Friday, August 30, 7:30 PM, at War Memorial Stadium marked the 50th anniversary of the Salt Bowl, a yearly football game between Benton and Bryant high schools. A cool wind blew by as the clouds started to get dark. Lamar Wilson, freshman, sat next to his mother. He eagerly watched the game until a ruckus was heard from the top of the stands. Turning to the commotion, he saw what looked like a fight at the top of the Bryant side of the stands, near the box on top of the tunnel.
“My mom felt unsafe and we left,” Wilson said.
This wasn’t the only alleged altercation during the Salt Bowl. After half-time, Te’anuna Johnson, a freshman on color guard, ran towards the gates on the field through the light rain with her team. Her parents were in section 27, waiting to see her and congratulate her on her performance. However, the gates were blocked off by security guards. Johnson allegeds that an arrest was made.
“You couldn’t go anywhere without a parent at the other side of the gate to confirm that you had someone to be with you,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t able to see my parents until we went back to the high school after the game [around midnight].”
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the sky was pitch black. The game went on through the rain and the dark. However, Soren Green, 8, would not stay for the full game. He left with his father, mother and sister on his mother’s request.
“There were a bunch of fights, and the game took a break, so why stay?” Green said.
Out of 77 of responses, 66.2 percent of students from Bryant Junior High school said they saw a fight during the Salt Bowl. Even with 30-50 police officers estimated by Bryant Mayor Chris Treat, 48.1% of students said they felt unsafe. However, it is speculated that the fighting was not from Bryant students.
”Bryant played Parkview [on September 13 at War Memorial], and there were no problems. But, they required a student ID to get in the game,” said Treat.
Treat believes that limiting the Parview game to only students and families of the two schools supports claims that disturbances are from people outside of the school district.
