Maroon Madness : Panthers ready for Senior Bowl
Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Are you ready for the bright lights of Friday Night football ?
It's only May, but the Siloam Springs Panthers are geared up for its annual Senior Bowl, which will take place at 6: 30 p.m. Friday at Glenn W. Black Stadium.
According to Siloam Springs football booster club president Keith Berry," Signature Bank will be sponsoring a hamburger cookout before the game, so it should be a festive event for family time and fellowship."
The Panthers have spent the past week preparing for the upcoming season, which will start with their season opener on Sept. 5 at Farmington.
"We've (the coaches ) have really been impressed with the work ethic of the kids so far," Panthers head coach Clint Ashcraft said. "We have a number of underclassmen that don't have much Friday night experience, so our philosophy in the spring is to review the fundamentals and teach them our base offense and base defense."
In 2007, the Panthers finished the season with an 8-4 record, as well as reached the second round of the Conference 5 A state playoffs.
Ashcraft said in a previous Benton County Daily Recordarticle that the big question mark going into this spring was finding replacements for the departing skill players.
The Panthers graduated 5 A All-State quarterback Nathan Nall and all-state wide receivers Roger Jackson and Cody Reese from a team that averaged 41. 3 points per game.
• Nall, an incoming freshman quarterback for Henderson State University, passed for more than 3, 400 yards and 41 touchdowns in his final high school football season.
• Jackson, an incoming freshman wide receiver for Arkansas Tech University, garnered all-state honors after pulling down 76 receptions for 1, 525 yards and 23 touchdowns.
• Reese, an incoming freshman wide receiver for the University of Central Arkansas, also hauled in 44 catches for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns.
At the quarterback position, Ashcraft is currently looking at three prospects in senior lettermen Ryan Berry and juniors Paul Abbey and Brian Adair.
"Right now, we don't have a clear-cut choice on who is going to be the guy under center," Ashcraft said. "We're anxious to see what each one of them can do in a game-type atmosphere, such as this Friday's Senior Bowl."
Berry played sparingly as a backup to Nall this past season, while Adair and Abbey took snaps on the junior varsity.
"Whoever can move the offense the best will surely have a leg up in the competition," Ashcraft said.
At wide receiver, the Panthers are looking for offensive production from senior Nick Brill, who played in all 12 games last season.
Adding to the Panthers'receiving corp will be seniors Tyler Littlejohn and Chris Evans, as well as juniors Chris Villasenor, Travis Thurman, Tyler Stinson and Dalton Tharp.
Aside from the Senior Bowl, Ashcraft also plans for his Panthers to participate in the Northwest Arkansas 7-on-7 Passing League, which starts July 7. The passing league allows the Panthers'offense to get in quality time and reps against some of the area's top competition from 7 A and down, according to the fourth-year head coach. With the season kicking off in three months, Ashcraft said he's excited about the non-conference schedule. "We wanted to schedule games that were close to home so our fans would have the opportunity to attend," Ashcraft said. "Since the majority of conference games are long roadtrips, not many of our fans get a chance to see the Panthers play."
2008 Football Schedule • Sept. 5, Farmington, Away • Sept. 12, Stilwell, Okla., Away • Sept. 19, Gentry, Home • Sept. 26, Greenbrier (HC ), Home • Oct. 3, Vilonia, Away • Oct. 10, Morrilton, Home • Oct. 17, Central Arkansas Christian, Away • Oct. 24, Greenwood, Home • Oct. 31, Alma, Away • Nov. 7, Harrison, Home All games start at 7: 30 p.m.
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