Time for the Cactus Bowl Friday night

Benefits go to Shriners Hospital for Children
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Defensive end Ryan Terry (5-10, 246 lbs, Sr., Houston, Texas) of Southern Arkansas has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2010 Valero Cactus Bowl January 8 in Kingsville, Texas. Terry will play for the East team in the game set to start at 6:35 p.m. at Javelina Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Terry is one of 88 seniors from across NCAA Division II to be showcased in the all-star game, which provides professional scouts the opportunity to evaluate the players. The game is played in an East/West format.

The Cactus Bowl actually began in 1994 as the Snow Bowl in Fargo, N.D., and in its first seven years, over 100 players were signed by NFL teams. The contest moved to Kingsville in January 2001 and was given its present-day name of the Cactus Bowl. All net profits from the game are donated to Shriners Hospitals for Children throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Participants in the Cactus Bowl arrived in Kingsville Saturday, went through NFL testing on Sunday and began practice Monday in preparation for Friday’s 6:35 kickoff.

Terry is the 10th Mulerider to play in the Cactus Bowl since 1998. Former linebacker Fred Perry (Fort Smith) was the first SAU representative in 1998 and was followed by offensive lineman Kell Clopton (Emory, Texas) (1999); wide receiver Drew Cone (Van Buren) (2000); offensive lineman Trey LaValle (Farmerville, La.) (2002); cornerbacks Carl Bucknor (Augusta, Ga.) (2003) and Jordan Babineaux (Port Arthur, Texas) (2004); linebacker Keenan Washington (Dallas, Texas) (2005); and defensive linemen Chris Herring (Courtland, Miss.) and Chris Turner (Jacksonville, Fla.) in 2005.

Terry is joined by seven other GSC members on the East Team including Arkansas Tech quarterback Nick Graziano, wide receiver Frantz Simeon and offensive center Torrence Wright; Delta State offensive tackle Brad Latham and linebacker Lardester Hicks-Green; West Alabama strong safety J.D. Douglas; and Harding strong safety Joshua Jones. Ouachita Baptist running back Keldrick Johnson will play for the West team.