Senior tailback Mark Odom rushed 11 times for 133 yards and 1 touchdown in Conway's 28-10 victory over Little Rock Catholic in 7A/6A-Central action Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Conway (4-4, 3-2 7A/6A-Central), which avoided its first three-game losing streak since Clint Ashcraft was named coach in late 2008, will face Bryant in Week 10 for a No. 1 playoff seed in 7A-Central.
Catholic (3-5, 2-3) will meet Van Buren in the regular-season finale, with the winner securing 7A-Central's third and final playoff spot.
Catholic finished with a 354-311 advantage in total yardage (Conway gained 188 yards on 4 plays), but had 2 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles.
The Wampus Cats, who never trailed, converted the final turnover into the clinching touchdown when sophomore safety Will Kennedy returned an interception 46 yards for a 28-3 lead with 6:28 remaining in the game.
Conway led 14-3 after three quarters.
"We're in a whatever-it-takes mode," said Ashcraft, leaning heavily on sophomores in the offensive line and secondary because of injuries. "It's just a find-a-way mode. We're playing some young guys, and they're contributing and getting better every week."
Odom ran 60 yards for a touchdown with 7:47 left in the first quarter, and the Wampus Cats led 14-3 at halftime after junior tailback McCall Dail scored on a 2-yard run with 3:22 remaining in the second quarter.
Dail finished with 42 yards on 12 carries. Senior quarterback Breylin Smith completed 8 of 20 passes for 137 yards and a 74-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Damontay Allen with 7:32 remaining in the game for a 21-3 lead.
Allen finished with five receptions for 108 yards. Odom also had runs of 30 and 24 yards.
Catholic senior quarterback Andre Sale completed 20 of 36 passes for 251 yards and ran 1 yard for a touchdown with 5:03 remaining in the game. He was intercepted twice.
Junior wide receiver Thompson Olaimey had five receptions for 105 yards. Senior tailback Lance Harville-Thomas ran 24 times for 103 yards.
Catholic's only first-half points came on a 27-yard field goal by junior Christopher Elser with 5:18 remaining in the second quarter.
Elser's field goal made it 7-3, but junior Marquise Pleasant's 57-yard return of the ensuing kickoff led to Dail's 2-yard touchdown run five plays later.
Sale was intercepted at the Conway 18 on Catholic's next possession. The Rockets also lost a fumble at the Wampus Cats' 37 on their first possession.
Odom ran 60 yards for a touchdown two plays later.
"I think some of it, honestly, is the kids sometimes try to do a little too much," Catholic Coach John Fogleman said. "You start trying to make a short run into a longer run and you forget ball security. Quarterbacks stop thinking about the short ball when it's there and try to go with the longer ball. That got us. That's what really hurt us."
Conway has beaten Catholic seven consecutive times.
7A-WEST
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 34, SPRINGDALE 17
SPRINGDALE — Deontre Hardwick had 5 sacks, scored on a 2-yard run and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown as Fort Smith Northside (4-4, 3-2 7A-West) outscored Springdale (1-7, 1-4) 21-0 in the second half to turn a halftime deficit into a victory.
Hardwick led a Northside defense that finished with nine sacks.
Springdale defensive end Isaiah Nichols sacked Northside quarterback for a safety in the second quarter as the Bulldogs took a 17-13 halftime lead.
Sports on 10/24/2015