On Friday, The West Memphis Blue Devils faced the Benton Panthers in a battle between two of the state's top teams. West Memphis' tough 56-31 defeat to Benton might stick with them for a while. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for West Memphis in their matchups with Benton: they've now lost four in a row.
Benton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kade Lewallen, who threw for 137 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 passes. Bronson Coolis was another key contributor, picking up 76 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
West Memphis' defeat dropped their record down to 6-2. As for Benton, the victory (which was their eighth in a row) raised their record to 7-1.
West Memphis will head out on the road to face off against Searcy at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Searcy is on a four-game streak of home wins, West Memphis a three-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the field. Benton will take on Sheridan at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Sheridan will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Arkansas Rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Benton is ranked seventh).
