Conway ready for Northside
Matthew Page and his Conway team have always circled their Fort Smith Northside matchups “with a permanent marker on their calendars.”
There’s no particular reason the semiannual matchups between the Wampus Cats and the Grizzlies have turned into a rivalry other than that the two teams seemingly find themselves as Nos. 1 and 2 in the 6A-Central — in one order or another.
So when Conway returned from a two-hour trip from Fort Smith on April 1 following its lone loss of the season, Page didn’t talk about how well or poorly his team had played that night.
He just reminded the Wampus Cats: “We get them at our place.”
That chance comes tonight with heavy conference implications at stake when Conway (11-14, 7-1-3 6A-Central) hosts Northside (10-1-3, 8-0-3), looking to avenge a 2-0 defeat from earlier in the month.
The Wampus Cats, who have won four and tied three since, would pull even with the Grizzlies on points with a victory — Conway currently has 24 to Northside’s 27 — and could then guarantee themselves at least a share of the conference title with wins in their last two regular-season contests.
“This is a huge game for us,” Page said. “I told the seniors [Monday] morning that this is the most important game of their careers.”
Fittingly, it will be the Wampus Cats’ senior night, and they’ll be honoring 11 players including standout defender Jacob Chalk and midfielder Eli Stewart.
Although Chalk has proven critical to a Conway defense that has allowed just one goal in its last three games, he’s also been a key attack piece, pushing the ball through the middle on his way to double-digit tallies this season.
But he’s had to do it at times because of the absence of Stewart, who was sidelined by an injury for several games. One of those games was the Wampus Cats’ matchup with the Grizzlies when Northside controlled a majority of the possession, something that Conway doesn’t often encounter.
That, combined with going down a man early, doomed the Wampus Cats, but Page hopes Stewart’s presence in the center of the pitch can change the way the rematch goes.
“He’s definitely a gamechanger,” Page said of Stewart. “Not a lot of kids can take the ball from him.”
Ultimately, though, it’s going to be a matter of intensity, desire and pace. The Grizzlies have scored four or more goals in five of their last seven games and have multiple threats in the attacking third, notably Cesar Perez and Giovanny Palafox.
“When we first [played them], we hadn’t gotten pushed around a lot on the field,” Page said. “They’re a very physical team … and do a good job running full speed everywhere they go.
“I warned our team and warned them and warned them until we got in the game, and I said, ‘Look, you have to match their intensity.’ … It’s just a different game when you play Northside.”
LR CHRISTIAN BOYS Staying defensive
It’s been 720-plus minutes since Little Rock Christian last saw a ball enter its own net. That’s one way to seize control of your conference — especially when all nine of those shutouts have come against league foes.
And it’s why the Warriors are looking down at the rest of 5A-Central as they head into the final two weeks of their regular-season campaign.
But what makes Little Rock Christian’s recent run all the more remarkable is the “skeleton crew” that Coach Barry McCaskill had to field during the Warriors’ nonconference slate. Little Rock Christian dropped its first three games — vs. Valley View, at Little Rock Central and vs. Pulaski Academy — by a combined 9-3 margin and played once with just 12 players.
From that point, the Warriors (9-3, 9-0 5A-Central) have scored 40 unanswered goals and won six of their league games by four or more scores.
“Even some of our senior starters this year haven’t played many games as a starter,” McCaskill said, noting that just one senior played meaningful minutes on the 2018 Little Rock Christian team that reached the state semifinals. “Just getting that experience, coming together on the field, figuring each other out and how to work together on those things. … We just kind of turned a corner.”
Junior Wyatt Thomas leads the Warriors with 10 goals and eight assists, but senior Isaiah Hankins, who signed with Baylor’s football team as a kicker earlier this month, has made a major impact since appearing for the first time April 13. Hankins has five goals in four games, making an impact off the wing.
The defense has been the most important part of Little Rock Christian’s run, though. A steady backline, as well as the play of senior goalkeeper Charlie Gordon, has kept opponents’ chances to a bare minimum, and McCaskill has preached keeping all 11 players focused on defense whenever the Warriors don’t have the ball.
The downside to Little Rock Christian’s success has been a lack of competitive games.
So the Warriors’ coach has tried to keep his team’s focus inward.
“We’re playing against ourselves,” McCaskill said. “Your challenge is to do things the right way, challenge yourself to get better every game, regardless of who you’re lining up against.”
GREENBRIER GIRLS Big road win
Greenbrier had to wait a few extra nights, but the Lady Panthers are now in full control of the 5A-West standings after holding off host Siloam Springs 2-1 on Monday.
Greenbrier (11-1-2, 10-01), which lost to eventual champion Little Rock Christian in the Class 5A semifinals two years ago, has not lost since March 1, when it dropped a 1-0 home contest to Cabot. The only teams to tie the Lady Panthers are 12-2-2 North Little Rock and Siloam Springs, which now sits six points behind Greenbrier.
Monday’s victory also marked the sixth consecutive contest in which the Lady Panthers have scored at least two goals, with the senior foursome of Lexi Carter, Kelsey Demers, Tigist Holmes and Melissa Rios providing consistent firepower.
Greenbrier will have a strong chance to finish its conference slate unbeaten. The Lady Panthers play at Vilonia tonight before hosting Alma on Friday and Greenwood next week. They won their first matchups with those three teams by a combined 13-0 margin.