Led by standout seniors Grayson Wilson and Jacoby Wade, the Wampus Cats have had an electrifying start to the season. After losing in heartbreak fashion to Fayetteville in the semifinals of the 7a playoffs last year, Coach Buck James spent numerous hours and days in the offseason preparing Conway to win the state championship for the first time in over 50 years.
The boys made the trip up to Jonesboro August 30 to start the season and came back to Conway with a 42-21 victory. “I really liked the energy from the student section, especially for it being an away game. We had a good game plan coming into it and I felt like we executed it well,” senior transfer quarterback Grayson Wilson said after his first game as a Wampus Cat.
Coming into the matchup against Bentonville September 6, the Wampus Cats were ranked 6th in the state, right behind Bentonville who were ranked 5th. The offense started off a little shaky but picked it up in the 2nd quarter as they scored 20 points to make the score at halftime 27-14 Conway. The Cats upped the pace even more on offense in the second half and added 28 more points to make the final score 55-21.
Next up on Conway’s schedule on September 13 was Marion, one of the better teams in the 6A conference. Both sides of the ball started off strong for the Cats as they had a 42-7 lead at the half. The second half wasn’t near as exciting as the first as Conway added just one more touchdown and won the game 49-7. Conway’s defense played with energy from the start and forced Marion to turn the ball over 6 times! “I think it was one of the best defensive games we’ve played since I’ve been a part of the Cats. You really couldn’t ask for anything better,” senior defensive lineman Griffin Sherrod said after his outstanding performance against Marion, which included a scoop ‘n score touchdown.
The boys will look to take the momentum they gained from these opening games and use it to finish the season strong and achieve the biggest goal of all, winning the state championship. Up next: Little Rock Southwest this Friday.
