[Photo gallery] Hornets win, but one Panther rose above – See pics, video & Buc-ee’s announcement from Salt Bowl 2024

It was an amazing Salt Bowl game Friday night, August 30th, 2024, as the Benton Panthers faced the Bryant Hornets for the 50th time in this rivalry football game. But it hasn’t been 50 years as the Salt Bowl…

Read through to get some history on the Salt Bowl • see the photo gallery that we are continuing to add to • watch the video of what was arguably the most athletic play of the game or maybe the year • and find out the huge announcement that happened during the coin toss!

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READ MORE BELOW

SEE FULL PHOTO GALLERY AT www.mysaline.com/salt-bowl-2024-photos

The two teams have been playing since 1974, after Bryant had recently become a 3A team, and Benton was looking for a new challenger since Fort Smith Southside ended its contract to play them, according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas. The publication further states that the first official bowl game was held in 2000, after the crowd for the matchup became too large for any stadium in Saline County to hold them.

In the early years of the rivalry, Benton was the dominant team. But the city of Bryant has grown exponentially and so has its school system. So the Hornets have made a huge comeback. After Bryant won the 2022 game, it was at a tie of 24 wins for each team.

The Hornets surpassed the Panthers that next year, and for this 50th anniversary of the rivalry, Bryant won again, to make it 26 wins to Benton’s 24. It looked like a regular game going into the half, with Bryant’s score at 24 and Benton at 21.

But Benton came back for the third quarter and surprised everyone (video below) when Senior Receiver Elias Payne (#1) ran the ball and leaped directly over his opponent to make the touchdown. 😮👇 It was the stuff of movies. It was the kind of thing that makes you question if that really just happened. But there it was in the replay for everyone to see again: (video by Khadeja Al-Rashed)

Benton was up over Bryant, 24-28 after this touchdown. The crowd was going crazy. But it wasn’t a momentum Benton could keep. The Hornets came back by the end of the 3rd and kept scoring. The final score was Bryant 52, Benton 42.

Here are some more pictures from the game. Watch for us to update with a much larger picture gallery. And look below for a video of the huge announcement that Buc-ee’s is officially coming to Benton, Arkansas!

Now let’s talk about what happened at the coin toss. MySaline broke the story on July 23, 2023 that there was a real possibility of Buc-ee’s Travel Center building one of their huge locations right here in Benton, Arkansas.

For over a year, local residents went back and forth in their discussions both in person and online, wondering if it was really coming. But right before the coin toss, Shane Broadway directed everyone’s attention to the big screen, where Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the announcement that Buc-ee’s it is definitely coming to build. And then… Buc-ee himself came out on to the field in a Hummer provided by Everett Buick GMC, and driven by Benton Mayor Tom Farmer, along with Gary James, Executive Director/CEO of the Benton Chamber of Commerce.

🏈🏈🏈See the full photo gallery at www.mysaline.com/salt-bowl-2024-photos – updated September 1, 2024.

If you’d like to purchase full-resolution, printable files of any of the photos, let us know by emailing [email protected].

It’s $5 per file/pic or if you need more than 5, we’ll give you a bulk price. 🏈🏈🏈

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See the list of all the events in Saline County, at www.mysaline.com/events.