CONWAY -- Conway simply didn't want to give the ball back to Cabot in the fourth quarter Friday night at John McConnell Stadium.
With 3:43 remaining and Conway clinging to a 17-15 lead, Kevin Chamorro capped a 12-play, 68-yard drive that took 5:28 off the clock to help the Wampus Cats hold off Cabot 24-22 in a Class 7A nonconference game.
Cabot sophomore Jarrod Barnes threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ferguson with 1:29 left to pull the Panthers to within 24-22, but Conway (1-0) managed to run out the clock to seal the victory.
"You can't give them the ball back there," said Conway Coach Clint Ashcraft, who team is ranked No. 5 overall by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "We had to score a touchdown there. We told our kids this is it. Finish this drive off or the result may not be what you want it to be.
"Our guys accepted the challenge."
Breylin Smith completed 12 of 20 passes for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to DJ Johnson for 35 and 38 yards in the first half. Johnson caught five passes for 157 yards, and Matt Cummins added 70 yards on six receptions.
Cabot (0-1), ranked No. 8 overall by the Democrat-Gazette, began the second half with a 15-play drive but had to settle for Christian Underwood's 39-yard field goal that cut the lead to 17-15 with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
Cabot outgained Conway 415-384, but the Wampus Cats still managed to come away with the victory.
"They played hard and came up with stops when they needed to," Ashcraft said. "That's a tough team to prepare for. It's a physical challenge."
The Wampus Cats struck first with a four-play, 62-yard drive that was capped by Smith's 35-yard touchdown pass to Johnson for a 7-0 lead with 10:42 remaining in the first half.
Conway extended its lead to 10-0 with 3:04 left in the quarter on Matt Cummins' 32-yard field goal.
Cabot responded with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Jacob Hemphill's 33-yard scoring run that pulled the Panthers to within 10-7 with 11:52 remaining in the first half.
After the Panthers forced a punt, they took their first lead of the game, 12-10, on Kolton Eads' 1-yard run at the 2:12 mark. The drive was extended thanks to Eads' 6-yard run on fourth and 1 at the Conway 28 and Ferguson's 12-yard reception.
The lead was short-lived.
Smith found Johnson for a 38-yard touchdown pass between two Cabot defenders, Ferguson and Malcom Moore, that gave the Wampus Cats a 17-12 lead with 1:44 left in the half.
Barnes completed 14 of 16 passes for 155 yards and had 74 yards rushing in his first varsity start.
"He made some things happen that a regular guy couldn't," Cabot Coach Mike Malham said. "He's going to be special. He's still learning."
Ferguson caught 11 passes for 124 yards, and Hemphill finished with 95 yards on 13 carries.
Eads had 79 yards on 16 carries.
Sports on 09/06/2014