Conway kept its hopes of claiming a share of the 7A-Central Conference title alive Friday by disposing of Little Rock Central the old-fashioned way.
The Wampus Cats used a punishing ground attack to eat up the clock and got a hard-hitting effort out of their defense to shut out the Tigers 31-0 in front of a rain-soaked crowd at Quigley-Cox Stadium.
Cary McClain ran 23 times for 156 yards for Conway (7-1, 4-1 7A-Central), which didn't attempt a pass and had three running backs run for at least 36 yards in a heavy rain that lasted throughout the game. Bryce Bohanon added 83 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, while Luke Bailey had 57 yards on 12 carries and a score.
"We're used to the rain since we've played several [games] in it," Conway Coach Keith Fimple said. "The kids embraced it right off the bat. We've talked about how we can't control what goes on weather-wise.
"I tell them there's no need in worrying about it and to just go play. We did that and got out of here with a win."
Quarterback Jovani Johnson and running back Deonta Bennett added short touchdown runs for the Wampus Cats, who put themselves in position to shake things up in the conference with two weeks left in the regular season.
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Bryant and North Little Rock are unbeaten in league play and face each other next week. If Bryant beats North Little Rock and Conway takes care of Little Rock Catholic next Friday, then Conway will have a shot in Week 10 against Bryant to force a three-way tie.
"It's one game at a time in this conference," Fimple said. "You keep practicing hard, go on to the next one and hope good things happen in the end."
There weren't many positive things happening for Central (1-6, 0-4) in this one. The Tigers, who've lost five games in a row, crossed midfield just twice, with both trips ending in disappointment. On its first scoring opportunity, Central worked its way to Conway's 4 late in the second quarter but threw an interception at the 2 on fourth down. The other scoring chance ended in a turnover on downs at the Wampus Cats' 21 midway through the third quarter.
Bohanon's 17-yard score put Conway on top 7-0 with 7:59 left in the opening quarter. Will Hogue tacked on a 33-yard field goal with 11:56 to go in the second quarter before Johnson's 1-yard plunge at the 5:16 mark helped the Wampus Cats take a 17-0 lead into halftime.
After Central was stuffed on fourth down on its second possession of the third quarter, Conway drove 79 yards in 11 plays, with Bailey scoring on a 1-yarder to open up a 24-point cushion. Bennett's 4-yard touchdown run with 4:21 remaining sealed the outcome.
Central finished with 160 yards of offense, with Samuel Franklin accounting for 73 yards on 21 carries.
"We're getting better, especially on defense," Fimple said. "We bent a few times, but we didn't break. And our offensive line has been growing as the season's gone on. But that's our philosophy, to run the ball.
"You just can't play action in this type of weather, but as long as it's working, we're gonna keep going with it."
Sports on 10/20/2018