The Benton Tigers will head out on the road to challenge the Leesville Wampus Cats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Benton is looking for their season's first victory.
On Thursday, Benton came up short against Captain Shreve and fell 59-48. While the Tigers had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Gators 20-7.
Benton might have lost, but man, Malachi Zeigler was a machine: he threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.0 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 70 yards and one score on only seven carries. Greg Chambers also helped with two TDs in total.
Even if they lost, Benton's defensive line still kept up the pressure with four sacks. Landon Blankenship was especially locked on to Captain Shreve's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, while it was all tied up 14-14 at halftime, Leesville was not quite Pineville's equal in the second half on Friday. They took a 28-21 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Rebels. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Benton will need to focus on slowing down Grant Braxton, one of several Leesville players who made an impact when they last played. He rushed for 145 yards and one touchdown, and also picked up 36 receiving yards. Another passer making a difference was Trel Broom, who threw for 247 yards and a pair of TDs on only 19 passes.
Benton's loss dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Leesville, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Benton has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 266.2 passing yards per game. Leesville, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 182.2 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Benton was dealt a bruising 44-0 loss at the hands of Leesville in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Tigers, Xavier Ford (who rushed for 367 yards and seven scores while picking up 11.1 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
