Tonight's the big night.
It's the night so many Benton County residents have
There will be plenty of football junkies watching the clock today, counting the minutes to kickoff. For others, it's not so much the football as it is an opportunity to take part in what - in this area - truly is a community event. There's something about the glow of the stadium lights that's contagious.
But on the first night of the season - other than at the Pea Bowl in Pea Ridge - fans are not going to find any stadium lights glowing in Benton County. Five football teams are taking their shows on the road during Week 1 - and not just a short distance down the road.
Bentonville opens the season in Conway, some 190 miles away.
Fans hoping to take in Heritage's first-ever regular-season varsity football game will have to drive 130 miles to Springfield, Mo.
Decatur will drive 93 miles to Cherokee, Kan.
Rogers has a 70-mile trek to Webb City, Mo.
Those season-openers make Siloam Springs' 34-mile bus trip to Farmington seem like the Panthers will be playing in their backyard.
The county's other two teams have already played: Gravette opened Tuesday in Bentonville playing Clarksville, while Gentry opened Thursday night at home against Colcord, Okla.
With gas prices already higher than they've ever been to start a high school football season - and every indication is that they're going to continue to climb as Hurricane Gustav knocked a significant chunk of the U. S. oil production offline - one may assume the fan caravan following their teams on the road would be significantly smaller. But all indications are that escalating prices at the pump won't keep the visiting grandstands from rocking tonight.
There will just be a lot more carpooling going on.
"I've heard people talking about gas prices, but at the end of the day, if you have a kid playing, you're going to find a way to be there," said Todd White, whose son Matt White is a starting outside linebacker for Heritage. "Especially with this being the first regular-season game for the school, I think a lot of people will make the trip. We'll have people riding with us.
"People are trying to be as economical as possible and carpooling together - and I actually think that makes it more fun in a sense. You get everyone together in a car, excited for the game, and you're on the road. It's almost like going to a college game."
Rogers High School has historically laid claim to the loudest and largest student traveling section in northwest Arkansas, the Senior Mountie Attack Team. For years before becoming seniors, many students at Rogers High School look forward to joining SMAT. When games start, a couple hundred wild, painted seniors show up to cheer on the Mounties - home or away, win or lose. Don't count on the price at the pump holding that contingent back.
"Being in SMAT is a pretty incredible deal," Rogers senior Matthew Williams said. "It would take a lot to keep me from a game. I'll be there for every one, including Webb City. I just need to make sure I have friends who can afford gas money."
"I think it's more fun when everyone goes together in carpools," said Rogers senior Cary Beth Lipscomb, who will be standing among the ocean of blue and white Mounties fanatics in Webb City tonight. "We have a bunch of people meeting at the school at 5 p.m. We'll figure out who has the biggest cars, pitch in a few dollars each for gas, and everyone will carpool."
Even for Bentonville, which at 190 miles has by far the longest trek, plenty of fans are planning to hit the road for tonight's game.
"Conway's the farthest game this year, thank goodness, but I'll be very surprised if we don't bring a big crowd," said Linda Sanderlin, whose husband, Kevin Sanderlin, is president of the Bentonville Athletic Booster Club. "I know we're carpooling with another couple, and we're picking our son up at the (University of Arkansas ) on the way because he wants to see the game, too."
Bentonville fans will get a break later in the year, however, because the Tigers' games against Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside are both at Tiger Stadium.
"We had to go to Fort Smith for both of those games last season," Sanderlin said. "Conway is a big trip right away, but at least we don't have to make multiple long trips to road games this year. "
Heritage High fans will be carpooling, too.
"I know of about 40 parents that will be carpooling to the Heritage game," said Miguel Purdy, president of the Heritage Booster Club. "I think we'll bring a minimum of 100. My son didn't even play varsity football last year, and we made all the games. That's not going to change."
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