By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Conway senior quarterback Tyler Langley utilized the great protection he received from his offensive line to zap Cabot’s secondary for over 300 yards, as the Wampus Cats blistered the Panthers 37-7 at Panther Stadium on Friday.
Langley completed 18 of 28 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns, while senior running backs Cordarius Irby and Corven Alexander combined for another 148 yards and two scores to open 7A-Central Conference play on an impressive note. Conway (3-1, 1-0) failed to score only twice in its eight possessions, and while the Panthers controlled the clock, particularly in the second half, they came up short on a pair of trips into Conway’s red zone.
“We mistaked ourselves out of a couple of scores,” Panthers coach Mike Malham said. “We’re just not doing the right things, because we feel like defensively, we did not slow them down. Their skill people made us look bad in open space. I don’t know what to do about that, but offensively, we get down there and have mistakes.”
The Panthers (1-3, 0-1) had a chance to close the margin to one score trailing 21-7 with 2:47 left to play in the first half, but on fourth-and-3 from the Conway 11-yard line, senior quarterback Zach Craig lost his pitch man on an option-left play.
That resulted in a two-yard loss and a turnover on downs, and the Wampus Cats capitalized with a drive to end the half that resulted in a 27-yard field goal by senior Ivan Pelayo.
“I’ve said all along that if Tyler has time to set his feet and throw, he’s going to get the ball where it needs to be,” Conway coach Clint Ashcraft said. “The thing I’m seeing now out of Tyler is that he’s making plays with his feet. If they do a good job in coverage, he can run. He got some big first downs tonight running the football.”
The Wampus Cats were the model of consistency early on offensively. Their first scoring drive on the opening possession went 74 yards in eight plays in 2:28; their second went 73 yards in eight plays in 2:24.
Brandon Cox and Rashad Shepherd got the majority of the looks from Langley for Conway. Cox caught seven passes for 139 yards and a score, while Shepherd had seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Cox’s end-zone reception in the front left corner to put the ’Cats up 21-7 with 11:51 left in the first half was especially hard for Cabot fans to swallow. The Panthers had just pulled to within a score at 14-7 with an eight play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown rush by senior halfback Mason Haley, but Conway answered in just six plays, and increased its advantage for the balance.
“We’re just going through some growing pains right now,” Malham said. “But it’s not from a lack of effort – they’re trying, and it’s a little frustrating right now, but we’re just going to keep working. That’s all you can do.”
Cabot let another scoring opportunity slip from its grasp when a drive that ate nearly eight minutes off the clock and went 74 yards ended on fourth and goal when senior halfback Weston Conard was stopped less than a foot from the goal line.
“Those are big,” Ashcraft said. “And I told our coaches I didn’t care that they drove the ball that far. The point is, a lot of time went off the clock, we’ve got the lead, and they didn’t score. That was big for us to bow up down there when the field got short.”
Conway put the game out of reach for the most part with 6:54 left in the third when Colin Fluesmeier scored on a three-yard run from the Wildcat formation, and Alexander capped off the scoring for Conway with a nine-yard touchdown run inside four minutes.
The Wampus Cats finished with 508 yards. For Cabot, Haley carried 10 times for 74 yards, junior fullback Ian Thompson rushed 18 times for 70 yards and Conard had 13 carries for 61 yards. The Panthers had 328 total yards.
The Panthers will see another prolific passing attack next week when they travel to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock to face Little Rock Catholic. The Rockets lost their league opener to Bryant in a 45-35 shootout on Friday.
“Defensively, the pass has killed us all year,” Malham said. “I don’t know, we’re just not getting the job done. We’ve got young kids – they’re inexperienced. They’re working hard, but when that other guy across from you is faster and quicker than you in open space, it shows.
“We will keep working, and we will get better. It’s tough, but there will be a better day, that’s for sure.”
