FORT SMITH -- For most of the season, the Conway offense has been fueled by running back Michael George. Against Fort Smith Northside, it was quarterback Andrew Hreha's turn to power the offense.
Hreha threw for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Wampus Cats to a 49-29 7A-Central victory over Fort Smith Northside on Friday at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.
Conway (5-2, 3-1 7A-Central) gained 506 yards of offense. Hreha did most of his damage in the first half, while George dominated the second half, rushing for 118 yards in the final 24 minutes. George finished with 173 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
Against the Grizzlies (2-5, 1-3), it was the Wampus Cat defense that opened the scoring. Northside had a third and goal at the Conway 4, but a pass by Derrick Wise was tipped and then picked off by Will Kennedy, who ran 96 yards for a touchdown. Jordan Wicks' kick was good for a 7-0 lead with 3:41 left in the first quarter.
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From there, the Wampus Cats offense would dominate the rest of the first half, gaining 312 total yards. Hreha finished the first half 9-of-11 passing for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nick Richmond had 4 catches for 154 yards and a score.
On its next possession, Conway started at its 6, but three plays later Hreha hit Richmond for an 89-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead after a quarter of play.
A Hreha screen pass to Kris Anderson turned into a 53-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter, then George added a 7-yard run to give Conway a 28-0 lead with 4:34 left in the first half.
Northside got on the board late in the first half when quarterback Derrick Wise hit tight end James Clayton on a 5-yard pass with 38 seconds left.
Wise finished the game rushing for 121 yards and a touchdown while passing for 143 yards and 2 scores.
Though trailing 42-15 early in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies tried to battle back. Northside got a 24-yard flanker pass from T.J. Thorne to Clayton for one score, and then a 10-yard keeper by Wise got the Grizzlies to within 42-29 with 3:04 left.
The Wampus Cats recovered the onside kick, and George would score three plays later when he recovered his own fumble in the end zone to set the final score.
Conway hosts Little Rock Central next week while Northside travels to North Little Rock.
Sports on 10/14/2017