Bryant entered the 2016 season as one of the unknown teams in the state with new Coach Buck James.
James replaced Paul Calley, the longtime coach who left Bryant in December for Benton Harmony Grove. James won the 2012 Class 5A state championship at Camden Fairview before heading to Little Rock Christian as an assistant coach in 2014.
The Hornets began the season Friday against their Saline County rival Benton in the Salt Bowl at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, but the Hornets trailed 7-0 at halftime as Benton scored on Beau Brewer's 50-yard touchdown run with 2:50 left in the first half.
Bryant turned the game around in the third quarter when junior Cameron Vail intercepted a pass by Benton's Nate Beck and returned it 33 yards to the Panthers 13. Four plays later, senior running back De'Amonte Terry scored on an 8-yard run to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:56 left in the third quarter.
Hayden Ray's 25-yard field goal gave Bryant its first lead, 10-7, with 7:37 remaining, and Bryant held on to beat Benton when senior Collin Welch tackled Preston Stone at the 10-yard line with no time remaining.
James had no doubt his team could start 1-0, despite the program's uncertainty going in with a new quarterback, senior Beaux Bonvillain, and a new coaching staff.
"We told them at halftime we could win the football game," James said. "We thought we could score more points than what we did. They have a really veteran defense, and they did a good job of containing what we could do.
"It was one of those games where it's a rivalry game and you throw out what's supposed to happen. Two teams play. We were the ones who were on top."
During the offseason, James tried to get his team to understand that the early-morning practices he put them through and the 7-on-7 tournaments the Hornets played in were going to help come September. At least for one night, they did.
"That's what they've got to learn," James said. "The work they did paid off."
WALDRON
Victory column
Waldron put its long losing streak to bed Friday night.
The Bulldogs, who had lost 43 consecutive games entering this season, traveled to Mansfield and routed the Tigers 45-0 to earn their first victory since 2011.
Trey Williams rushed for 144 yards and 1 touchdown on 9 carries and Mason Chick caught a touchdown pass as Waldron rolled up 403 yards of offense.
"The kids did everything we asked them to do last Friday," Coach Ricky May said. "I guess four-and-a-half years of frustration came out."
Waldron was solid defensively as well, holding Mansfield to 135 yards.
"We were running fast to the ball," May said. "We had good open-field tackles. The defense was the strong point of our team. We played really well on defense."
The Bulldogs, who will play in the 4-4A Conference this season after playing in the 7-4A, return 11 starters from last year's 0-10 team, including six on offense and five on defense.
Getting that first victory last week was critical for the Bulldogs, May said.
"1-0. That was one of our goals listed on our board," May said. "The community was moved by us winning. That did more for our kids than anything else. Our kids now know their community believes in them. We had standing room only last week. We expect the same this week at Cedarville."
For the first time in four years, Waldron enters a game week with a victory the week before, as it heads to Cedarville on Friday night. But while the Bulldogs are excited about being 1-0, May has bigger goals ahead for his team.
"We want to make the playoffs this year," May said. "We want to build from that."
BAUXITE
Tough night
Bauxite started 14 sophomores Sept. 1 at Benton Harmony Grove.
The youth showed for the Miners in a 49-17 loss to the Cardinals in Haskell.
Sophomore Cameron Landry made his first varsity start and struggled, completing 12 of 30 passes for 99 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
First-year Bauxite Coach Daryl Patton said Landry struggled, but will improve as the season goes on.
"He made a lot of mistakes. He's got to learn from them," Patton said. "You can't go out there and do things. You have to play within the system. I'm not mad at Cameron. He's talented. He's going to be a good one. He's got a big future ahead of him.
Patton has coached the likes of Brandon Allen, Austin Allen and Taylor Powell at quarterback during his 13-year tenure as Fayetteville's coach in 2003-2015, so he's familiar with solid quarterback play. He saw those quarterbacks struggle in their first year as a varsity starter as well.
"He had a Brandon Allen/Austin Allen night as a sophomore," Patton said of Landry. "He tried to do too much at times and it kind of bit him. He'll get better. We'll learn from it."
Bauxite trailed 21-0 after the first quarter and was never able to get back into the game. However, Patton said his players played hard in what was billed as the Saline River Showdown between the Saline County teams.
"We're a young team," Patton said. "We're going to have some growing pains. But don't let go of the rope. Keep on swinging, keep on fighting and get off the mat."
Bauxite travels to Glen Rose, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's No. 1 team in Class 3A, on Friday before taking on Dumas at The Pit on Sept. 16.
"It's going to be fun to see how much we can grow as a team and see how much better we get as the season progresses," Patton said.
EXTRA POINTS
White Hall snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 41-30 victory over Dumas on Friday night. Senior running back Lance Smith rushed for 262 yards and 4 touchdowns on 26 carries as the Bulldogs won their first game since Week 10 of the 2014 season when they defeated De Queen. Junior linebacker Kyler Barber led White Hall's defense with 14 tackles while senior defensive lineman Christian Lowery had 13 tackles. ... Senior Demontauz Gray rushed for 228 yards and 1 touchdown on 22 carries in Junction City's 27-6 victory at Bearden on Friday night. It was the Dragons' first game in Class 3A. Senior Joe Lowe threw two touchdown passes and junior defensive lineman Brennan Lee returned a fumble 78 yards for another score. ... New Coach Khris Buckner earned his first victory at Clarksville, his alma mater, with a 24-19 victory against Lamar. Buckner was Clarksville's quarterback in 1993-1995 and later went to Central Arkansas. The Panthers finished with 315 rushing yards, with seniors Diamonte Polidore (12 carries, 112 yards, 1 touchdown) and Rease Howard (19 carries, 100 yards, 1 touchdown) leading the way. ... Nine teams recorded shutouts last week -- Springdale Har-Ber (Class 7A); Little Rock Hall and Sheridan in Class 6A; Huntsville, Trumann and Waldron in Class 4A; Mountain View in Class 3A; and Mountainburg and Woodlawn in Class 2A.
Sports on 09/08/2016