Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Tuesday’s action starts at 5 p.m. with the Arkadelphia Badgers playing the Benton Panthers, followed by the Jacksonville-Cabot game.

Arkadelphia, after battling in the difficult Class 5A-Southwest the past two years, will also drop down a classification, into the 4A-7 conference, beginning this fall.

J.R. Eldridge, who most recently was the defensive coordinator at Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, took over as the Badgers’ head coach two years ago.

Benton, meanwhile, has shown improvement in the tough 7A/6A-South conference as Coach Scott Neathery rebuilt the Panthers and guided them to a playoff spot last year.

Jacksonville and Cabot, who have met uninterrupted for 30 years, will return to War Memorial Stadium, where they participated in the 2010 Classic. The Red Devils, which dropped from the Class 6A level to Class 5A for 2012, and the Panthers, who have been shifted this season from Class 7A/6A-Central to 7A/-6A-East, will play Tuesday, Aug. 28, in the concluding game of the event.

Rick Russell, now in his third year at Jacksonville, guided the Red Devils to a return to the 6A playoffs last season. Cabot’s Mike Malham is a legend among Arkansas high school coaches with 18 conferences championships, two state championships and a 249-110-4 all-time coaching record. Jim Harris spoke with both men about how their schools' county line rivalry will affect the game. Click here to see Russell's take and here for Malham's.

Tickets are $7 per day and are available at the War Memorial Stadium ticket office.

For information call the stadium at (501) 663-0775 or Susan Cohen at Arkansas Business Publishing Group, (501) 372-1443. For team rosters and schedules, take a sneak peek at the official program by clicking here for the digital edition.