Bryant uses big second half to upend Benton in Salt Bowl

Benton star running back Braylen Russell was injured and didn't play in the second half

LITTLE ROCK — Leading 7-6 at halftime, the No. 1-ranked Bryant Hornets broke things open with 21 unanswered points in a 35-6 victory over Benton at War Memorial Stadium in the Salt Bowl, the annual rivalry between the two Saline County schools.

Mytorian Singeton, who did not catch a pass in the first half, scored two touchdowns to help break the game open. He caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Walker with 6:34 left in the third quarter. He caught a shovel pass from Walker and went six yards up the middle with 8:09 left. 

The Hornets special teams contributed when Brandon Bennett picked up a blocked punt after a scramble and returned it two yards for a touchdown with 10:52 left in the game. With the backups in game, Jeremiah Motes threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Tucker with 4:59 left to settle the final margin.

Benton’s Braylen Russell caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Clint Hooten with 45 seconds left in the first half. Russell, who rushed for 79 yards on 21 carries, left the game shortly after with an ankle injury and never returned.

 3 Takeaways

1.

Russell, who scored the Panthers’ only touchdown and had 79 yards rushing on 21 carries and caught 2 passes for 28 yards, did not play in the second half.

"He had a high ankle sprain,” said Benton head coach Brad Harris. “We didn’t feel like he would be effective. We feel like we would go with Chris [Barnard], and then he took a shot on the knee and started cramping. Braylen will be all right. He asked to go in and he was going to be very limited and we didn’t want to do that to him. He has a bright future.”

2. 

Mistakes hurt Benton in the first half. Junior Garrett Honeycutt missed a 42-yard field goal with 10:21 left in the second quarter which came one play after Maddox Davis dropped a 25-yard touchdown pass while running a slant pattern.

“It was 7-6 at the end of the half," Harri said. "We dropped a touchdown pass and missed a field goal, and felt we should have been up 17-7,” said Harris. “We missed opportunities. It is what it is. I was proud of the way we played the first half. We got to learn to finish.”

3. 

Mytorian Singleton, one of Bryant’s best receivers for the past two seasons, did not catch a pass in he first half. He came alive in the second half, catching 5 passes for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior QB Jordan Walker at the 6:34 mark of the third quarter and scoring on a 6-yard shovel pass with 8:09 left in the game.

“That’s the expectation for Mytorian,” said Bryant head coach Quad Sanders, who is in his first year after replacing Buck James, who is now at Conway.” We need to find ways to get the ball to him. That’s one me. I need to find ways to get my guys the ball. I have to do a better job of making sure we stay on track.”

--Jeff Halpern 

Photo of Bryant QB Jordan Walker by Tommy Land