all four schools — Benton, Bryant, Bauxite and Harmony Grove — have obtained new head football coaches during the offseason. The latest is Benton, which, after former coach Scott Neathery stepped down to take the athletic-director position with the district, has hired Brad Harris to replace Neathery.
“Obviously, that first week, we play Bryant in the Salt Bowl, and with both schools hiring new coaches, I believe that is just going to add another element to it,” Harris said. “So Sept. 2 is going to be the battle of Saline County.”
Last year, the Salt Bowl at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock drew a record 34,000 fans.
Harris was the defensive coordinator for the Benton Panthers the past two seasons. He was also the head coach at Lincoln High School (2008-2013) for six years and the head coach at Arkadelphia (2003-2007) for five.
Other notable coach changes in Saline County include Buck James taking charge at Bryant after Paul Calley left for Harmony Grove and Daryl Patton taking over the reins at Bauxite. Patton and Calley coached together at Bryant, beginning in 1999, before Patton left for Fayetteville in 2002. The two faced each other in the semifinals of the state tournament last year, with Fayetteville coming out on top over Bryant.
“It has definitely been a whirlwind,” Harris said.
Calley and Patton will open their respective seasons against each other this year on Sept. 2.
James succeeded Calley last winter after serving the past two years as an assistant at Little Rock Christian. James spent eight years as head coach at Camden Fairview, compiling a 91-24 record. James’ Cardinals captured seven conference championships and the 2012 state title.
“It is a neat dynamic,” Neathery said. “It is going to be a neat thing.
“It adds excitement to football in Saline County.”
Neathery went 33-37-1 from 2010-2015 and led the Panthers to a 6A-South Conference championship and an appearance in the Class 6A state championship game in 2014, before losing to Pine Bluff. Last season, Benton finished 9-3 and lost to Greenwood in the semifinals.
This is the second time Neathery has served as athletic director at Benton. He held the position from 2007 to 2010 before becoming the school’s football coach before the 2010 season.
In 2006, Neathery coached one game at Sheridan before being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
Neathery replaces Randy McFarlin, who resigned in May after the hiring of new superintendent Mike Shelton.
“It’s just good timing,” Neathery said. “It’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly when I decided to leave, but for six years, I have worked hard to turn the program around and put our kids in a good situation.
“Timing is everything. It is time for me to move on and time for somebody to take over and take it to the next level.”
Although late in the hiring season, Neathery is confident the program is at the level to attract “the best talent in the state.”
“No. 1, [Brad] is a good person, he is a high character guy, and he is good for the kids,” Neathery said. “No. 2, he’s been successful at every step and has been a head coach for a while.
“We were fortunate enough to have him as our defensive coordinator. When he came, he changed our defense up and totally revamped it.”
Harris and his wife, Ava, are originally from Arkadelphia, so getting to move back to the area two years ago was definitely a huge plus.
“I knew I wanted to stay close if possible,” Harris said, “so this was a good opportunity for us.”
“The coaching staff has been very supportive of me in taking this position,” he said. “I am very grateful to them and Neathery.”
Neathery said he interviewed others for the position, but having worked with Harris made the decision pretty easy.
“It is a lot easier knowing what you are getting,” Neathery said. “If we had hired someone from the outside, we may know their reputation, but being with [Harris] every day for two years and having interaction with him, we know what we are getting. We felt like he was the best coach we could get here.”
Harris was hired June 23, but his first official day as head coach was not until July 4. He spent the first week trying to hire a new assistant coach, preparing for a couple of 7-on-7 camps and “just trying to get a lot done.” He said he hadn’t even met with the players yet.
“I am excited about the challenge,” Harris said.
Another challenge the new coach will have to endure this season is the conference changes. Gone from the 6A-South is Pine Bluff, as well as Little Rock Hall and Parkview, and the conference has added Greenwood, Russellville and Siloam Springs. The conference has also been renamed 6A West, as the state was basically split down the middle.
Twenty-four seniors graduated in May after helping Benton post 20 wins over the past two seasons.
“But we got a good nucleus of our guys back from last year,” Harris said.
Harris’ oldest son, Drew, played football at Benton his senior season, where he scored 23 touchdowns, caught 89 passes for 1,559 yards and 15 touchdowns, and ran for 475 yards and six TDs. He scored on a punt return and a kickoff return. He also compiled a 6-1 record for the baseball team, allowing only five earned runs all season. He batted .322 and struck out only eight times in 110 plate appearances.
Drew, 19, is a sophomore at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia. His younger brother, Brayden, will be a senior at Benton and was the leading tackler for the Panthers last season at middle linebacker.
Harris said his sons have been coming to football practice and field houses since they were little.
“I have coached [Brayden] all the way through, from seventh grade to 12th grade,” Harris said, “so it is a familiar structure for me. That’s all they know.”
Harris also has a daughter, Ava, who is 12 years old. His wife teaches third grade at Angie Grant Elementary School, and the couple have been married for 21 years.
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.