When a first isn’t really a first

It will be the first meeting between Bentonville High and Bentonville West when the two teams square off Friday night at Tiger Stadium, but it’s not the first time many of these players have played against each other.

“I think a lot of people want to make it this huge, huge game,” Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. “I think there is a point where it will be that. Obviously, it’s a game we want to win. It’s important to us, but we treat it like the rest of the games.

“Here’s what we as adults have to realize: these kids handle this stuff fine. They’ve done this before. Everybody on this team played for either Black or Gold. They went to class together, hung out with each other, went to church with each other. And they played each other one time a year.”

Grant, meanwhile, wants his players to focus on the importance this game has as far as the 7A-West Conference standings is concerned. A victory over West means Bentonville (7-2, 5-1) earns a share of the league title.

“If we win a football game Friday night, we’re conference champs,” Grant said. “Whether it’s shared or unshared, we’re still conference champs. We get the same amount of that pie as Fayetteville or Har-Ber does.

“That’s important to our program and our kids. For us, that’s what makes this week so important.”
