CONWAY --Junior Nick Fletcher gave Conway the spark it needed Friday against Siloam Springs.
With Conway trailing 3-0 after two offensive turnovers and Siloam Springs on the move, Fletcher returned a Ricky Hughes fumble 84 yards for a touchdown to give the Wampus Cats a 7-3 lead.
Conway would go on to score on its next three offensive possessions of the first half and the Wampus Cats went on to defeat the Panthers 38-24 in a 7A/6A-Central Conference game at John McConnell Stadium.
"That was huge momentum changer in the first half because they (Siloam Springs) were having some success moving the football," said Conway coach Clint Ashcraft. "To get that ball and score was big."
Conway turned the ball over on the first offensive play of the game when Chris Boyster recovered a Breylin Smith fumble.
The Panthers then drove the ball 52 yards -- 41 of the yards coming on runs from Hughes -- before settling for a 38-yard field goal by Gus Wright.
Coby Roach intercepted a Smith pass on the Wampus Cats' next possession and the Panthers appeared to be in good shape at the Conway 31.
But Hughes fumbled at the end of a long run on the next play and Fletcher picked up the loose ball and raced up the visitor's sideline to give the Wampus Cats a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"It turned the tide," said Siloam Springs head coach Bryan Ross. "If we were able to go down and punch it in ... they gave us two turnovers and we got three points. Our one turnover turned into seven for them. You can't do that against real good teams."
Conway, which struggled offensively in a 37-7 loss to Har-Ber last week, would go on to have a balanced night offensively.
The Wampus Cats (2-2, 1-0 7A/6A Central) rushed for 221 yards on 35 carries, while quarterback Breylin Smith completed 9 of 20 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Marquis Pleasant caught three passes for 126 yards and two scores.
"We've got some guys in new places, and a lot of guys that played tonight it was their first meaningful game," said Ashcraft, who improved to 2-0 against his former team. "We've got a lot of things we need to clean up, but just proud to get any win you get."
McCall Dail had a nine-yard touchdown run in the first quarter as Conway took advantage of a short field after a shanked punt to go up 14-3.
Siloam Springs (3-1, 0-1) answered with a scoring drive capped by a Luke Lampton touchdown run to pull within 14-10 in the second quarter. But Conway scored twice more before halftime to lead 28-10.
Smith converted a fourth down with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Pleasant for a 21-10 lead. Shamar Harper had a 25-yard touchdown run later in the half.
Christian Underwood kicked a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Smith fired an 81-yard touchdown strike to Pleasant as Conway pulled ahead 38-10.
Siloam Springs scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cut the margin to 38-24. Hughes had a one-yard touchdown run and Lampton scored again from 15 yards out. After Siloam Springs cut the lead to 38-24, they recovered an onside kick and drove into Conway territory before Norberg threw an interception to end their final drive.
The Panthers lost several key players to injury throughout the game, including senior safety Matt Downing who was carted off on a stretcher in the third quarter. Downing was released from the hospital later that night with his injury being labeled a stringer.
Other Panthers to go down and not return were senior defensive lineman Kris Green, senior linebacker Gus Wright and junior linebacker Kalen Seftner.
"We're not going to quit," said Siloam Springs coach Bryan Ross. "As far as the injuries and stuff, we'll just have to re-evaluate a little bit later. I hope none of them are very serious, but yep we had several tonight. That's always a concern."
The Panthers finished with a season-high 366 yards of offense. Norberg led the team with 85 rushing yards on 10 carries while completing 15 of 27 passes for 139 yards. Hughes, fighting through illness, rushed for 78 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. Coby Roach led all receivers with five catches for 58 yards while Dawson Armstrong had four catches for 53 yards.
Sports on 09/27/2015