By Rob Patrick
Though it doesn’t have the kind of Hatfield-and-McCoy intensity and bitterness of Bryant’s rivalry with Benton, the rivalry that has developed over the last dozen years between the Hornets and the Conway Wampus Cats is a considerable one.
They love to beat each other, in any sport.
That only adds to the flavor of this Friday’s gridiron meeting between the two schools, a game in which the teams come in tied atop the 7A/6A-Central Conference through three league games and with just one loss overall — Bryant’s stubbed-toe against Fort Smith Northside — between them.
Both teams want to extend streaks. Conway wants to make that 6-0 mark a 7-0 mark while Bryant would love to extend its winning streak over the Wampus Cats to five in a row.[more]
Conway has already shaken one monkey off its back. With last Friday’s 51-24 romp over Little Rock Central, the Cats have clinched the program’s first winning regular-season since, believe it or not, 2003.
“I don’t know anything about that,” said Conway coach Clint Ashcraft of the four-season drought against Bryant. “This is only my second year. They told us after the game last week we hadn’t won a homecoming game in five years or something. It’s just stuff I’m unaware of. I have to ask the assistants that were here before I was some of that stuff.
“These seniors, that’s the group,” he added. “They know they haven’t beaten Bryant since they’ve been in high school. They’re aware of that. They know this is somebody that’s kind of been a thorn in their side the last few years. They know they’re going to have to play well, especially at Bryant.
“We think they’re the best team we’ve seen,” Ashcraft declared. “Coach (Paul) Calley and (his assistants) do an outstanding job. I mean, they’re really good at everything, offense, defense, special teams — their coaches — we sit in here and watch film and we just talk about how they’re always in the right spot, they play so hard. He’s got those kids playing so hard. They’re a scary group. They’ve got athletes that play really hard and are never out of alignment so that makes it tough.”
The Wampus Cats were hit and miss in 2009, their first year under head coach Clint Ashcraft. Against Bryant, they were down 31-0 at the half but made showed some life in the second half. They barely made the playoffs by outlasting Little Rock Catholic 35-28 in week 10. And, in the first round of the playoffs, they went to Fayetteville and stunned the Bulldogs, 45-42.
“The win we had in the playoffs was big,” Ashcraft recalled earlier this week. “It kind of sent us into the off-season on a high note. I don’t think anybody expected us to win a game up there in Fayetteville in the playoffs. That was a shot in the arm to our kids. The next week, Cabot got us for a second time but to finish the season winning the last two games as far as week 10 and the first game of the playoffs. That was good for us.
“These seniors hadn’t been on a team with a winning record,” he noted. “That was one of our goals going into this season, ‘Make this the best year of your career right here. This is the last chance you got.’ So, they bought into that and kind of went out with something to prove, I guess.
“We’ve got some good players,” the coach acknowledged. “They’re good kids that work hard. We talk about being hungry. They wanted to do well this year and they knew if we played well and got better over the summer, we’d have a chance to have a decent team. Really, it’s been just a lot of hard work is what I’d attribute it to.”
Asked about the difference in this year’s Cats and those of the past, Bryant head coach Paul Calley said, “I think just a year in the system. They had a lot of guys coming back on defense. Their defensive line is very good. They’re big, they’re fast. They have dominated the line of scrimmage in every game. They’re linebackers are really good tacklers. They flow well. Their secondary’s a year better and they’re pretty big back there. Overall, their defensive speed is tremendous.”
The Wampus Cats returned their starting front four, ends Marquez Massey and Terrance Cartwright and tackles E.J. Robinson and Marquis Rogers as well as middle linebacker Darian Hill. Starting safety Wesley Hoover moved to linebacker and Hunter Moix is back at the other safety.
“On defense, we try to keep our scheme simple, not have our kids have to think a lot, just play,” Ashcraft said. “I think that helped us a lot. Last year, there was a lot of confusion, misalignments, missed assignments, just silly mistakes that they’re not making so far this year. I think that’s helped.
“As far as getting lined up right and making sure everything goes smooth, Hunter Moix is our guy back there,” he added. “He makes sure we’re in the right spot, the right coverage, all that. Against Bryant, our defensive line is going to have to play really well. Their offensive line is the best we’ve seen. So our d-line has to have a big night.”
“In the zone run game, if they can get penetration or force us to make a cut we don’t want to make, it causes problems,” Calley related. “Last year, they played a lot of four-man front. Now they’ve gone against a tight end, two-back set to a five-man front. They bring a lot of pressure from the edge, which is going to make it hard to run the outside zone. They’ve got those big guys inside so it’s going to be hard to run the inside zone and get everybody blocked.
“I think it’s going to come down to us being effective running the ball on first and second down and then, when we have to throw, putting ourselves in a situation where we can complete balls,” he said. “If we have any lost-yardage plays or put ourselves in long-yardage situations, we’re going to have trouble.
“The long runs we’ve been getting, they’re not going to be there this week,” Calley stated. “So it’s going to be more of a grind it out game, be patient, take what they’re giving us. And sometimes we’re going to have to take even what they’re not giving us. We’re big enough up front that we match up with them size-wise but not speed-wise. They can get off blocks quickly.
“We’ve worked a lot harder as an offensive staff this week, narrowing down our play selection and putting us in the best possible play in each formation so that we can maximize our possessions,” he noted.
Regarding the Conway offense, Ashcraft said, “Desmond Cox leads us in touchdowns. He’ll play inside receiver, outside receiver, running back, quarterback — he’ll play everything. Jalen Jones leads us in yards per catch. He’s had a good year as far as catching the ball down the field, stretching the field, then Tristan Eddings is our leading receiver. He’s a little ol’ bitty guy, runs really good routes and has great hands. We really like our little running back, Jamarkus Harmon. We like to get it to him as much as we can. He’s very strong but real little. We’re a little group.”
Tyler Langley, a junior, starts at quarterback.
“You can see (the difference in Conway) when they step on the field,” added Bryant defensive coordinator Steve Griffith. “You can just tell their execution this year is much crisper. They throw the football a little more effectively than they did last year.
“They’ve been very effective in running the ball off-tackle,” he added. “I think, with all the publicity you’ve seen in the papers and on the news, people tend to think Conway is a throw-every-down type of football team when, in fact, they’re probably 55 to 60 percent run football team. And they’ve been very, very effective running the ball, power football. I know they do it out of a spread set but that’s been their bread and butter.
“And they’ve made a lot of big plays in the passing game,” Griffith continued. “They’ve got some very talented receivers, very good athletes. Their quarterback is very capable of getting the ball out to them. They stretch you across the field and attack you with the running game. And if you get that stopped a little bit, they’ve got some guys that can go over the top.”
Ashcraft explained, ““Offensively, our whole approach is just get it to our playmakers and give them a chance. We’ve got some guys with a little bit of speed, get it to them out in space and give them a chance to win one-on-one battles.”
Griffith acknowledged that focus had not been a problem this week with the Hornets.
“We had a great week of practice,” he said. “You can tell everybody’s focused in. We know it’s going to be a big challenge but I think the kids are excited about getting in the game and getting their shot and seeing what they can do. I think it’ll be a good ballgame.”
