By Rob Patrick
Photos by Rick Nation
CONWAY — In a game in which the Bryant White Hornets eighth grade team of Bryant Middle School and the Conway Wampus Kittens of Carl Stuart Middle School wound up trading touchdowns, the Hornets just never could gain the upper hand.
And, ironically, it may have been the one stop Conway’s defense got at the end of the first half and the stop that Bryant’s couldn’t quite manage at the end of the second that may have proven the difference as the Kittens held on for a 28-22 win on Centennial Bank Field at John McConnell Stadium Thursday night.[more]
A pair of fumbles also undermined the Hornets’ effort.
Conway led 14-6 with 1:34 left in the first half. The Hornets got good field position at their own 49 after fielding a short kickoff. They got to the Conway 42 with still over 30 seconds left where they faced a fourth and a long yard. Conway made the stop, holding Bryant’s Mar’Kevius Nelson to no gain.
The Kittens used up the final :23 on the clock and took the 14-6 lead to the locker room.
The problem for Bryant was that Conway got the ball to start the second half and proceeded to drive for another score to take a 21-6 lead.
The Hornets, however, came storming back and eventually pulled within 28-22 with 3:25 left in the game.
Trying to onside kick, Davis Nossaman’s boot when out of bounds at midfield so that’s where the Kittens set up on offense. The Hornets had all three timeouts. Two plays in, Conway faced a third-and-6 but running back Terrence Minor plowed for 10 yards and a new set of downs. A play later, he slashed 21 yards to the 11 and the Kittens used up the rest of the time, denying the Hornets’ offense one last shot at winning.
The game started inauspiciously for the Hornets when a fumble on the first play from scrimmage cost them possession at their own 36. Conway recovered and, in six plays, put the first points on the board. A 19-yard pass from quarterback Roniel Johnson to wide receiver Collin Condit got the Kittens to the 3 and, from there, Johnson ran it in.
An extra point kick made it 7-0.
Bryant, however, only needed two plays to answer with quarterback K.J. Hill breaking a 50-yard touchdown run.
The Hornets went for a two-point conversion but the run play was stopped, leaving it 7-6.
Bryant appeared to have Conway’s next possession halted after the Kittens drive stalled at the Bryant 24. On a fourth-down pass from Johnson, Bryant’s Drew Tipton intercepted a long pass inside the 10 and returned it up the right sideline to midfield. There, he tried a cutback which looked like it might clear him for a run to the end zone only to have a Conway player get just enough contact to shake the ball loose. Johnson wound up recovering at midfield.
Sparked by a 30-yard run by Johnson, the Kittens were back in position to score before long. But the Hornets made a bid at a goal-line stand. On first and goal at the 9, Rashaan Jones dropped Johnson for a loss to the 12. On second down, Jones got penetration and forced a cutback by Johnson who was dropped just a yard beyond the line of scrimmage by Caleb Chaffin.
On third-and-goal from the 11, Johnson found Jacob Adams over the middle but Bryant linebacker Conner Chapdelaine stopped him at the 3.
Conway went for it on fourth down and got the 6 on a pass from Johnson to Condit.
An extra point made it 14-6 and set up the frustrating Bryant possession that ended the half.
The second half started with a 64-yard kickoff return by Kevin Chamaro who was dragged down at the 4. The Hornets made another bid at a stand thanks to tackles by Daniel Bradford with Jacob Gorham then Gorham and Austin Trusty. But a third-down run by Chamaro reached the 1 and, on fourth down there, the fullback got it again and nudged into the end zone.
The extra point has Bryant looking up at a 21-6 deficit.
Behind the running of Hill and Nelson, the Hornets drove to the Conway 26 only to have a fumbled snap nearly untrack their scoring opportunity. But, on a third-and-11 at the 27, Hill rolled out to his right and unleashed his first pass of the game, finding Steven Murdock behind the Kittens’ secondary for a 27-yard touchdown.
Hill’s pass to Tipton provided the two-point conversion that had the Hornets within 21-14.
Back came Conway with a 76-yard scoring drive. The Kittens looked like they might be derailed when a holding penalty produced a first-and-19 from the Conway 44. But Johnson and Adams teamed up for a 13-yard pass and, after Tipton dropped Minor for a one-yard gain, Chamaro broke loose on a 42-yard touchdown run.
With 4:30 left in the game, the extra point made it 28-14.
But the Hornets didn’t take long to answer. A play into their subsequent possession, Nelson tore down the left side 55 yards for a touchdown. And when Hill ran for the two-point conversion, the Hornets were within 28-22 only to have Conway eat up the final 3:25 to secure the victory.
Hill wound up the game’s leading rusher with 79 yards on seven carries. Nelson added 68 yards on eight totes.
Up next for Bryant White is the Hornet Bowl against Bryant Blue of Bethel Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 14.
