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The 2024-25 edition of the Berryville Bobcats was young, talented and inexperienced but still advanced to the regional tournament.
A year later, this season’s Bobcats are still talented and still relatively young, but they are far from inexperienced.
The Bobcats, who opened the 2025-26 with a 66-42 victory over Cotter on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Bobcat Arena, return all five players who started the bulk of last season — senior Peyton Smith and juniors John Butler, CT Hicks, Carson McMellon and Hudson Norris. They also get a boost with the return of senior Noah Houghton, who missed most of last season with a knee injury after finishing second to Smith on the team scoring chart as a sophomore two seasons ago.
“We’ve got experience, what we didn’t really have last year,” said longtime Berryville coach Brent Compton. “We have a lot of experience this year, so it makes a difference.”
The Bobcats remain relatively undersized, but Compton said they are stronger after another year in the weightroom.
“Last year, we were bullied around a little bit because we were young and not quite as physical,” he said. “You can see our kids are a lot stronger this year and more physical. That’s a big part of the game these days. The game’s getting rougher, more physical. I hope that we can step into that situation and be fine.”
Berryville certainly looked fine against Cotter.
Norris gave the Bobcats an early spark when he took a long outlet pass from Butler and dunked ahead of a Cotter defender for a 6-1 Berryville lead with 4:26 left in the first quarter.
The Bobcats used a 9-0 run early in the second quarter to open up a 25-14 lead. Houghton started the run with a three-pointer from the right corner. Smith added two free throws and a baseline drive before a baseline jumper from Norris with 4:45 left in the quarter.
Later, Smith hit a three-pointer with 47 seconds left for a 35-22 halftime lead.
Berryville opened the third quarter with a 12-4 run, capped by Smith’s three-pointer, for a 47-26 lead.
Smith finished with 19 points to lead 10 Bobcats in the scoring column. McMellon added nine and Butler scored eight.
“First game, I was pleased,” Compton said. “Mostly I was pleased by how hard the kids played. I expected not to look midseason form the first game out but our kids really played hard and that was probably the difference in the game.”
The Bobcats’ game against Eureka Springs, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17, was canceled but Berryville still has a busy week ahead. The Bobcats play at Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 18, and at Valley Springs on Thursday, Nov. 20, before taking on Harrison on Saturday, Nov. 22, in the Bergman Classic. That game could be an early measuring stick for Berryville.
“It’s going to be rough on the kids, but we’ll get better and hopefully we can utilize our depth and stay as fresh as we can. At the end of the week, we’ve got a big one.”
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