Wampus Cats look to bounce back after tough 2016 season
T he 2016 season started as a nightmare for Conway, but the Wampus Cats woke up in time to finish among the top eight teams in Class 7A. Clint Ashcraft’s eighth Conway season was marred by 13 season-ending injuries. The Wampus Cats started an uncharacteristic 0-5 before winning three of their next four to earn a home playoff berth. They beat Rogers in the
CONWAY continued from 4VV first round before traveling to Fayetteville for the quarterfinals, where their season ended with a 35-0 loss to the eventual state-champion Bulldogs.
“It was tough,” Ashcraft said. “Like we told our kids, nobody’s going to feel sorry for you outside of your parents. Other people, even when you’re playing, might even enjoy seeing an opponent down.
“We talked about guarding against apathy, not feeling sorry for ourselves, trying to stay focused on finding a way to make something good happen. And they did. It took us a while to get going, but the second half of the season was enjoyable.”
Among the rash of injuries, the Wampus Cats lost two quarterbacks.
“It was just one of those things that just kind of snowballed,” Ashcraft said. “There was nothing we could do about it. Everything happened — we had a kid get injured in a special teams walk-through.”
Of course, the positive of such an experience a year later is that younger players — ready or not — got plenty of playing time, and that should bode well for the Wampus Cats in 2017. Ashcraft agreed.
“The silver lining now is a lot of those guys got to play, got some experience, and they’re all back,” he said. “I’m hoping they can all stay healthy, for their sakes. Those guys have worked very hard.”
Conway opened the season with a 37-30 loss to Springdale; fell at Jonesboro, 41-38; lost to Bentonville, 16-7; at Fort Smith Southside, 23-20; and to North Little Rock, 38-7.
But the season turned with a 37-14 victory at Cabot.
“Our kids were fired up to play them,” Ashcraft said. “We were playing against [quarterback Jarrod Barnes, now at Arkansas]. They all knew there were a lot of eyes on that game just because we were playing against a guy of his caliber.
“To see them have the success they had that night, and to be as excited as they were — that shot us into the second half of the season.”
Although the next week the Cats fell 28-21 to Fort Smith Northside — which went on to finish as league runner-up to North Little Rock — they then put together their only two-game winning streak, 35-17 over Little Rock Central and 27-17 over Little Rock Catholic. Conway lost its regular-season finale to Bryant, 21-7; the Hornets went on to the semifinals, where they fell to North Little Rock.
The Wampus Cats tied for fourth in the 7A-Central and got the fourth seed for the playoffs. They played host to Rogers, fifth from the West, at John McConnell Stadium in the first round, winning 35-20 to set up their trip to Fayetteville.
Ashcraft said the overall experience of last season was a good life lesson for his team.
“It was big to prove to our kids if you just stay positive and keep working, good things can happen,” he said. “We kept trying to relate the season to life. There’s good and bad in life. That’s where we were, and to see them have that success, I know our coaching staff was happy for those seniors, to see them have a lot of things to smile about there at the end.”
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 collarbone against Jonesboro; junior Jovoni Johnson (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, including 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 touchdowns 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 important. 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 stronger. 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
the experience of the returning skill positions. But the Wampus Cats must replace their entire defensive line.
The Wampus Cats aren’t too far removed from conference titles in 2014, ’11 and ’10. Except for four wins last year and six in 2015, they have won at least eight games since 2010. A 10-win season marked 2014.
“With high school ball, you play the cards you’re dealt,” Ashcraft said. “You don’t get to go fill voids by recruiting to fill them. We’ve struggled at spots over the last couple of years, but I feel like this group of guys has got a lot of experience coming back. We’re excited about the year. We have high hopes that we will get back to playing at a very high level.”
Although the line must be rebuilt, the defense will be led by a good corps of returning backs and linebackers, the coach said. Kennedy had 74 tackles and two interceptions last year at safety and also blocked two field-goal tries. Other returning starters at DB are seniors Darnell Washington (5-8, 160), Jackson Freeman (5-10, 180) and Tyler Banks (6-2, 172). Washington recorded 22 tackles and an interception as a junior.
The senior linebacking corps will include Zach Freedle (6-0, 213), who notched 43 tackles, including four for loss, as a junior; Garrett Fusilier (5-10, 210); and Logan White (6-1, 215). Fusilier, who missed six games of his junior season with a leg injury, recorded 31 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack in six games.
Ashcraft said he expects good performances from multiple newcomers, including defensive linemen Eric Branch, Cayge Carter, Kaine Aaron, Daniel Cypert, Joaquin Coria and James Martindale; linebackers D.J. Fuller, B.J. Jones and Blake Walter; defensive backs Malik Benton, Cole Hoover, Tez Miller, Riley Morales, Darius Washington and Syrkhylin Norment; wide receivers Meshach Cole, Dontez Hammons, Nick Richmond and Jarrett Hoover; running backs Brennan Clark and Cary McClain; H-back Nick Tufu; offensive linemen L.J. Hansberry, Talon Sellers, Lance Rogers and Marco Balderas; defensive back/wide receiver Roman Aaron; and H-back/tight end Terry Clardy.
Twelve Wampus Cats have grade-point
averages of 3.7 or better, including Kaine Aaron, Johnson, Benton, Matt Linna, Cypert, Chandler Richmond, Clay, Cole Hoover, Jarrett Hoover, McKenna, Patterson and Hreha.
A statewide publication’s Arkansas football’s preseason poll of league coaches picked Conway to finish fifth in the 7A-Central, behind Bryant, North Little Rock and Northside and ahead of Cabot, Southside, Catholic and Central.
North Little Rock, Northside, Bryant, Conway, Cabot and Catholic reached the playoffs last year. After a bye, North Little Rock knocked off Cabot in the quarterfinals, 49-19, and Bryant, 46-13, in the semifinals before falling to Fayetteville at War Memorial Stadium, 53-19. Northside had a first-round bye but fell to Bentonville in the quarterfinals, 31-10. Bryant beat Springdale in the opening round, 45-14, and Springdale Har-Ber in the quarterfinals, 23-16. Cabot hammered Bentonville West in the opening round, 62-34; Catholic lost to Bentonville, 38-31.
After opening at Springdale, the Wampus Cats play host to Jonesboro and travel to Bentonville to complete their nonconference schedule before opening 7A-Central play at North Little Rock on Sept. 29. They’ll get Cabot, Central and Bryant at home and Northside and Catholic on the road.
Ashcraft said he had liked the mood and tone of his team through the summer and early days of fall camp.
“Our coaches are excited,” Ashcraft said. “Practices have been fun and very competitive. The kids have some spirit out there. They are going at each other pretty good, which you like to see. You like to have to pull them back instead of pushing them.
“When you’re pulling the reins back, you’re looking forward to the day you can let them go.”
Fayetteville, which won its fifth state championship in the past 10 years, has a new coach in Billy Dawson, who left Russellville after taking the Cyclones to the Class 6A state championship.
Ashcraft said he hadn’t spent much time looking to the West.
“There’s no doubt Fayetteville was in a different league than we were last year,” he said. “Only an idiot wouldn’t admit that.
“I don’t know how good they’ll be this year. When you’re coming off what we came off, you keep your head down and go to work. But I’m sure we’ll find out.”