Page 6 - RVO Football Preview Sept 2017

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2017
| RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
CONWAY WAMPUS CATS
Conway coach Clint Ashcraft watches as sophomore Matt Kulbeth runs the ball in practice.
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He said that during the losing streak, the coaching staff was careful to control what it could.
“You can’t guard against what’s said in the hallways or at home, but you can definitely guard against what’s said in the meeting rooms, in the weight room, in the film room,” he said. “We hit it every day. We wrote on the board — stay positive, stay focused, find a way to fix it. There were all kinds of things we pointed to day in and day out.”
From that 4-8 campaign, 11 players with starting experience return for the Wampus Cats’ multiple offense, with seven back for the 3-4 defensive scheme. Twenty-three lettermen are back.
Returning starters on offense include senior tight ends Chris Patterson (6-0, 215) and Kris Anderson (6-2, 215); senior quarterback Andrew Hreha (6-2, 200), who broke his col- larbone against Jonesboro; junior Jovoni John- son (6-4, 195), who took over at QB against Cabot; senior offensive linemen Keandre Clay (5-11, 234), Thomas Cloyd (6-1, 297) and Nathan Turner (6-1, 249); senior running back Michael George (5-8, 185); senior wide receivers Joe Thomas (6-3, 190) and Will Kennedy (5-9, 160); and junior wide receiver Will McKenna (6-2, 190).
Cloyd also missed a few weeks last season with an injury.
George was the team’s leading rusher last fall with 643 yards and three touchdowns, in- cluding a big performance against Rogers (253 yards, two TDs). Thomas caught 25 passes for 350 yards as a junior.
Hreha passed for 246 yards and two touch- downs and threw four interceptions last year before being injured. In six games, Johnson passed for 573 yards and six scores with three interceptions.
A few days into fall camp, Ashcraft said that Hreha would probably get the starting nod this fall.
“He’s pretty good and looking strong,” he said. “I think you go with the senior first, but I do think they’ll both play. I think we’ll have some packages for Jovoni. He’s definitely got some strengths we need to play to.
“They support each other and get along great. They like each other, and that’s import- ant. Hreha will probably be our starter, and Jovoni will play every game.”
Ashcraft said the two QBs are similar players.
“Jovoni may be a little faster,” the coach said. “Andrew’s arm is probably a little stron- ger. They’ve both got things going for them. It’s just a matter of getting the plays called that suit those guys and their strengths.”
Ashcraft, 59-33 at CHS and 91-47 overall in 11 seasons, said the team’s strength will be
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