Page 5 - RVO Football Preview Sept 2016

RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW |
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2016
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CONWAY WAMPUS CATS
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maybe we’re not living right. But coaches vis- it each week, and everybody says it’ll pay off. Hopefully, we’ll see. We had a lot of guys who were young and probably didn’t need to be thrown into the fire like that, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and some young guys got some playing time. We hope that will lead to better things this year.”
That season-opening 34-18 loss at Cabot, with Tollett’s ACL injury, set the tone for a rockier start than Ashcraft had wanted in his seventh season at CHS.
The Wampus Cats rebounded to beat Jonesboro the next week, 31-17, before fin- ishing their nonconference schedule with a 37-7 whipping by Springdale Har-Ber. The Cats then opened 7A/6A-Central play 2-0 after wins over Siloam Springs, 38-24, and at Van Buren, 42-35, but they lost to Greenwood, the perenni- al state power that went on to finish runner-up in Class 6A, 56-19, and fell at Alma, 40-35. The Cats then went on another two-game winning streak, beating Little Rock Catholic, 28-10, and Russellville, 44-22, before falling in the regular-season finale to Bryant, 17-10.
But Conway had a good two weeks in the playoffs, hammering Springdale in the opening round, 42-7, before coming close to avenging the 30-point Week 2 loss to Har-Ber. The Cats came within 20-17, and the Wildcats went on to finish runner-up to Fayetteville for the Class 7A state title.
Ashcraft agreed there was a big difference between the two Har-Ber meetings.
“A lot of things factor into that, but our kids, by the end of the season, were playing with a lot of confidence,” he said. “They started believing more in themselves, and some of those young guys that got thrown in started calming down and growing into their positions.
MATT JOHNSON/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Conway coach Clint Ashcraft watches his team go through drills during a recent practice.
“I was real proud of them. There was no quit in them. In the second half of the season, after a couple of those losses in the middle, they really kind of recommitted themselves, and it showed at the end.”
Breylin Smith, a three-year starter (and two-time all-state selection) at quarterback who threw for 6,555 yards and 54 touch- downs (completing 453 of 764 passes) for his career, signed with the University of Central Arkansas. He follows his mother, the late Dandra Thomas, and uncle, Mario Thomas,
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