Familiar face leads Conway

Ashcraft to coach on opposing sideline

J.T. Wampler/NWA Media Conway head football coach Clint Ashcraft makes his first return to Siloam Springs as opposing coach on Friday when the Wampus Cats play the Panthers at Glenn W. Black Stadium. Ashcraft was 31-15 in four years as head coach of the Panthers from 2005 to 2008.
J.T. Wampler/NWA Media Conway head football coach Clint Ashcraft makes his first return to Siloam Springs as opposing coach on Friday when the Wampus Cats play the Panthers at Glenn W. Black Stadium. Ashcraft was 31-15 in four years as head coach of the Panthers from 2005 to 2008.

Conway head football coach Clint Ashcraft held a meeting Sunday night with his players and tried to explain to them what they would be walking into Friday when they play Siloam Springs at Glenn W. Black Stadium.

Nobody would know better than Ashcraft, who was defensive coordinator at Siloam Springs in 2004 and the Panthers head coach from 2005 to 2008.

Ashcraft’s career

n Here is a season-by-season breakdown of Conway head coach Clint Ashcraft’s career

Year School Record

2005 Siloam Springs 7-4

2006 Siloam Springs 7-4

2007 Siloam Springs 8-4

2008 Siloam Springs 9-3

2009 Conway 5-7

2010 Conway 9-2

2011 Conway 8-3

2012 Conway 8-3

2013 Conway 9-3

2014 Conway 3-0

4 Years Siloam Springs 31-15

6 Years Conway 42-18

8 Years Overall 73-33

Ashcraft was a part of one of the more successful spans of football in school history that included the school's first home playoff game since 1987 and the program's first nine-win season since 1950 -- both of which happened in 2008.

"I told our kids (Sunday) night, it's going to be a great atmosphere," Ashcraft said. "There's going to be a good crowd. It's going to be loud. I'm speaking from what I remember being there. I just thought the school, the booster club, the community really made Friday nights exciting and fun. I remember always being excited about going out and playing, especially at home."

Friday night's 7A/6A-Central Conference opener between Siloam Springs and Conway will mark Ashcraft's first return to Siloam Springs as the opposing team's head coach since he left for Conway after the 2008 season. He'll also have former Siloam Springs assistant and current Conway offensive coordinator Brian Raney with him as well.

And Ashcraft admits going up against his former team will be difficult. On one sideline will be his current team, the Wampus Cats (3-0), ranked No. 2 in the state by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the preseason pick to win the 7A/6A-Central Conference by the league coaches. On the other sideline will be the Panthers (2-1), a program he helped build and grow for five seasons.

"I've thought about it," Ashcraft said. "You can't help but think about it. I think I had some real good relationships with the people there, administration, coaches. It was tough to leave. I enjoyed getting up and going to work every day. It was tough."

There will be coaches on the opposing sideline he considers close friends.

"I hope Siloam Springs wins every game," Ashcraft said, "but you can't feel that way this week. I want them to be successful and hope the program continues to get better and grow. You're playing against a team that you root for on a weekly basis."

From Siloam Springs to Conway

Ashcraft was defensive coordinator at Greenbrier from 2002 to 2003 and held the same position in 2004 at Siloam Springs under then-head coach Billy Dawson. When Dawson resigned after the 2004 playoff season, Ashcraft was promoted to head coach.

In 2005, the Panthers went 7-4 overall and advanced to the Class AAAA playoffs. They returned to the playoffs in 2006 and finished with another 7-4 record.

In 2007, the team went 7-3 in the regular season and routed Batesville in a road playoff game before losing to Camden Fairview and finishing the year 8-4.

In 2008, despite being picked to miss the postseason, the Panthers went 9-3 overall in a season that included the Panthers' first home playoff game since 1987. The nine wins was also the most the team had accumulated since 1950.

That success attracted the interest of Conway, a fledgling football program in 2008 that had gone a combined 10-20 in its previous three seasons.

Conway offered Ashcraft the head coaching job and he accepted in December 2008 after going 31-15 overall in Siloam Springs.

In six years, including this season's 3-0 start, the Wampus Cats have gone 42-18 overall under Ashcraft.

Conway rebounded from a 1-5 start in 2009 to finish Ashcraft's first season 5-7, which included an upset playoff win at Fayetteville.

In 2010, the Wampus Cats improved to 9-2 and won a 7A-Central Conference championship. They won the league title again in 2011 with an 8-3 season and had a second 8-3 season in 2012.

Last season, Conway finished 9-3 overall and advanced to the state semifinals where the Wampus Cats were defeated by eventual 7A state champion Bentonville.

"There's one team at the end of the year that's happy," Ashcraft said. "That's the hard thing about it. You can't put all your happiness and stock into being a state champion. You've got to have pride in your kids, seeing them grow and develop. At the end of the day it is football and that's what your goal is. That's the goal of the team this year."

Loss becomes opportunity

Ashcraft and current Siloam Springs head football coach Bryan Ross both joined the Siloam Springs football staff as defensive and offensive coordinator, respectively, under Dawson in 2004.

The two seemed to have a good relationship from the very beginning.

"We hit it off as friends," Ross said.

When Dawson resigned after the 2004 season, both Ashcraft and Ross applied for the head coach position.

When Ashcraft got the job, Ross stayed on as offensive coordinator.

"I felt like our relationship was that good," Ross said. "We didn't have any problems. I totally enjoyed what I did. He let me run the offense and gave me a lot of freedom. We had a good time coaching together and had a quite a bit of success."

Ross admits he was disappointed to see Ashcraft leave for Conway, but Ashcraft's exit was Ross' personal gain.

Ross applied again for the head coaching job and got it this time around.

"When he left for Conway, I hated to see him go, but it gave me an opportunity," Ross said. "Certainly it's been a rough road the last couple of years, but the kids around here make it worth it with their attitude and effort."

Siloam Springs went 3-7 overall in Ross' first season in 2009. The Panthers got off to a 3-1 start in 2010, including a 38-31 win against rival Greenwood, who Ashcraft had not beaten in four years at Siloam Springs and still has not beaten at Conway in the last two years. The Panthers finished 5-5 in 2010 and went 6-4 in 2011. A move into the 7A/6A-West Conference in 2012 crushed the Panthers to the tune of a 1-10 overall record, and Siloam Springs went 3-8-1 in 2013.

"I think Coach Ross is one of the smartest guys I've ever worked with," Ashcraft said. "I really do. He's sharp. One thing about him, he's always going to be sound. He's going to have all his bases covered. He's going to have a good gameplan."

Ashcraft said he and Ross talk via phone and text message, swap film and check on various football-related things.

That hasn't stopped this week.

Ross has joked several times with Ashcraft about not getting any Siloam Springs players hurt this week because the Panthers play an important 6A conference game against Alma next week.

On Sunday night, Ashcraft sent Ross a text message that he was working past 10 p.m. trying to prepare a gameplan to stop the Siloam Springs offense.

"Whether that's the truth or not, I don't know," Ross said with a grin.

NOTES: Ross, defensive line coach Dwain Pippin and offensive line coach Jonathan Johnson are the only holdovers from Ashcraft's final football staff at Siloam Springs in 2008. Ashcraft's first staff in 2005 included Ross (offensive coordinator), Raney (wide receivers), Ritchie Mathis (offensive line), Daniel Lunney (offensive backs), Pippin (defensive line), Darren Hotelling (linebackers) and Jason Bowen (defensive backs/secondary). Ashcraft was his own defensive coordinator. "That was a great staff to be a part of," said Bowen, who now coaches soccer only at Siloam Springs. "We had a lot of fun."

Sports on 09/24/2014