December 11 in Bryant athletic history: 2018

State champs garner plethora of post-season honors

EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).

The Class 7A State champion Bryant Hornets were further honored individually this week with the announcement that 33 players have earned post-season honors including All-State selections tackles Blaise Smith and Logan Burton, defensive end Nate Wallace, defensive tackle Kajuan Robinson and running back Latavion Scott.

On the first team all-conference offense are guards Tanner Wilson, Jake Burton and Clay McElyea, centers Josh Stevens and Austin Trimble, quarterback Ren Hefley and wide receivers Josh Robinson and Jake Meaders.

The first-team all-conference defense includes defensive linemen Austin Bailey and Josh Salguerio, linebackers Catrell Wallace, Jake Wright, Jakob Neel, Daylon Land and Ahmad Adams and defensive backs Andrew Hayes, Derrick Rose, Tamaurion Wilson and Jabin Gulley.

Special teams all-conference picks include snapper Logan Reed, punter Austin Ledbetter and cover specialists Tristan Sehika and Cameron Scartlett.

Second-team all-conference picks are receivers Hayden Schrader, River Gregory and Grant Botti, defensive lineman Kyle Green and cornerback Christian Cain.

Wilson, Meaders, Bailey, Wallace, Adams, Land, Rose, Sehika, Scarlett, Green and Cain are juniors. Schrader, Gregory and Ledbetter are sophomores.

The Hornets finished 11-2 overall this season. The lone losses were during the regular season to Fayetteville 36-35 and North Little Rock 34-28. Both were avenged during the team’s playoff run to the program’s first-ever State title when the Hornets ousted Fayetteville 28-25, Fort Smith Northside 28-7 and North Little Rock 27-7.

The senior class became the winningest in Bryant football history reaching back to 1949 with 30 victories in three seasons. That includes a 7-2 mark in the playoffs where the Hornets had been 5-16 in all prior playoff games.