Conway holds off Van Buren 42-35

VAN BUREN — With the game on the line in the second half, Conway’s offensive line refused to yield to Van Buren’s defense.

The Wampus Cats had only four possessions in the second half, scoring on three of them, then ran out the clock to hold off the Pointers 42-35 in a 7A/6A-Central Conference game Friday at Citizen Bank Stadium at Blakemore Field.

Conway (3-2, 2-0) had success running the ball in the second half, but still was able to convert 3-of-6 third downs and 2-of-2 fourth downs to keep drives alive.

“Our offensive line did a tremendous job,” Conway coach Clint Ashcraft said. “We converted a couple of fourth downs that led to score and that was big. We had to keep the ball away from them because they have some playmakers on offense. To keep the ball, eat the clock and score was huge.”

Van Buren rallied to tie the game at 21-all when Barlow hit receiver Salisbury in the end zone on the final play of the first half.

“We get up (14-0) early and we relaxed and (Van Buren) kept battling,” Ashcraft said. “We needed to match their effort and we didn’t. I told them at halftime we needed to keep battling.”

Pointer coach Greg Werner said he thought his team had gained momentum with the late surge in the first half.

“The late score was huge. I thought we were set up nicely for the second half,” Werner said. “But we could not shut them down or stop them in the second half.”

Conway got the ball to start the second half and marched 70 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 3-yard run by McCall Dail, who finished with 119 yards and three scores, for a 28-21 lead.

The Wampus Cat defense stopped the Pointers on fourth down at its 41 and the offense then marched 59 yards in nine plays as quarterback Breylin Smith scored on a 19-yard scramble for a 35-21 edge with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.

Seemingly in control at 42-21 after Dail’s 1-yard run with 5:59 left, the Pointers mounted one last rally.

Dye scored on a 6-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Barlow with 4:38 left. Van Buren’s Dominic Guillen then recovered the onside kick at the Conway 48. After Caleb Salisbury hit Dye on a flanker pass for 37 yards, Barlow got another touchdown toss, an 11-yarder to Zack Wornkey, to climb to within 42-35 with 4:12 still left.

Werner said he considered another onside kick, but with 4 minutes left and two timeouts, he decided to kick off hoping his defense could make one last stand.

Conway, though, gained three first downs, including a third down conversion, to run out the clock.

The Pointers had trailed 14-0 late in the first quarter before receiver Jaylynn Dye took over. Dye finished the half with 195 yards on 11 carried in the half, including touchdown runs of 66 and 44 yards.

“(Dye) is a Division I player out there,” Ashcraft said.

Dye’s 66-yard scamper with 9:16 left before half gave Van Buren a 15-14 lead.

But after blocking a Pointer field goal try, the Wampus Cats retook the lead at 21-14 on a Dail 11-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left in the first half, capping a 79-yard drive.