Saturday, January 28th, the City of Bryant Parks and Recreation Department is hosting the Saline County Flag Football Classic 5 on 5 Tournament. Activities will start at 8am at the Bryant High School turf field.

$20 per person
5 on 5, minimum 5 people per team
Round robin tournament
Field goal contest at intermission
Free agency available

Register before January 15th and get a free shirt.

For more info, contact Brandon Griffin at the Bryant Parks & Recreation at 501.847.7275.

LITTLE ROCK — With the game exactly three weeks away, Salt Bowl officials outlined plans for the events Friday afternoon leading up to the annual backyard rivalry between Benton and Bryant played at War Memorial Stadium.

What used to be a game has turned into a series of events and vehicle for fans from both schools to help charitable causes.

This year, Panthers and Hornets fans lend aid to the Rice Depot, American Cancer Society and American Red Cross.

Fans can help the Rice Depot with monetary donations as well as jars of peanut butter. Officials hope to raise $6,000 and collect 5,000 pounds of peanut butter. Auto Body of America plans to donate a vehicle to the Rice Depot during pre-game ceremonies.

Officials will ask fans attending the game to donate money via text message to the American Cancer society. The goal is to raise $2,500.

The Red Cross plans blood drives at Benton High School on Tuesday Aug. 29 from 8 a.m to 6 p.m. and at Bryant High School on Wednesday, Aug. 31 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. All blood donors receive a rally rag of the team of their choice. Officials hope to collect 500 units of blood.

There are also plenty of other plenty of events leading up to the game and spilling into game day. At 5:30 p.m. Monday Everett Buick GMC plays host to a Benton Pep Rally.

At 5:30 Tuesday, the Saline County Car Dealer plays host to a Bryant pep rally. The Cajun Eatery provides hot dogs for both events.

Game day festivities kick off with “Arkansas’ Largest Tailgate Party.” Fans can enjoy free hot dogs and sodas, complements of Saline County banks and credit unions and Coca-Cola. The party begins at 5 p.m. and continues until 7. The stadium gates open at 6.

Just prior to kickoff, the youth football teams from Benton and Bryant are introduced and cheerleaders from each school perform. The coin flip precedes the game and the coin used is provided by Everett’s. Each senior football player, cheerleader and band member will receive a gold commemorative coin with a Salt Bowl logo and Everett logo.

At halftime both dance teams perform and two different contests are held. One lucky Chick-fil-A customer, who signs up at the Bryant location prior to the game, will kick a field goal for a chance to win a year’s supply of chicken.

Everett holds its annual “Toss for a Truck” contest.

Three contestants will be picked from those who entered at the tailgate party and will try to throw three passes into a truck. Female contestants must throw balls in the tuck bed from the 10-yard left hash, the 15-yard middle and 10-yard right has in 24 seconds. Male contestants must land passes form the 15-yard left hash, 20-yard middle and 15-yard right hash with the same time limit.

For $10 fans can buy tickets, with an official T-shirt included, at Central Arkansas Big Red locations. Children 5-and-under are free. Officials suggest buying tickets prior to game day to avoid lines. Tickets at the gate sell for $8 and T-shirts sell for $15.

The committee is working HARD to raise the $7000 needed to put our event in the Top 10 Relays in the State of Arkansas.

Here are the specifics for the Celebrity Waiter Fundraiser:

What: Celebrity Waiter Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
How: Celebrity Waiters serve up donations and tips to American Cancer Society – Relay for Life of Saline County
How #2: Donate online to the Celebrity Team or join our team!
Why: To raise money that will put us in the top 10 relays in the state!!!!
Where: Larry’s Pizza on Hwy 5 in Bryant
When: Tuesday, August 2, 5:00-8:00pm  (celebs check in at 4:30pm)
Who: State and local celebrities, local mayors, radio personalities, former Razorback Players (not yet confirmed), and more.

Donations made payable to:  American Cancer Society

If anyone knows of a celebrity who would like to donate some time & raise lots of money to benefit the American Cancer Society, please send an email to relay4lifesalinecounty@gmail.com

There will be a plaque placed in Larry’s Pizza that will have the winning Celebrities name on it for 2011, along with the top fundraiser for 2010, Tom Farmer. For those who don’t know Mr. Farmer is a former coach for Bryant. Will Benton be able to take the title for this year??

Congratulations Benton Cheer! The Benton Cheerleaders performance at the 2011 National High School Cheerleading Championship get them the #2 national ranking for 2011.

If you are an avid sports fan and love writing about Benton or Bryant sports (school sports and city sports) and want to gain recognition as a writer, this is your opportunity to shine.

If you are an avid fan of Benton and Bryant politics and want a platform to share your opinions and report on political events in Benton and Bryant, this is your opportunity to shine.

If you are a writer and need a platform to publish your stories about Benton and /or Bryant, this is your opportunity to shine.

If you attend Bryant High School or Benton High School and write for your school paper and want another platform to publish your stories, this is your opportunity to shine.

If you are a photographer (amateur or professional) and want to contribute to the Benton Vs. Bryant website, this is your opportunity to show off your creative photography skills on a popular platform.

Please click here and send your information via the contact form on this Benton Vs. Bryant website.

Benton Basketball: Benton Panthers vs. Pine Bluff Zebras

Outplayed for three and half quarters by the talented, tall and taunting Pine Bluff Zebras, the Benton Panthers out hustled and out played the Zebras the last 4:14 of the game to come away with a dramatic 1 point win. With the Panthers down by 15 points in the fourth quarter, the stands begin to empty as the Panthers began the comeback of the season.

After a tough 4:00 battle to get back in the game, the Panthers were down by only 1 point with under 15 seconds to go. After a fatal Zebra violation in the back court, the Panthers passed the ball in bounds, around the key, and down to the baseline where Eddie Poland was all alone in the corner. Instead of taking a chance on a jumper, Poland drove straight to the bucket with an easy layup on his mind… but instead, finished the drive with a dramatic one-handed dunk that rattled the entire arena. WOW!

The Benton Panthers’ one point victory over the Pine Bluff Zebras is one of the biggest highlights of the year. Eddie Poland’s dunk to win the game is destined for the highlight reels forever.

As the election results rolled in, interesting onlookers kept a close eye on the Bryant mayoral race. Republican Jill Dabbs defeated current Mayor Larry Mitchell and will become Bryant’s first female mayor.

Dabbs defeated Mitchell 2,586 to 2,199.

Bryant  businesswoman, Jill Dabbs is challenging Mayor Larry Mitchell in his re-election bid. Dabbs announced her candidacy on Tuesday.
She is the chief operating manager of her family-owned business, Back and Body Chiropractic in Bryant. If elected, Dabbs said she would bring “an innovative style of leadership” to Bryant. She said she is “very excited about running for mayor.”

“I love this community and have enjoyed being part of it for the past 10 years,” she said. “I’m looking forward to serving in a different capacity, and I think we can make a lot of positive changes in Bryant.”

Dabbs said her top priorities would include “practicing fiscal responsibility, engaging the public in city government and implementing fair business practices that benefit the private sector of our community.”

She said she wants to create “an-open-door working relationship” with city organizations to promote economic growth and help businesses flourish.

“I am a visionary leader who will take a hands-on approach to managing the spectacular growth of this city,” she said. “As chief executive of Bryant, I will prioritize economic development, focusing on sustaining what we have and actively looking toward the future.”

If she wins the mayor’s seat, Dabbs said she will immediately address flood problems associated with the Bryant Watershed. “Progress must be made in correcting Bryant’s flooding issues, and I will work responsibly and directly with city leaders to develop reasonable solutions.”
She says she also wants to “modernize” the mayor’s office by expanding the website, utilizing social media and developing an online checkbook to allow Bryant residents to track where tax dollars are being spent.

“I want to create an honest and open dialogue with our community, engaging people in city government and involving our youth, which is the future of our city.” Dabbs said she plans to be “engaged in the growth that’ taking place” in Bryant. “I love this city and want our government to work efficiently and effectively for this community.”

Dabbs is married to Dr. Allan M. Dabbs and they have two children, Emily, 16, and Reagan, 10. She serves as president of the Bryant Barracudas Swim Team and is a board member for the Racers Swim Club, a USA age-level team. She is also a founding member of the People for Parks Committee, which was instrumental in the development of Bishop park. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech communication from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.