When Clint Ashcraft and Brian Raney left Siloam Springs for Conway after the 2008 season, they took with them the Panthers' offensive playbook.
Six years later, those same schemes are still present in Conway's offense, but the Wampus Cats have adapted in recent years to better suit their personnel.
"I think we've kind of evolved," Ashcraft said. "I think we're more tight end and two backs a lot. I think the heart of it is still there, but we've thrown some stuff out and added. We've tried to make it fit our guys."
So far, the Wampus Cats have scored 104 points in their first three games -- all wins -- against Cabot (24-22), Jonesboro (49-28) and Springdale Har-Ber (31-15).
Junior quarterback Breylin Smith, who's already been offered a scholarship by Central Arkansas, has completed 54 of 83 passes (65 percent) for 922 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. Smith's top target has been junior D.J. Johnson, who has 17 catches for 398 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Brock Mitchell had caught 19 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns.
The Wampus Cats have rushed for 412 yards on 77 carries as a team with the bulk of the yards spread out over three players.
The Wampus Cats will operate out of the pistol formation.
"With the quarterback they have now, they're a lot more spread and throw the ball more than we do," Siloam Springs coach Bryan Ross said.
Ashcraft said Siloam Springs was very impressive on film in its 44-7 win against Claremore, Okla., last week.
"I think in the Claremore game, if you sit and watch that game all the way through, they physically forced Claremore to quit," Ashcraft said. "They physically dominated that game. You can see at the end of the game that those guys from Claremore wanted no more."
Through three games, the Panthers are averaging 411 yards of offense per game and have shown balance over the past two weeks.
The Panthers have rushed for 581 yards on 91 carries (6.4 average), while they've passed for 1,233 yards.
Siloam Springs senior quarterback Chris Lampton has rushed 37 times for 212 yards (5.7 per carry) and completed 44 of 78 passes for 653 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.
"The thing about the quarterback is he can break off a 30-yard run at any time," Ashcraft said. "Now we've got to deal with a guy who can run it and throw it."
Panthers junior running back Ricky Hughes has 34 carries for 236 yards (6.9 per carry) with four touchdowns.
Senior wideout Parker Baldwin leads the team with 242 receiving yards on 12 catches (20.2 per catch), while Zane Washington has 16 catches for 184 yards and Zach Davis seven catches for 157 yards.
"Going back to what I told our kids, because I try to be honest with them, these guys aren't going to beat themselves," Ashcraft said of Siloam Springs. "They're going to have good plan on both sides of the ball. One thing that stands out more than anything is how hard they play. It's a total effort all over the field."
Defensively, the Panthers are giving up an average of 374 yards of offense per game, however in last week's win they only allowed 143 yards to Claremore.
"I think our kids were prepared," Ross said. "I think they were hungry. We try to sell our kids on the fact that the way we prepare and the way we practice gets us ready to play at a higher level. ... We want game speed all the time. I think that our kids have bought in to that and I think they see that it works. Claremore, they were in a bad spot in that they had some injuries and had some kids that weren't eligible to play. But I think that wouldn't have mattered. I think we dominated the game in every aspect. That was a good feeling. I hope our kids realize that we're certainly capable of doing it."
The Panthers will be underdogs for the second straight week against the Wampus Cats.
"Our kids have been underdogs so much the past two or three years that it's no big deal to them," Ross said. "There's not going to be too many people that expect us to beat Conway."
But not many expected Siloam Springs to win at Claremore either. Either way, the Panthers are looking for a win Friday.
"We're going to do every thing in our power to try and win the football game," Ross said. "There's no doubt about that."
Sports on 09/24/2014