Broken Arrow and Bentonville West matchup once again on ESPN
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (BVM) — In a year where most high schools aren’t taking the field, Broken Arrow and Bentonville West (Arkansas) will be taking part in something significant.
Saturday, Aug. 29, the Tigers and the Wolverines will kick off on national TV as part of the Geico ESPN High School Football Kickoff on ESPN.
Tiger football to play on ESPN Saturday, Aug. 29. Hosting Bentonville West in season opener. Kick off time TBD. Read more at https://t.co/m4429zolDH@BrokenArrowFTBL pic.twitter.com/G857O78eXg
— Broken Arrow Athletics (@batigersports) August 10, 2020
For the second time in four seasons, Broken Arrow Memorial Stadium will be hosting a nationally televised game. Back in 2017, both teams had the privilege of playing in this game and they will get to do it again tomorrow.
The Tigers were scheduled to play at Mansfield High School (Texas) on Aug. 28, but they had to schedule Bentonville West as the Texas UIL announced Class 5A and 6A schools would not start their season till Sept. 24.
“When the UIL made the tough decision to move back the start date of the Texas high school football season for class 5A and 6A,” said Steve Dunn, executive director of athletics for Broken Arrow Public Schools in a press release, “we immediately reached out to Bentonville West since we both lost our Week Zero opponent in the announcement.
“ESPN reaching out to our head football coach to see if they could broadcast our Week Zero football game was just the cherry on top. It took several moving parts to finalize the plan for the game to be broadcasted nationwide on ESPN. The sports network will only be returning to stadiums across the country where they have previously covered a game.”
In a year where COVID-19 has put a hold on sports, preparing for this season has been difficult. With added regulations that ensure safety, it has been a tedious task for schools and teams to prepare for the season. Thousands of teams are playing catch-up, trying to get ready. But as teams focus on their season, there is still a possibility everything could come to a halt.
In 2021, Broken Arrow will be playing just four home games. Initially, Broken Arrow was supposed to play Mansfield in the 2021 season opener. But, to give Bentonville West a home game, Mansfield will be playing in Arkansas to begin the season.
“It truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most of our student-athletes to play a game they love on national television,” Dunn said. “If playing a four-game home schedule in 2021 was what it was going to take to make it happen for our kids this year, then that was what we were going to do.
“We are grateful for Scott Passmore, Kevin Downing, and the Bentonville administration for helping us make this happen for all of our students in such a short time frame.”
