Bryant’s quest to return to gridiron title town begins with Friday’s clash against Benton
BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON
For the first time in six years, Bryant did not win its last football game and a state championship.
That streak ended at five straight state championships when Bentonville downed the Hornets 52-35 in the Class 7A state semifinals.
But head coach Quad Sanders and Bryant will try to start a new streak when it faces Benton Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the 50th annual Salt Bowl at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.
Sanders is entering his seventh season at Bryant, his second as head coach after taking over for Buck James and going 10-2 in 2023.
“I’m very excited about the season and trying to go back and get on the track we want to be on,” Sanders said. “About last year, we went to the semis and lost to Bentonville with no excuses. We just needed to execute better.
“I think this team will grow as a I grow. There were lots of things I felt like I could have done better to lead the team in a better direction…You can say he’s been there, but that’s not how it works. That’s not how football works.
“We just had to learn how to grow together and I think we have done a great job this offseason and from last season to this season.”
Bryant has nine defensive starters returning and seven offensive ones, including a quartet of three-year starters in quarterback Jordan Walker and H-back/receiver Karter Ratliffe and offensive tackles Cairo Terry and Matt Burks.
“We have a lot of experience and that’s why I have to take the blame with whatever happens,” Sanders said. “Not in the case of whether we win or lose, but how we win or lose is directly from me.
“We graduated 44 seniors the year before so a lot of these guys didn’t start (in 2022) and we had a lot of sophomores stepping in with those juniors who did play.”
Bryant has its usual non-conference gauntlet with Benton followed by games at Memphis (Tenn.) Christian Brothers and Little Rock Parkview.
That should prepare the Hornets for a chance at a sixth straight crown in the 7A Central, referred to as the SEC of Arkansas high school conferences.
“It is hard to find games when you have been successful so you have to play the hard opponents,” Sanders said. “…We are going to play the hardest schedule and the hardest people and that’s okay because then you ready for anything throughout the rest of the season.”
Photo by John D. James
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