LITTLE ROCK — Conway coach Clint Ashcraft went into Thursday night’s game against Little Rock Catholic hoping the Wampus Cats could gain some much-needed momentum heading into the Class 7A playoffs.
To say that happened would be an understatement.
The Cats turned in their best overall offensive performance of the season and grounded the Rockets enough for a 35-28 win at War Memorial Stadium. Conway (4-6, 3-4) will take the fifth seed into next week’s playoffs and will play the loser of tonight’s Rogers Heritage-Fayetteville game.
“It’s going to be real nice going into the playoffs after a win,” Ashcraft said. “I’m just proud of how the kids competed tonight (Thursday). This was a big win for us.”
The game featured somewhat of a playoff atmosphere, as excitement seemed to ring through the stadium. The teams went back and forth, trading momentum for much of the game.
“This was a big game in a big environment,” Ashcraft said. “This was a big win. We can build on this and push forward.”
The Cats amassed 439 yards of offense. More impressively, a season-high 246 of those came through the air, as Xavier Acklin was 13-of-23 passing and threw three touchdowns. He also had 188 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 21 carries, leaving him just 6 yards shy of 1,000 on the ground.
While the offense seems to be picking up, Acklin doesn’t want much of the credit.
“We are rolling,” Acklin said. “The o-line is really stepping up. The wide receivers and backs and everyone is really coming together.”
That includes Jalen Jones.
The junior receiver had his best performance as a Wampus Cat, hauling in seven passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. That’s the kind of production Ashcraft had hoped to see coming into the season before a leg injury sidelined Jones for the first six weeks.
“He’s getting better every week,” Ashcraft said. “He’s working hard and really getting through a bad injury.”
That’s still a work in progress, but there has been plenty of progress so far.
“I’m getting there,” Jones said. “The o-line and Xavier have done a great job of giving me a chance to get the ball. I’m just glad I was able to make plays and help my team win.”
The win wasn’t certain until the closing seconds.
After Conway led 21-13 at halftime, the Rockets (5-5, 2-5) — who will be the sixth seed from the 7A-Central — were able to tie the game at 21 after Charley Gardner intercepted an Acklin pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. Then, Taylor Bartlett hit Austin Alexander for the two-point conversion to even the score.
The Cats were forced to punt on their following possession — after a holding penalty negated what would have been a first down on a fake punt — but found success on their following possession.
A Catholic punt pinned Conway down at its 5. Two plays later, Acklin scampered down the right sideline for a 91-yard touchdown giving the Cats the lead with 7:42 left in the game. A Ben Riner PAT made the score 28-21.
The Rockets soon answered. They capped a 10-play, 67-yard drive with a 14-yard run by Stacy Hunter for a touchdown. Chris Ashburn’s PAT tied the score.
But the quick-strike ability of the Cats showed up again. Two plays into the ensuing drive, Acklin hit a wide-open Riner for a 62-yard touchdown pass with 2:48 left. Riner’s PAT put the finishing touches on the game’s scoring.
“Conway made plays, and we didn’t,” Rockets coach Scooter Register said. “We made mistakes. That’s been our Achilles’ heel in conference play.”
Catholic got as close as the 10 on its final drive, but four straight incompletions kept the Rockets from getting any closer.
“They kids are starting to all play well together,” Ashcraft said. “All 11 on the field are playing together, and it shows.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the offense of both teams picked up in the second. Conway started that by jumping to a 14-0 lead.
Acklin scored the first touchdown on a 7-yard run at the 7:34 mark. Riner’s PAT gave the Cats a 7-0 lead. That came after a fumble recovery by E.J. Robinson gave Conway the ball just 10 yards from paydirt,
Riner brought the ensuing Rockets’ possession to a halt with an interception. That set up a 49-yard touchdown pass from Acklin to Jones on the very next play. Another Riner PAT gave the Cats a two-touchdown led with 5:34 left in the opening half.
“The passing game is just going to get better,” Jones said. “This is just a preview of what’s to come.”
Catholic quickly responded with a score of its own, as Hunter returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Ashburn’s PAT cut the lead in half.
The Cats faltered on their first offensive play of the following drive, as the Rockets recovered a fumble. Six plays later, Bartlett hit Arkansas Razorback recruit Garrett Uekman for a 9-yard touchdown at the 2:02 mark. The PAT, though, was blocked.
Quinta Thomas was the strongest link of the Rocket offense. He rushed for 153 yards on 23 carries. Bartlett added 73 yards on the ground.
But it’s the little things that mattered the most.
“We missed tackles,” Register said. “It’s the fundamental stuff that really hurt us tonight (Thursday).”
This team is growing up
Now this was a good win. Until now each game went about the way we expected. We would blow out the bad teams and the good teams would blow us out. This game could go either way and Conway showed us that they are growing up. I know some will say they only won four games this year so what is the big deal. The big deal is they showed improvement and Acklin put this team on his shoulders and won. This win will really be a building block for the future.
Radio play by play
Anyone else think that we need some better radio announcers for the Wampus Cat games. I listened to last weeks Conway game on the radio, which was followed by Conway Christian's game. Conway Chritian's announcers were so much better.