Hot Springs wins Benton Tournament that featured a host of new signal callers

Hot Springs defeated host Benton 44-36 for the tournament crown

By Kyle Sutherland | Photo by Sam Lane

BENTON - It will be another two months before full-pad football practices begin, but luckily summer 7-on-7 tournaments give fans a chance to get a first look at their team’s skill position players, albeit in shirts, shorts, and helmets. 

Sixteen teams statewide met Monday at Everett Field for the 10th annual Benton 7-on-7 Tournament. Pool play started things off in the morning, followed by bracket play in the afternoon.

In the semifinal round, Hot Springs took down crosstown foe Lake Hamilton, while Benton defeated Camden Fairview. The finals between the Trojans and host Panthers was an expected offensive showdown as Hot Springs came out on top 44-36.

The four pools went as follows:

Pool A - Arkadelphia, Benton, Lake Hamilton, Little Rock Southwest

Pool B - Bauxite, Beebe, Nashville, White Hall

Pool C - Camden Fairview, Hot Springs Lakeside, Sylvan Hills, Valley View

Pood D - Forrest City, Hot Springs, Russellville, Prescott

A common denominator with the participating squads - especially the playoff contenders - was the majority will have a fresh face under center for the 2023 season, including tournament host Benton.

The Panthers currently have a competition brewing between veteran senior Cline Hooten and heralded sophomore Drew Davis. Head coach Brad Harris has been pleased with their progression and can breathe a little easier unlike other years.

“We are really happy with where we are at, the past two years we have not had a clue (who would start) until almost the Salt Bowl,” Harris said. “Cline has worked really hard all offseason and last year was a starter for half of the season so that really helped him out confidence wise. Then you have the young one in Drew Davis who can spin it and really play.”

Six different players attempted a pass for Benton last year starting with Gary Rideout before breaking his hand in Week 0 and then converted to defensive back, while Jack Woolbright, Hudson Chandler, Maddox Davis, and Drake Womack also contributed.

Hooten took over midway through the season and helped the Panthers to the 6A semifinals where they took Greenwood to the wire on the road. Hooten led the team in all passing categories finishing with 1,278 yards and 11 touchdowns while completing 66% of his passes. Davis moved up to varsity after throwing for over 2,000 yards for the Benton junior high team and compiled nearly 1,000 total yards and seven touchdowns.

“I would not call it a controversy, we just have two quarterbacks who can play and that is what we like,” Harris said. “They are both pushing and competing against each other and they know they are out there to do that.

“We are giving Cline every opportunity to be our guy. Drew knows that and is competing with him and it is going to be fun all summer. This year both of the quarterbacks we have in June are further ahead of what we were last year going into the season.”

One of the other main questions for Benton is the health of star running back Braylen Russell. After transferring in from Hot Springs Lakeside, Russell played throughout the year with a nagging foot injury but was still highly productive, eclipsing 1,643 yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging nearly seven yards per carry.

The four-star back was initially the first commitment to Arkansas for the 2024 class before reopening his recruitment in October, just shy of a year after giving his pledge to the Hogs. He will make his college decision on July 14 between Arkansas, Baylor, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.

The scary part for opponents is Russell looked really good during Monday’s competition and is now fully healthy per Harris.

“He was not healthy all of last year starting with turf toe in the summer and he also had a fracture at the base of his foot,” Harris said. “He is back at full speed this year and at the end of offseason he ran a 4.48 (forty time) for us at 235 pounds. He is big, physical, and fast.

“You will see a different Braylen Russell this year.”

5A-South contenders impressed

Camden Fairviews and Hot Springs finished second and third in the 5A-South standings in 2022 behind 5A champion Parkview. 

As previously mentioned, Hot Springs took the tournament title home, while the Cardinals advanced to the semifinals. Hot Springs was in the minority of teams that welcome back their signal caller, senior Matt Contreras, who impressed in his first season as a starter passing for over 2,700 yards and 34 touchdowns. 

"You can not deny his arm," Hot Springs head coach Darrell Burnett said. "Between him and the kid from Mills (Achillies Ringo), they got one of the strongest arms in the state. Our biggest thing is we have to get some of these younger receivers going."

Camden Fairview graduated Grambling State baseball commit Martavius Thomas, but the coaching staff has a load of confidence in junior Darrell Atkins, who was impressive throwing the ball on Monday. Atkins only attempted only 19 passes in 2022, but head coach Nick Vaughn feels everything should come together quickly.

"We saw a lot of flashes last year during team camps and knew that he was going to be pretty good," Vaughn said. "The great thing about him is he is always learning and he is not going to make the same mistake twice. 

"The best thing about it (playing in 7-on-7) is we are not even running the football right now and that is what we are going to hang our hat on. We are going to be different than what we were last year, but we have a chance to be just as good because he can throw it."

Little Rock Southwest prepped to keep trending up 

As expected with any new program, Southwest has had many more frustrations than triumphs over the past three seasons. However, the Gryphons are equipped with some of the state's elite facilities, along with a four-time state champion in head coach Daryl Patton, so the next step is becoming a consistent winner.

The Gryphons won two games in each the past two seasons while running variations of the Flexbone and Dead T offenses, but are making the switch to the spread this season. 

Patton noticed plenty of positives in his program's first ever time participating in a 7-on-7 tournament.

Junior quarterback Chase Forte was a big addition coming over from Parkview and looked good despite only being a part of the team for just shy of a week. Forte's classmate Mokai Mohammed who started under center last season and is especially proven in the ground game.

"Chase is really good, really good but he has only been here for four or five days," Patton said. "Mokai is more of an athlete, a running quarterback, so we are going to rotate them a little bit. 

"As we move forward obviously Chase will probably be the guy."

Another key transfer for the Gryphons was the addition of senior Derrick Murdock from Mills. Murdock was an SBLive All-State first team selection after collecting 111 total tackles, 52 for loss, and 16 sacks as a junior.

The Division I prospect has enjoyed his time in purple and green so far. 

"Over here I feel like I am learning everything I need to bring me to the next level," Murdock said. "I feel like I can bring a heart to this team. Everywhere I am I try to bring everybody up and be a leader."

White Hall expects to pass more in second year under Ryan Mallett

Bobby Bolding took White Hall to the 2021 5A state finals before stepping away soon after and the Bulldogs made a splash hire in former Razorback and NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett, who previously spent two seasons as Mountain Home's offensive coordinator. 

With less than a handful of starters back for the 2022 season, White Hall was competitive, but missed the playoffs finishing 4-6 and seventh in the 5A-Central during Mallett's first year. 

The Bulldogs rushed for over 2,000 yards, powered by the one-two punch of running back Jayden Smith (1,047 yards, 13 touchdowns) and quarterback Noah Smith (687 yards, two touchdowns). 

Following a full season, plus another offseason, Mallett feels Noah Smith is ready to take that next step in the passing game for his senior campaign.

"I think we will be more balanced because Noah has gotten really comfortable with the system," Mallett said. "Last year it was all new for him because he had not run it. We ran the ball well for the most part, but then they put eight or nine in the box so you have to be able to throw the ball.

"It will be a little more multiple than last year also because we have more skill guys ready to go and do not have to play as many guys two ways."

3A and 4A programs competing with upper classifications

While most participants represented Class 5A and Class 6A, some of the smaller programs took advantage of the opportunity as 4A powers Arkadelphia and Nashville made the trip from Southwest Arkansas, as did top 3A squad Prescott. 

Nashville missed the playoffs for the first time in three decades in 2021, but rebounded last year and became one of the hotter teams in the back half of the season. The Scrappers made a run to the 4A semifinals before falling to eventual state champion and 4A-7 foe Malvern.

Quarterback Sloan Perrin and running back Tre Hopkins led the charge, and Hopkins returns as one of the top runners in the state after back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, but the Scrappers will have to replace Perrin who signed with Henderson State.

Sophomore Karson Chambers expects to take the reins for the storied program.

"Karson does a lot of really good things and the one downside, if you say, is there really is no varsity experience," Nashville head coach Mike Volarvich said. "(That being said) He is mature for his age and he does some things different than Sloan and I think he can do some things that will be better as well."

Along with Nashville, Arkadelphia has been one of the premier programs in the 4A-7, and all of Class 4A, in recent memory. The Badgers won back-to-back state titles in 2017-18 and are coming off of two straight semifinals appearances. 

With multiple skill players to replace offensively, the most noticeable will be the departure of quarterback Donovan Whitten, who accepted a preferred walk-on spot at Arkansas following a heralded prep career. 

Senior Cade McBride, who started at linebacker last season, is one of the prime candidates to take over, along with Maddox Fendley who led the Badgers' junior high to a conference title in 2022.

"Cade is a leader on the team and very vocal," Arkadelphia head coach Trey Schucker said. "He plays with confidence and that is the biggest thing because at the quarterback position you have to be able to do that. Maddox has a great skill set. He is younger, but is very talented and can use his legs to do different things. 

"It is a big quarterback battle, but I think we are going to be alright."

Former 4A-7 member, Bauxite, also made the short trip to Everett Field and has a unique quarterback situation of its own.

The Miners lost senior Hunter Ferrell, an Arkansas-Monticello signee, for the season during a 38-35 loss to Clinton on October 7.

Sophomore Marcus Wimberly - who played a Swiss Army knife role - was at quarterback for the remainder of the year following Ferrell's injury. Wimberly has recently received multiple Division I offers and expects to play at quarterback when needed, but Benton transfer Hudson Chandler, a senior, has impressed the coaching staff as well.

"Hudson moved in and is doing a great job so far for us this summer," Bauxite head coach Caleb Perry said. "Having a guy who can throw it frees us up to move Marcus around a little bit, but Marcus is still a great quarterback and will see a lot of time there."

Prescott was the only Class 3A program participating and per usual displayed their great speed. Southern Arkansas baseball signee Carston Poole quarterbacked the Curley Wolves for the past two seasons and led them to the 2021 state finals. 

Another future college baseball player will get his chance as Kansas State commit Pierce Yates takes over after starting at linebacker the past two seasons.

"He has a big arm and throws about 90 in baseball so he has just got to know what to do and get his timing down," Glass said of Yates. "He throws a good ball and we feel really good about him."

With Poole taking essentially all of the varsity reps the past two years, Glass reiterated that with only JV experience under Yates' belt that it is really just about repetition. 

"He has got to figure out where his second and third reads are," Glass said. "Also has to get it out a little quicker, but he continues to progress."