The fact that four Bainbridge High School alumni were playing for either the University of Georgia or the University of Arkansas when the two schools’ football teams faced off last Saturday night drew comment from broadcasters during ESPN’s national telecast of the game.

Those four former Bearcats were UGA’s Darryl Gamble and Nick Williams, and Arkansas’ Malcolm Sheppard and Ray Dominguez.

Georgia defeated Arkansas 52-41 in a high-scoring, very competitive game played before 74,210 people in Fayetteville, Ark., the fifth-largest crowd in the history of Razorback Stadium.

Sheppard, a starting defensive tackle and No. 96 for the Razorbacks, had one solo tackle and one assist, according to official NCAA statistics accessed at ncaa.org. He also sacked Georgia’s quarterback, Joe Cox, for a nine-yard loss and had another tackle that pushed the Bulldogs back 10 yards. Sheppard has 1.5 sacks on the year and 8.5 sacks on his career. Cox was later named the National Offensive Player of the Week and the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Gamble, a junior linebacker whose No. 50 jersey has been a frequent sight during Georgia’s televised games this year, had three solo tackles and one assisted tackle. Gamble also had one solo tackle that cost the Razorbacks a yard and broke up one of the Razorbacks’ passing attempts.

Gamble’s fellow Bearcat Nick Williams also had an assisted tackle. The Razorbacks’ Dominguez saw play time, while Seminole County Indians alumnus Bacarri Rambo and Early County alumnus Shawn Williams also played in the game for the Bulldogs.

This Saturday, UGA will play Arizona State in Athens at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Georgia Bulldogs radio network or seen on ESPNU, available through digital cable or satellite. Arkansas will face off against Alabama, the third-ranked team in the nation, in Tuscaloosa at 2:30 p.m. on CBS. Both UGA and Arkansas’ games on Oct. 3 will be nationally televised.

Other former Bearcats doing well

Former Bearcat Patrick Riley, a junior quarterback for the Benedict College Tigers of Columbia, S.C., rushed 27 times for 202 yards in his team’s 40-31 victory against Miles College on Sept. 12. Riley also threw five complete passes for 99 yards, for a total offense of 286 tards in the game. He has 877 yards of total offense in 116 plays through the team’s first five games.

Former Bearcat Michael Brown, a sophomore running back for the Valdosta State University Blazers, rushed 13 times for 73 yards in Blazers’ 32-7 win against Southern Arkansas on Sept. 12.