Conway gets control after turnover

CONWAY — Junior Nick Fletcher gave Conway the spark it needed Friday night against Siloam Springs.

With Conway trailing 3-0 after two turnovers and Siloam Springs on the move, Fletcher returned a Ricky Hughes fumble 84 yards for a touchdown to give the Wampus Cats a 7-3 lead.

Conway scored on its next three first-half possessions and the Wampus Cats defeated the Panthers 38-24 in the 7A/6A-Central Conference opener at John McConnell Stadium.

“That was [a] huge momentum changer in the first half because they were having some success moving the football,” said Conway Coach Clint Ashcraft. “To get that ball and score was big.”

Conway, which struggled offensively in a 37-7 loss to Springdale Har-Ber last week, was more balanced offensively against the Panthers.

The Wampus Cats (2-2, 1-0 7A/6A Central) rushed for 221 yards on 35 carries, while quarterback Breylin Smith completed 9 of 20 passes for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns.

“We’ve got some guys in new places, and a lot of guys that played tonight it was their first meaningful game,” said Ashcraft, who

improved to 2-0 against his former team. “We’ve got a lot of things we need to clean up, but just proud to get any win you get.”

McCall Dail had a 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter as Conway took advantage of a short field after a shanked punt to go up 14-3.

Siloam Springs (3-1, 0-1) answered with a scoring drive capped by a Luke Lampton touchdown run to pull within 14-10 in the second quarter, but Conway scored twice

before halftime to lead 28-10.

Smith converted a fourthdown play with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Pleasant for a 21-10 lead. Shamar Harper had a 25yard touchdown run later in the half.

Christian Underwood kicked a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Smith threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Pleasant as Conway pulled ahead 38-10.

Siloam Springs scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns

to cut the deficit to 38-24. Hughes had a 1-yard touchdown run and Lampton scored again from 15 yards out.

The Panthers lost several key players to injury in the game.

“We’re not going to quit,” said Siloam Springs Coach Bryan Ross. “As far as the injuries and stuff, we’ll just have to re-evaluate a little bit later. I hope none of them are very serious, but yep we had several tonight.”