Union announces pairings for Gridiron Classic
By Staff Reports
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
8/01/12 at 6:09 PM
Arkansas football powers Bentonville and Springdale Har-Ber again join Union for its preseason Gridiron Classic, Aug. 24 in Union-Tuttle Stadium.
Admission is $5 and fans should get their money’s worth, with four 24-minute “mini” games planned on the final scrimmage weekend.
Owasso, Muskogee, Bartlesville, Norman North and Southmoore will also participate, making it the largest field in at least nine years.
“It’s really become a popular event,” Union coach Kirk Fridrich said Wednesday in unveiling the matchups.
“We’ve grown to more schools than we probably should have, which means we’ll have to make it a little later night. But I think people will enjoy it because we have really good, quality teams,” Fridrich said.
Union has won the last four Class 6A titles, and Owasso is coming off a semifinal finish in 2011. Bentonville won state titles in Arkansas’ largest class (7A) in 2008 and 2010 and finished runner-up in 2011. Har-Ber won the 2009 title.
Bentonville has played in every Union Gridiron Classic since 2005 and Har-Ber has been a fixture since 2007.
A full day of football begins with JV and varsity scrimmages at 4 p.m. and 5:30, followed by the four "mini" games, played in 12-minute quarters with modified kicking rules.
Gridiron Classic Schedule
6:30 p.m.: Bartlesville vs. Southmoore
7:30 p.m.: Muskogee vs. Norman North
8:30 p.m.: Owasso vs. Springdale Har-Ber
9:30 p.m.: Union vs. Bentonville
