CONWAY -- Tied at the half, Oscar Adaway was anything but concerned about how North Little Rock was going to handle Conway.
"I knew the only reason they were in the game was because of all of our penalties," Adaway said. "We were just messing ourselves up. Once you figure that out, you're OK."
Quarterback Kareame Cotton scored on three short runs in the second half as No. 1 North Little Rock rolled to a 35-14 victory over the No. 4 Wampus Cats in a 7A-Central game at John McConnell Stadium.
North Little Rock (5-0, 2-0) rolled up 421 yards on the ground and held Conway to zero first downs in the second half in earning their 18th consecutive victory. The Charging Wildcats were guilty of six penalties in the first half -- four of them on false starts. They committed only two penalties in the second half.
Although he was held out of the end zone, junior running back Brandon Thomas ran 25 times for 192 yards. Adaway scored North Little Rock's first two touchdowns and finished with 170 yards on 19 carries. Cotton managed only 15 total rushing yards but scored on runs of 2, 1 and 1 yards. Senior fullback Tyler Day added 40 yards of rushing.
North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell had nothing but good things to say about the Charging Wildcats' offensive line.
"We're really good up front," Mitchell said. "Our right guard (Tyrese Francis) is a three-year starter. Our right tackle (Dontae Smith) is a three-year starter. Our tight end (Andrew Martin) is a Division I football player. No doubt our running backs are elite and special, but O. J. Simpson couldn't get yards without good players in front of him."
Conway (4-1, 1-1) ran only nine offensive plays and held the ball for only 3:37 of the second half. The Wampus Cats were held to seven first downs, all of which came in the final 5:25 of the second quarter. Conway managed 212 yards of total offense, but only 7 yards in the final two quarters.
"I thought our defense was lights out," Mitchell said. "They hit us on two big plays. They got us on a screen and slipped a back out on us in the first half. Other than that, I thought our defense played an outstanding game."
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North Little Rock dominated early. The Charging Wildcats drove 82 yards on 6 plays on its first offensive possession. Adaway scored on a 6-yard run with 6:53 left in the first quarter.
After a Conway punt, NLR converted on a 10-play, 59-yard drive with Adaway punching it in from the 2 with 1:36 left in the opening quarter.
Conway fumbled the ensuing kickoff but the Wampus Cats managed to turn the game around by stopping North Little Rock on fourth down. Conway used the momentum to tie the game by halftime.
Quarterback JoVonni Johnson hit Cary McClain for an 83-yard TD pass on a screen play with 5:25 remaining before halftime. A 36-yard pass from Johnson to sophomore Bryce Bohanon set up the Wampus Cats' second touchdown -- a 1-yard run by Johnson with 1:02 left before halftime.
"We calmed down," Conway Coach Keith Fimple said. "We were nervous at the first and I expected that. We talked about and told our guys to go out there and play like it's a regular game just like our last four. We put ourselves in this position."
North Little Rock turned the momentum back in its favor to start the second half, taking the kickoff and marching 72 yards on seven plays. Cotton scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 2-yard run with 9:45 left in the third.
The Charging Wildcats all but put the game away on its next drive, using 14 plays to drive 55 yards.
Johnson led Conway in rushing with 44 yards. He completed 5 of 16 passes for 146 yards.
Sports on 09/29/2018