Photo by Kate Patrick
The Bryant football program will be on display for Hornets fans, who can pick up team gear, Friday night at the annual Hornet Football Fan Fair, hosted by the Bryant Football Booster Club, at Bryant Stadium.
The Fair begins at 4:30 p.m. The Hornets’ Nest and a variety of vendors will be set up and concessions will be offered. Admission is $3.
The scrimmages will start at 5:15 p.m., with the eighth grade teams from Bethel Middle School, under new head coach Shane Clancy, and Bryant Middle School, led by head coach Brad Smotherman, squaring off at 5:15 p.m. At 6, the Hornets freshman team, mentored by head coach Kenny Horn, will hold an intersquad scrimmage followed by 6:30 by a high school junior varsity scrimmage at 6:30 and a varsity scrimmage at 7. Paul Calley begins his 12th season as the Hornets’ head coach.
Asked about his plans for the event, Calley said, “There’s some guys that we want to get a look at that may not get many reps when we go to scrimmage Pulaski Academy (on Tuesday, Aug. 26). We want to get a good look at those guys, give them a chance to get out on the field in a real-game situation, see how they handle it.
“We spend so much time, especially offensively — we don’t move the ball very much during practice,” he added. “We’ll practice on the hash and we’ll practice in the middle. We came out here and scrimmaged last Friday morning and our guys aren’t running to the ball. They’re running back to where they started from. Having them in a game situation, developing good habits is what we need to do.”
The Hornets scrimmage at Pulaski Academy then open the season with the annual Salt Bowl at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against the Benton Panthers on Friday, Sept. 5.
The Bryant freshmen host Pine Bluff in a scrimmage on Monday, Aug. 25, then opens the regular season at home on Thursday, Sept. 4, against Cabot South.
Friday’s scrimmage is the only tune-up scrimmage for the eighth grade teams. Bryant White of Bryant Middle School will also open against Cabot South on Thursday, Sept. 4. Bryant Blue of Bethel Middle School gets its season underway at home on Tuesday, Sept. 2, against Immaculate Conception of North Little Rock.
For complete schedules, go here.
