Bryant Athletic Director Tom Farmer reports that there have been reports of people in the community soliciting for donations toward the artificial surface at Bryant Stadium who are not authorized to do so.

Farmer emphasized that the official fundraising organization is the Bryant Athletic Foundation.

Arkansas Razorbacks head football coach Bobby Petrino will be the guest speaker when the Saline Country Razorback Club will host its annual fish fry on March 15. Dinner will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Benton High School cafeteria. Petrino will speak in the Benton High School auditorium at 7.

Adult tickets are $15, kids six and under free. Tickets can be purchased at Summit Bank, Benton Area Chamber of Commerce, Bryant Area Chamber of Commerce, Sports Shop in Benton, Denton’s Trotline in Benton and Yoakum & Lovell CPA’s of Benton.

By Rob Patrick

The thing that separates great running backs from good ones is vision. That is, seeing where a hole is developing — sometimes before it’s even open — and getting there. No doubt, quickness helps, and strength too just in case someone shows up unexpectedly or for those occasions when there’s no hold at all.

And it’s not really something that can be taught. It’s like a knack that has developed over time. To the great ones, it’s not even something they think about.

“It kind of just happens. I just go up there and let it come to me,” explained Chris Rycraw, the all-time leading rusher at Bryant High School who, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, signed a national letter of intent to continue his career on the football field and in the classroom at Ouachita Baptist University.

By Rob Patrick

Bryant senior Kaleb Burns was determined. After anchoring the offensive line for the Bryant Hornets in 2009, the 5-11, 240-pound Burns decided he wasn’t through playing football.

“I knew that I wasn’t the typical 6-3-plus offensive lineman,” he noted. “So I did some research on NAIA schools and a lot of times they had questionnaires (on their web sites). I’d fill them out and wait for them. Sometimes they’d get back to me and sometimes they didn’t. I filled out so many.”

And it paid off in the end. On Wednesday, Feb. 3, Burns signed a letter of intent to continue his football career and education at Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas.

By Rob Patrick

It’s amazing really.

Dale Jones is planning to be back at work late this week or early next.

The 38-year-old is a physical education coach at Collegeville Elementary School and the offensive coordinator for the Bryant Hornets football team. Originally from Cincinnati, he moved to Hot Springs when he was in seventh grade and attended school at Cutter-Morning Star. After graduating from the University of Central Arkansas, he coached nine years at Mayflower High School before coming to Bryant in 2006. He’s the father of two, Ashlyn, 9, and Braden, 5.

And less than two weeks ago — on Tuesday, Jan. 19 — he was undergoing 11 hours of surgery to remove a tumor behind his right ear that was pressed against his brain stem and growing further into his brain.

Let us recall how, last fall, the Bryant Stadium surface was in such a condition that, more often than not, the bands couldn’t march, the dance teams couldn’t perform, the JV and B team games, seventh and eighth grade games had to be moved or cancelled. And when the freshman and high school varsity teams played, it was a quagmire that just continued to deteriorate.

A move began to replace the natural grass and mud with an artificial surface, something one school after another in the Hornets’ conference and classification has already done.

The Bryant Hornets football banquet celebrating the 2009 season was held Thursday, Jan. 21, at Love Auditorium.

Permanent team captains were announced, based on voting from the team (as were all the awards). They are Chris Rycraw, Brandon Parish, Kaleb Burns and Dustin Grimmett.

Offensive lineman Brett Clemons has been named the 2009-2010 Brandon Burlsworth Award for Bryant High School.

Each year, every high school football program in Arkansas nominates one player from their team to receive the Brandon Burlsworth football award. The recipient, said Marty Burlsworth, executive director of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation, demonstrates the drive, diligence to school and good moral character that the former Arkansas Razorback all-American and Indianapolis Colt was known for.

LITTLE ROCK — Bryant’s all-time leading rusher Chris Rycraw is one of the finalists for the annual Landers Award, which will be announced tonight at 7 p.m. on KATV. The accolades continue to pour in for Rycraw, who was recently named to the all-Arkansas first team by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and to the Associated Press Super Team.

* * *

Rycraw continues to weigh his options for college. He’ll be taking his official visit to Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia this weekend then to Southern Arkansas University later this month.

What were the biggest Bryant sports stories of 2009? 

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THANKS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

rp