BENTON -- Friday night's Class 6A-Central matchup between Benton and Sheridan had fans on the edge of their seats, but it had little to do with drama during the Panthers' 63-28 victory.
Benton had 528 total yards, 9 touchdowns and 9 extra points kicked by Bryan Araujo, the last coming with 6:49 to play in the fourth quarter.
"Those aluminum bleachers couldn't have felt too good," said Benton Coach Brad Harris, referring to the 35-degree temperature on the night. "But down here running around on the field, it feels good. It was a great night for football right here."
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Benton (7-3, 7-0 6A-Central) is off next week and awaits a quarterfinal matchup with either Jonesboro or El Dorado.
Sheridan (5-5, 3-4) is also in the playoffs as the conference's No. 4 seed and will host Pine Bluff on Friday.
Yellowjackets Coach Lance Parker said his team had a difficult night.
"We played hard, but it wasn't enough," he said. "It was one of those games you hate as a coach. It doesn't affect your seeding. If you're jockeying for a playoff spot, it's different.
"I wanted our kids to play hard, make it a football game, be competitive, and be ready to play our best football going into the playoffs."
Sheridan took advantage of a fumble recovery in the end zone after a bad snap on a Benton punt attempt to tie the game at 7-7. The Yellowjackets also scored two touchdowns in an attempt to keep up with Benton's high-powered offense to trail 35-21 at halftime
But Benton scored twice in the first seven minutes of the second half -- on Garrett Brown's 14-yard pass to Braden Murdoch, and D'Anthony Harper's 1-yard run after Benton blocked a Sheridan punt -- to make it 49-21.
Benton took advantage of two Sheridan fumbles in the first half and the blocked punt in the third quarter.
"They're a really good football team, and we can't afford to give them any gifts, and we did the first half," Parker said. "We were in it. We got the running game going."
The success of Brown (22-of-31 passing, 322 yards, 3 TDs) opened up running lanes for Harper (16-64), Gavin Wells (5-49) and Casey Johnson (5-48). Benton rushed for 206 yards.
Harper rushed for 4 touchdowns, 3 in the first half, and Johnson scored 1 touchdown in each half to lead the Panthers, who have won seven games in a row after an 0-3 start and have their eyes set on a return to the Class 6A championship game.
"We're not in it for one game. We want to be in it Dec. 7 at War Memorial and finish what we didn't last year," Harris said. "We've come a long way since we were 0-3. A lot of people counted us out."
Victories over Greenwood and Lake Hamilton in Weeks 8 and 9 give Harris a reason to believe.
"Last year didn't leave a good taste in our mouth, losing two times to Greenwood," Harris said. "We may end up playing them again, if we're there. That's a big if for us. Nothing will be easy to get back to War Memorial, but I'll take these guys. They're battle-tested, and they play with confidence."
Sports on 11/09/2019