VAN BUREN -- With the game on the line in the second half, Conway's offensive line refused to yield to Van Buren's defense.
The Wampus Cats had only four possessions in the second half, but they scored on three of them and ran out the clock on the other to hold off the Pointers 42-35 in a 7A/6A-Central game Friday at Blakemore Field.
Conway (3-2, 2-0) had success running the ball in the second half but still converted 3 of 6 third downs and 2 of 2 fourth downs to keep drives alive.
"Our offensive line did a tremendous job," Wampus Cat Coach Clint Ashcraft said. "We converted a couple of fourth downs that led to score, and that was big. We had to keep the ball away from them because they have some play-makers on offense. To keep the ball, eat the clock and score was huge."
Van Buren tied the game at 21-21 when Barlow hit receiver Caleb Salisbury in the end zone on the final play of the first half.
"We get up [14-0] early and we relaxed and Van Buren kept battling," Ashcraft said. "We needed to match their effort and we didn't. I told them at halftime we needed to keep battling."
Pointers Coach Greg Werner said he thought his team had gained momentum with the late surge in the first half.
"The late score was huge," he said. "I thought we were set up nicely for the second half, but we could not shut them down or stop them in the second half."
Conway got the ball to start the second half and drove 70 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 3-yard run by McCall Dail, who finished with 119 yards and three scores, for a 28-21 lead.
The Wampus Cats defense stopped the Pointers on fourth down at their 41, then drove 59 yards in nine plays as quarterback Breylin Smith scored on a 19-yard scramble for a 35-21 edge with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
Seemingly in control at 42-21 after McCall Dail's 1-yard run with 5:59 left, the Pointers mounted one last rally.
Jaylynn Dye scored on a 6-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Barlow with 4:38 left. Van Buren's Dominic Guillen then recovered the onside kick at the Conway 48. After Salisbury hit Dye on a flanker pass for 37 yards, Barlow threw another touchdown pass, this one an 11-yarder to Zack Wornkey, to pull to within 42-35 with 4:12 still left.
Werner said he considered another onside kick, but with 4 minutes left and two timeouts he decided to kick off in hopes that his defense could make one last stand.
Conway gained three first downs, including a third-down conversion, to run out the clock.
The Pointers trailed 14-0 late in the first quarter before Dye took over. Dye finished the half with 195 yards on 11 carries, including touchdown runs of 66 and 44 yards.
"He is a Division I player," Ashcraft said.
Dye's 66-yard run with 9:16 left before halftime gave Van Buren a 15-14 lead, but after blocking a Pointers field-goal try the Wampus Cats regained the lead at 21-14 on Dail's 11-yard run with 1:42 left in the first half that capped a 79-yard drive.
6A-SOUTH
LAKE HAMILTON 17, TEXARKANA 13
TEXARKANA — Johnathan Buss rushed for 135 yards on 26 carries to lift Lake Hamilton (1-4, 1-1 6A-South) to its first victory of the season, beating Texarkana (0-5, 0-2). The Wolves trailed 7-3 at halftime but took a 14-7 lead on two 1-yard runs by Eli Jackson in the third and fourth quarters. Kushaiah Jones caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Keaundre Banks with 1:39 left. Lake Hamilton was forced to punt on its next drive, and Texarkana got the ball back with 1:00 left. The Razorbacks had a chance to win the game, but Banks’ Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete in the end zone. Ethan Jackson kicked a 35-yard field goal for the Wolves in the first quarter.
Sports on 10/03/2015