It took a while for Conway to get going Friday night, but once it did, there was little Little Rock Parkview could do to stop it.
The Wampus Cats scored 28 consecutive points in the second half to turn a close game into a 45-10 rout of the Patriots at Quigley-Cox Stadium.
“We flipped the switch at the half,” Conway Coach Clint Ashcraft said. “We weren’t pleased at all with the way we played in that first half. But the guys came out with a lot more intensity, a lot more focus in the second half and played a lot better.”
Conway (7-1, 4-0 7A /6A-Central), the No. 4-ranked team by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, was coming off an emotional 37-7 victory over Fort Smith Southside a week ago, and Ashcraft said he was hopeful that his team could avoid a letdown against a Parkview team that had been outscored 156-42 during a recent four game losing streak.
But the Patriots looked like the fresher team for most of the first half.
Parkview (1-7, 0-5) gashed the middle of the Wampus Cats’ defense and used its speed to get outside. Parkview quarterback Lawrence Berry and Cameron Parker combined to rush for 110 yards in the first two quarters, but they didn’t have nearly as much success after halftime.
“We got that big win last week up at our place, and our kids were excited about that,” Ashcraft said. “But I think it’s just human nature, and a letdown is just something you battle, especially when dealing with young men. Sometimes you’re going to have a bit of a hangover, and we talked about that at halftime.”
Sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith completed 11 of 18 passes for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Conway’s offensive attack, which picked up 208 of its 327 yards after halftime. Running backs Demontrez Franklin and Kevin Chamorro combined to rush for 135 yard and three touchdowns.
Conway took the lead with 9:22 left in the first quarter when Chamorro finished off a five-play, 51-yard drive with a 25-yard run. Matt Cummins’ extra point made it 7-0.
Sports, Pages 25 on 10/26/2013