The Siloam Springs football team will finally get a chance to see some fresh competition this week.
The Panthers will participate in the four-team 2016 Har-Ber Football Benefit Game Showcase held Thursday at Wildcat Stadium in Springdale.
The Panthers will compete against three Class 7A powers in host Springdale Har-Ber, a 2015 state finalist, longtime 7A-West superpower Bentonville and 7A-Central contender North Little Rock.
Siloam Springs head coach Bryan Ross said the Panthers are looking forward to getting to go up against another team.
"After three weeks of practice, it can be a grind," Ross said. "We've done everything we can to prepare. Now you've just got to play."
The showcase is an Arkansas Activities Association benefit game and does not count toward regular season records.
It will begin at 5 p.m. with junior varsity and sophomore portions of the scrimmage, followed by a varsity portion at 5:45 p.m.
The four teams will then play a pair of mini-games, with each mini-game consisting of a pair of two 12-minute quarters.
Siloam Springs will play its mini-game against Bentonville at 6:30 p.m., followed by Har-Ber versus North Little Rock at 7:30 p.m.
The Panthers will scrimmage Har-Ber in the varsity format of the scrimmage at 5:45 p.m. There will be two 10-minute series for each team to play offense and defense. There will also be a period to work on overtime situations.
Siloam Springs will scrimmage Har-Ber and North Little Rock in the junior varsity portion at 5 p.m.
"Obviously we're seeing three outstanding football programs," Ross said. "Hopefully it makes us better. That's the goal."
Ross said the Panthers are used to playing bigger schools after competing the last four years against 7A teams on a regular basis.
"Our kids shouldn't have a problem with going out there and getting after it," he said. "That's good. This gives us a chance to see different things, see where we're deficient and where we're strong at."
The Panthers have routinely played larger schools in the benefit game under Ross's tenure, including the last two years against Fort Smith schools Northside (2014) and Southside (2015). Before that they attended several scrimmages at Springdale High.
Ross said Fort Smith's schools had already worked out an arrangement to scrimmage other teams this year, and then he heard from Har-Ber.
"Coach (Chris) Wood called over and asked if we wanted to come, and so I said we would," Ross said.
The Panthers open their season next Friday, Sept. 2, at Rogers High.
The Mounties are also scheduled to hold their scrimmage on Thursday at Muskogee, Okla.
Ross said the Panthers will begin preparing for Rogers this Friday, the day after their scrimmage. Siloam Springs defeated Rogers 18-6 to open Panther Stadium in Week 1 of the 2015 season. It was their first win against Rogers since the two schools started playing regularly in 2012.
Injury update
A few Panthers have been banged up with injuries lately.
Senior wide receiver/safety Cade Miller injured a thumb and sophomore running back/safety Kaiden Thrailkill injured his wrist in recent practices. It is unknown if they'll be able to play Thursday.
Junior running back Kevin Canales hurt a shoulder but practiced well last Friday, Ross said.
Senior cornerback Kormah Dorko continues to be hobbled by a sprained ankle suffered on Aug. 12.
Sports on 08/24/2016