Wampus Cats face NLR for homecoming

By Dustin Guffey
UCA sportswriting

The Conway Wampus Cats look to get back on track this week against the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats.

Homecoming kickoff at John McConnell Stadium is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2.

The Wampus Cats are 1-3 overall and 0-1 in 7A-Central play after falling to Cabot in the opener, 38-21. North Little Rock defeated Russellville in its first conference game, 28-21, in North Little Rock last Friday to improve to 3-1 overall.

North Little Rock got a strong performance from its star senior running back Tim Johnson, who rushed for 242 yards and three scores against the Cyclones.

Wampus Cat Coach Clint Ashcraft said his team must contain Johnson to put itself in a good position to win the game.

"Our kids are ready," Ashcraft said. "North Little Rock is fast, so we are going to have to slow down their offense. Tim Johnson is extremely fast, and we need to keep him bottled up."

Conway is looking for a big night from its starting quarterback, Xavier Acklin, who led the team in rushing last week with 157 yards. His improvement will be key in getting a victory for his team.

“I hope he continues to improve and get better as the season progresses,” Ashcraft said.

Ashcraft knows his team will need to put up some points against North Little Rock and that even though this is his first year coaching the Wampus Cats, he still knows what it will take to win games down the road.

"Being so new, we are just trying to get better at every position," he said. "Our offense just needs to keep putting up more and more points."

The main key to stopping the Charging Wildcats — keeping Johnson in check — is easier said than done.

“We need to limit his touches as much as possible,” Ashcraft said.