Asides

Men’s Basketball: Bears set for historic in-state matchup with Arkansas on Dec. 12

Conway – The University of Central Arkansas Bears will be part of history on December 12 when they become the first regular-season, in-state basketball opponent for the University of Arkansas Razorback in 70 years, the schools announced Thursday.

“It’s going to be a great experience for our players and our staff and our fans,’ said Boone. “The Razorbacks have always been the apple of the collective Arkansas eye in basketball. It will be a fun time. They have great facilities there, they certainly have great tradition. And just like when we’ve gone to play other Power 5 programs, it will be a great opportunity to have a good experience for our guys.

“It’s a great challenge for them and hopefully it will be a lot of fun.’

The Bears and Razorbacks have met six times previously, beginning in 1924, UCA’s fourth season of playing basketball and Arkansas’ first season. The Razorbacks have won all six games, including the most recent one on Feb. 1, 1947.

“I think we’re very fortunate that we’re the ones they are going to play, with it being so long since they have had a game with an in-state opponent,’ said Boone, who took over last December on an interim basis and assumed the head coaching role full time at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. “We’re really excited to be able to just drive a little ways up the road and to play a game against someone of that high caliber competition.‘

The Bears, along with every other program in the nation, had their original schedule turned upside down due to COVID-19 issues.

The NCAA pushed back the season start date until Nov. 25, eliminating many of the guarantee games for schools such as UCA.

Thus, a matchup with an in-state established Power 5 opponent that was less than three hours was a no-brainer for Central Arkansas.

“It was really important, and very fortunate for us,’ said Boone. “COVID has affected so many people negatively, and I certainly don’t want to downplay that. I’ve had relatives and friends who have gotten sick and have lost a couple of people from it. But if there is anything at all positive that has come out of it, out of the reshuffling of everyone’s schedules, we did get to schedule this game.

“And we’re very thankful to have the opportunity to have such a close opponent to replace some of the others that would have required a lot farther travel.”

Boone said he expects a challenge from the Razorbacks, who finished 20-12 overall in Coach Eric Musselman’s first season.

“We play games like this every year, Power 5 and highly rated teams, so we don’t expect anything different as far as that goes,’ said Boone. “But Coach Muss is a great coach and he gets his guys to play really hard, and we’re going to have to do the same in order to have a chance to be competitive with them. It’s going to be very challenging for us.’

The Bears will open the 2020-21 season on Nov. 25 as part of a multi-team event (MTE) at Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. The Bears will take on the Rebels on Nov. 25, followed by Arkansas State on Nov. 26 and Jackson State on Nov. 27. That week will see Boone return to the campus of his alma mater where he both played (1994-98) and coached (1998-2000).

“I was really excited that they reached out to us to see if we would be interested in playing,’ he said. “It will be great to go back there. They have great facilities there now, very much upgraded from when I played there. I think initially it will be very strange, to be in that building and that atmosphere and not be representing Ole Miss. It will be very strange.

“But once the game starts, I think it will be like any other game. We’re going to have to have our guys ready to play hard, to play tough and to be competitive.’

The Bears will open the season by playing three consecutive days, which could be a challenge that early in the season.

“That is the challenge, that it’s three straight days,’ he said. “Physically that’s not that big a deal. We practice that many days in a row all the time. But games are just a little bit different, psychologically and mentally. There is a little bit more focus when it comes to games. That seems to drain our players mentally a little bit more. That will be the challenge there. Yeah, we’re going to try to scout in between the games, but there’s not much prep to go on the floor beforehand.’

UCA will also get in another in-state matchup when they take on the Red Wolves on Nov. 26.

“I think it’s great whenever teams from within the state can play each other,’ said Boone. “And I think whichever team wins, it’s a win for both programs because we’re talking basketball with regard to the state of Arkansas. I think it’s a great opportunity whenever Arkansas teams get to compete against each other.’

UCA, which will release more fall semester non-conference games in the coming days, will open Southland Conference play on Jan. 2.

“Our coaching staff worked extremely hard to replace the two weeks of games lost due to the restructured season,’ said Dr. Brad Teague, UCA’s director of athletics. “Of course, the game most will point to is the game versus Arkansas. It will be special for our fans and our state to have the first men’s basketball regular-season, in-state game featuring Arkansas in almost a century.’

Central Arkansas concludes three-game road trek at Eastern Kentucky

Conway – A pair of Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams who have played arguably the most competitive schedules in their respective school histories will go head to head today when the University of Central Arkansas Bears take on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

The nomadic Bears (3-3), playing their fourth consecutive road game, will take on the Colonels (1-4) at 2 p.m. (CT) at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Kentucky in the first meeting between the two schools.

UCA is fresh off a 33-24 road victory over Missouri State last Saturday.

Each school has competed against top tier competition in what has been a strange year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bears have already faced two FBS teams (UAB, Arkansas State), along with FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, with one more FBS program (Louisiana) in the season finale.

While EKU has faced Top 25 teams in Marshall and West Virginia, along with Troy, The Citadel and Houston Baptist. 

“These guys have played some really good offenses in Marshall and West Virginia,’ said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. “And even Troy this past weekend has a very explosive offense. And they lost to Houston Baptist, that we know has been putting up 500-600 yards on FBS teams. So they are battle tested. 

“I’d say, FCS wise, we’ve probably played as difficult a schedule as we’ve ever played here. But I’d say at this point, their schedule is just as difficult. They’ve played some really good FBS opponents, and obviously playing The Citadel and Houston Baptist, they’re no slouchs in the FCS either.

“So very similar to us, they’ve been tested.”

The Bears got back on the winning track last Saturday in their second meeting with MSU in three weeks, led by a controlling defense and an opportunistic offense.

Central Arkansas forced a season-high six turnovers – four interceptions and a pair of fumbles – cashing in four of the turnovers for touchdowns in the win.

The Bears held MSU scoreless in the second half and limited their offense to just 52 yards of offense after halftime. MSU’s eight second-half possessions ended in four punts, two interceptions and two failed fourth downs.

“It was nice to get back into the win column last week,’ said Brown. “It’s never easy to beat a team twice, and especially under the circumstances of this year, for Missouri State to really just be prepping for us for the two weeks between the games. I couldn’t have been more proud of our team last week, just the resiliency they showed. I think we played as close to a complete game all year on Saturday, (although) some could argue maybe the North Dakota State game would be close as well.

“But I thought defensively we were pretty dominant.”

Brown said the Colonels, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference, have some very talented individuals on both sides of the ball.

“I think the challenge this week is going to be playing a little bit more of an explosive offense at Eastern Kentucky,’ said Brown. “They pose some matchup problems. They’ve got a very big running back. You don’t usually get used to tackling a 250-pound guy at running back. We’re going to have to do a good job of wrapping up and rallying to the football and gang tackling him. 

“And then they have an NFL-type receiver in Keyion Dixon. He’s leading the FCS right now in receiving yards, had five touchdowns. Just a really, really good football player. They’re not afraid to throw it deep to him over and over again. So we’re going to have to be really in tune at corner to play against Keyion. But also, their other receiver (Jackson Beerman) is 6-foot-5. 

“We’ve been used to playing some big receivers throughout the year, we’ve seen it over and over again. This is no different this week. They are both very talented, and their quarterback (Parker McKinney) is very efficient. I’ve been very impressed with McKinney. He’s a kid who’s in his first year of starting but you can tell that he acts like a seasoned veteran and that he understands and grasps their offense very well. 

“So it’s going to be a challenge on defense. They’re going to be a little more explosive and probably a little more experienced than what we faced at Missouri State last weekend.”

The UCA offense did just enough last week with  its 268 yards of total offense, including a pair of touchdown passes from junior quarterback Breylin Smith to junior Mitchell Perkinson and sophomore Tyler Hudson. The key was a school record-tying four field goals by junior Hayden Ray, along with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by junior cornerback DeAndre Lamont.

“Offensively, we just kicked too many field goals,’ said Brown, “so we put an emphasis on our red-zone offense this week to try to convert some of those short fields. And once we get tighter into the plus end of the field, getting touchdowns instead of field goals.

“And the defense we’ll face this weekend will be a true three-down front defense. They’re going to be very big with their front three guys, 285-pound guys across the board. They’ve got a lot of transfers on defense. They have kid from Notre Dame, from Western Kentucky, a kid from UConn. Their best player is an outside linebacker (Matthew Jackson), he is a kid we’re definitely going to have to key on. He has a chance to give us some problems with just his athletic ability and length.”

Brown said the goal Saturday is the same as it is every week during this strange and unique 2020 season.

“Again, we’re looking forward to trying to go 1-0 this week. And if we can go 1-0 this week, that will put us at 4-1 against FCS this year,’ he said. “Eastern Kentucky is a tradition-rich program. They have a history of being a very good program. You can tell their players believe, they play hard. They’ve recruited very well there. It’s going to be a challenge.”

The Bears finally return home next Saturday for a Homecoming matchup with Missouri Western at 3 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

The Bears-Colonels matchup will be carried live on ESPN3 today at 3pm.    

Late interception seals Maumelle’s home win over White Hall 21-14

By Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Maumelle – Senior defensive back Keyonte Sykes’ late interception sealed a 21-14 Maumelle win over White Hall as the Hornets played in their first game in nearly a month due to the Covid-19 protocol.

With no timeouts left and a minute and 20 seconds left in the game, White Hall took over at their own 20-yard line and on their second play of the series, Sykes stepped in front of Matthew Martinez’s pass intended for receiver Kameron Robinson and returned the pick to the Bulldogs 22 where the Hornets were able to run out the clock.

Although Maumelle would struggle early on offensively, the Hornets defense picked up the slack by holding White Hall to 167 total yards.

While the Maumelle defense set a huge statement, White Hall was able to stay close due in part to a couple of Hornet miscues.

Trailing 7-0 after a short 3-yard touchdown run by Deshaire Ford-Burton with 2 minutes and 16 seconds left in the opening quarter, White Hall would answer as Robinson picked off Maumelle’s Jonathan Reyes and returned it eight yards for a defensive score.

Maumelle quickly responded a few plays later with senior Jordan Scott rambling in for an 18-yard TD run as the Hornets took five plays to take a 14-7 lead.

White Hall would take just one play to cash in a blocked punt by Jacobrian Eichelberger as Robinson’s 5-yard TD run again tied the score at 14-14 with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter.

But again Maumelle would respond in a hurry using a bit of trickery with Ford-Burton tossing a 41-yard touchdown to Sykes giving the Hornets a final 21-14 lead that they would not relinquish.

“Our defense played lights out tonight and in my opinion we pitched a shutout.” Maumelle head coach Kirk Horton said. “We had a couple of things happen during the game that didn’t work in our favor but if you can survive that type of adversity when you have been off for a while, then you like your chances when you have a team as talented as ours.”

Scott had 51 yards rushing on seven carries to pace Maumelle (3-2).

Jaylen Smith had ten carries for 35 yards for the Hornets who will play at Watson Chapel next Friday night.

No. 11 Central Arkansas belts turnover prone Missouri State 33-24

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Breylin Smith threw two touchdown passes, and the Central Arkansas defense had seven sacks and forced six turnovers in its 33-24 win over Missouri State on Saturday night.

Logan Jessup, a sophomore linebacker who went into the game with one career sack, had 3 1/2 sacks on Saturday and Cameron Godfrey added two of UCA’s four interceptions.

Hayden Ray tied a school record with a career-high four made field goals, including three after halftime when Central Arkansas outscored MSU 16-0.

Despite committing four first-half turnovers — including a 35-yard pick-6 by Central Arkansas’ Deandre Lamont — Missouri State took a 24-17 lead into the break.

But the UCA defense stiffened in the second half, allowing Missouri State just 52 total yards and three first downs after halftime.

Missouri State (0-3) — a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, which postponed its football season to the spring due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic — completed its three-game fall season and is scheduled to play an eight-game MVC schedule beginning at South Dakota on February 20, 2021.

Central Arkansas beat Missouri State 27-20 in Conway, Arkansas, on Sept. 26, marking the first time since MSU played the same opponent twice in a season since 1945.

Conway routs Fort Smith Northside behind Weese’s big homecoming night

By Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Conway – It was supposed to be an even match-up with a pair of teams with identical records on homecoming night getting ready for a playoff push with three conference games remaining.

And then it quickly wasn’t.

Conway senior quarterback Ben Weese passed for four touchdowns and then ran for a score in leading the Wampus Cats to a 48-12 victory over Fort Smith Northside in a 7A Central battle on Friday night.

A week after an impressive road win at Cabot, the Wampus Cat offense would score on three of their first four offensive possessions of the contest and the rout was on.

“Coach has really been pushing us to start hot and finish hot.” Weese said. “Our offense is really clicking because we have learned that we can play with anybody on the field with us. When you have the guys we have it’s real easy to have a lot of trust in each other and the guys up front blocking for me have been amazing.”

Conway spread the ball around to a prolific offense – in which Manny Smith, Jamarion “Boogie” Carr, West Boudreaux and Bryce Bohanon – each caught TD passes in the win.

Weese contributed a short 2-yard touchdown run of his own as the Wampus Cats (4-2, 2-1) poured it on from the opening gun with the senior quarterback completing 18-of-28 passes for 297 yards, Bohanon catching four passes for 85 yards and Boudreaux finishing with four catches for 77 yards.

“Ben has been a leader for us all year long,” Conway Coach Keith Fimple said. “The last couple of games he has been focused. He did a great job.”

Carr, a sophomore, was electrifying as well, running for 128 yards on 12 carries to go along with his scoring reception.

After Conway kicker Adrian Mejia connected on a 36-yard field goal on the Cats’ opening possession for a 3-0 lead, Weese would misfire on 4th-and-9 from the Northside 29 to stall their second drive of the game.

But that would be the only misstep on a night where the Wampus Cats put on an offensive show.

Smith added an 11-yard scoring run with 1:53 left in the first quarter and Weese scored on a 2-yard run with 5:19 left in the half to send Conway off to a 17-0 advantage.

“Getting off to a fast start is something we talked about all week because we kinda went through one last week where we lost momentum (in a 52-49 win at Cabot).” Fimple said.”So that’s what we concentrated on all week.”

Already leading 17-0, Ashton Walker picked off an errant pass from interception and subsequent 72 yards return set up Smith’s touchdown reception for a 24-0 halftime cushion.

Carr grabbed a 15-yard TD pass in the third quarter to make it 31-0.

The Grizzlies (3-3, 1-2) finally got on the board in the third quarter as Ty Massey scored on a 1-yard run after sprinting 71 yards down the sidelines only a play before.

Avonte Tucker caught a 47-yard TD pass from Dreyden Norwood on the Grizzlies next possession for their only other touchdown of the night.

Conway will next travel to Little Rock to face Central next Friday, October 23.

Women’s Collegiate Golf: UCA third, Nunez 7th in Individual at Bubba Barrett Invitational

Jonesboro – The University of Central Arkansas women’s golf team started the season at the Lady Red Wolves Classic at Sage Meadows Golf Club in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on Monday. The Bears are tied for third with a combined score of 588 (+12). Tania Nunez paced UCA with a mark of 144 (E) and is in seventh place.

Nunez started the day off with a birdie on the par-4 10th. After a birdie on the par-5 18th, she birdied three of the next four holes and finished round one tied for second with a 69 (-3). After a slow start in round two, she collected back-to-back birdies on the par-5 third and the par-4 fourth. She posted a second-round tally of 75 (+3) and has a two-round score of 144 (E). She is currently in seventh place.

Pear Rittawee and Camila Moreno are tied for 13th with a two-round effort of 147 (+3).

Rittawee birdied three of the first four holes on the front nine and added a birdie on the par-4 10th to finish round one with a 73 (+1). She birdied the par-4 second and the par-5 third and posted a second-round tally of 74 (+2). She moved up three spots in the standings after round two.

Moreno notched a birdie on the par-5 15th early in the first round. She added birdies on the par-4 first, par-4 sixth, and the par-4 eighth to finish the round with a mark of 71 (-1). She birdied the par-5 15th for the second time on the day in the second round. She collected a birdie on the par-5 third and finished round two with a 76 (+4).

Pim-Orn Thitisup and Elin Kumlin finished the day tied for 35th with a two-round score of 151 (+7).

After a slow start in the morning round, Thitisup birdied the par-4 first in the second half of the first round. She added a birdie on her final hole of round one on the par-4 10th and finished with a tally of 76 (+4). In the second round, she birdied the par-5 15th, par-5 third, and the par-4 eighth. She notched a second-round score of 75 (+3). She rocketed up 12 spots on the leaderboard at the end of day one.

Kumlin birdied the par-4 12th and the par-4 fourth in the first round of the day. She posted a round-one mark of 75 (+3). She followed that up with 16 pars on the second round and produced a score of 76 (+4).

The final round begins at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Team Standings

1. South Alabama – 576 (E)

2. Troy – 587 (+11)

T3. UCA – 588 (+12)

T3. Arkansas State – 588 (+12)

T5. Chattanooga – 595 (+19)

T5. Western Kentucky – 595 (+19)

T7. Southern Illinois – 599 (+23)

T7. Middle Tennessee – 599 (+23)

9. Missouri State – 603 (+27)

10. Houston Baptist – 604 (+28)

11. UAB – 605 (+29)

12. BYU – 608 (+32)

13. Southern Mississippi – 615 (+39)

14. Little Rock – 622 (+46)

15. Stephen F. Austin – 630 (+54)

Men’s Collegiate Golf: UCA sits in 6th place at Bubba Barrett Invitational

Jonesboro – Nate Jolly led the Central Arkansas men’s golf team on day one of the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate with a 146 (+2). The Bears finished Monday with a team effort of 595 (+19) and are in sixth place at Ridge Pointe Country Club.

UCA started the day on the 10th hole.

Nate Jolly got the day started with birdies on the par-5 13th and the par-3 15th. On the 15th, Jolly nearly holed his tee shot and was able to make the short birdie putt. He finished the first round with a 74 (+2) and was tied for 24th. He was on fire to start round two, as he birdied three of the first five holes. He added birdies on the par-3 17th and the par-4 first. Jolly recorded a 72 (E) for the second round and moved up five spots into a tie for 19th with a total of 146 (+2).

After a slow start to round one, Davis Irving made a spectacular chip on the par-3 fourth. His ball was 10 feet off of the green between two green-side bunkers. He was unfazed by his position and chipped it in for a birdie and gained momentum on the remaining five holes. He picked up a birdie on the par-5 fifth and the par-4 ninth. He produced a first-round mark of 74 (+2) and was tied for 24th. He collected a birdie on the opening hole of the second round, before he added two birdies on the par-5 sixth and the par-4 eighth. He posted a second-round tally of 77 (+5) and is tied for 31st with a 151 (+7).

Josh Turnock is tied for 35th after he had a two-round score of 152 (+8). After he started the day with a 78 (+6), he bounced back with a 74 (+2) in the second round. He tallied birdies on the par-5 10th and the par-4 14th during round two.

Blaine Calhoon started the first round with a birdie on the par-5 10th. After a double-bogey on the par-4 second, he was resilient and drove the green on the par-4 third. He nearly drained the long eagle putt, but left the putt short for an easy tap-in birdie. He closed out the morning round with birdies on the par-5 fifth, the par-3 seventh, and the par-4 ninth. He finished the first round with a score of 73 (+1) and was tied for 19th. Like the first round, he birdied the first hole of the second. He recorded the Bears’ lone eagle on the par-5 sixth and posted a second-round score of 79 (+7). He is tied for 35th with a mark of 152 (+8).

Jakob Lemieux opened the day with a 77 (+5) with a birdie on the par-5 13th in round one. In the second round, he added birdies on the par-5 fifth and the par-3 seventh. He posted a second-round tally of 78 (+6). He finished the day with a two-round score of 155 (+11) and is tied for 43rd.

Miles Smith opened the day with an 87 (+15). He battled back on the second round and birdied the par-5 13th. He added another birdie on the par-3 seventh and finished the round with a 74 (+2). He moved up four spots into a tie for 59th with a two-round mark of 161 (+17).

The third and final round is scheduled for an 8:34 a.m. start time for the Bears on Tuesday.

Team Standings

1. Arkansas State – 542 (-34)

2. Texas State – 565 (-11)

3. Abilene Christian – 578 (+2)

4. UT-Arlington – 584 (+8)

5. Oklahoma Christian – 593 (+17)

6. UCA – 595 (+19)

T7. Stephen F. Austin – 603 (+27)

T7. Houston Baptist – 603 (+27)

T7. Missouri State – 603 (+27)

10. Southern Illinois – 609 (+33)

College Soccer: Louisiana blanks UALR 2-0

Little Rock – Two first half goals from Louisiana proved to be too much for UALR to overcome as Little Rock (1-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) dropped a 2-0 decision to the Ragin Cajuns (6-3, 3-2 Sun Belt).

Despite an active Trojan squad producing several opportunities, they were ultimately unable to follow through on those chances.
 
“I thought we were the better team especially in the second half but it’s just not going our way at the minute,” said UALR head coach Mark Foster. “The challenge is for the girls to keep their head up, rebound and come back and make sure the next one goes our way.”
 
“The soccer’s been brilliant this season,” he added. “We’ve seen some really good passes and moving, some great build-up play through the thirds, and the team is coming together to create lots of opportunities.”
 
The closest chance for Little Rock came early in the second half, as the Trojans came out of the halftime break visibly firing on all cylinders.

However, once again the woodwork was not in favor of the Trojans as Peyton Laughley – Little Rock’s offensive leader of the night with two of her six shots on target – made an attempt from the right side that hit high on the top crossbar. 
 
“I lost count of how many opportunities we had,” said Coach Foster. “But we’ve got to make our own luck. We can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves. The harsh reality of soccer is they had a couple of chances and took theirs, and we weren’t able to take ours. It shows how cruel the game can be and how clinical it can be. It’s no good saying we dominated possession if we didn’t score.”
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns netted both of their goals in the first half, giving Little Rock a large mountain to climb in order to get back in the game.

In addition, Louisiana’s freshman goalkeeper Lauryn Starwood was a notable obstacle for the Trojans this evening, grabbing a game-high eight saves. Her agility beat some of the Trojans out when the home team was able to break through the Cajuns’ defense and get in range.
 
Louisiana’s Gwen Mummert scored the first Ragin Cajun goal in the 26th minute after the second of back-to-back Louisiana corner kicks. The ball soared into the center, bouncing to a fellow Cajun just outside the inner box and then Mummert powered the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
 
With a minute to go in the first half, one of the Louisiana forward Grace Champagne was able to shake off the defense to center her pass and set up Lizzie Mayfield for a lobbed arc from fifteen yards out that curved up and over the Trojan defenders and into the right side of the net. 
 
Little Rock returns home to the Coleman Sports Complex on Thursday when they host undefeated Arkansas State (7-0, 6-0 Sun Belt).

Southland Conference announces spring volleyball schedule

Conway – Central Arkansas will get a chance to expand on its season as the Southland Conference announces a spring volleyball season.

UCA will get a chance to compete in conference play as they initiate a part two to their season as they will compete in both fall and spring seasons.

This schedule shift will begin for the Sugar Bears Feb. 4 as they start their conference slate at Houston Baptist.

From that point, they will take part in a 12-match seven-week regular season.

This regular season will lead up to an end of the year conference tournament.

The No. 1 seed will host the SLC tournament, as only the top four teams will compete in the postseason tournament April 2-3.

The NCAA Tournament selections are scheduled to happen Apr. 4, with the first matches set for Apr. 8.

UCA hosts six different teams at home and travels for another six matches.

The Sugar Bears will play every team in the conference during that span.

UCA will play every game on Thursday and Saturday, besides at McNeese State (Feb. 23) and at Northwestern State (March 2), which will happen on a Tuesday.

If scheduling conflicts arise, coaches can agree to postpone games, but only if both sides agree to the postponement.

The Sugar Bears will host their first home game in this new format, Feb. 11, when they host Incarnate Word.

HS FOOTBALL: Conway, Vilonia and Greenbrier each collect wins at home on Week Four

By Mark Rico and Jason Ybarra

No. 2 North Little Rock outlasts Conway 39-37
Conway – After two weeks off, the Conway Wampus Cats played some of their best football of the season but unfortunately weren’t quite able to make enough plays to upset the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats at home.

The game featured several lead changes as NLR senior quarterback Kareame Cotton ran for three scores – which included the game-winner from a yard out midway through the fourth quarter – as the Charging Wildcats edged Conway 39-37 in a 7A-Central see-saw battle at John McConnell Stadium.

The Wampus Cats fought until the very last play of the game against the heavily favored North Little Rock squad that is predicted to capture the conference crown.

After blocking a punt, Conway was at the North Little Rock 42 with seven seconds remaining in the game, but a third-down pass from senior quarterback Ben Weese was batted down in the end zone as time expired.

North Little Rock lost star tailback Fredrick O’Donald on their first play from scrimmage after he suffered an apparent ankle injury.

In his absence, Cotton and senior tailback Aaron Sims picked up the slack by rushing for a combined 297 rushing yards and scoring five touchdowns.

Cotton, a three-year starter, ran 22 times for 100 yards, scoring on runs of 1, 1 and 3 yards. Sims ran 37 times for 197 yards and 2 first-half touchdowns (37 and 23 yards). Cotton also completed 9 of 15 passes for 141 yards.

North Little Rock, which led 25-14 at halftime, totaled 445 yards.

Weese finished 27 of 43 for 436 yards and four touchdowns for Conway (2-2, 0-1).

Senior wide receiver Bryce Bohanon with a pair of touchdown receptions of 75 and 15 yards.

Conway took their first lead of the game 37-32 early in the fourth quarter after junior tailback Manny Smith hauled in a 77-yard reception with 9:54 remaining.

But soon after, North Little Rock regained the lead with a seven-play, 65-yard drive on its ensuing possession with Cotton completed a 52-yard pass to junior wide receiver Felix Wade that set up the eventual game winning touchdown a few plays later.

Conway’s next possession ended with a lost fumble at the North Little Rock 9 with 4:46 remaining.

The Charging Wildcats burned more than four minutes off the clock, but a blocked punt gave the Wampus Cats a final chance from their 43 with 28 seconds remaining.

Vilonia – 20 Farmington – 14
Vilonia – Junior Seth Kirk scored on a 4-yard TD run with 14 seconds left as Vilonia cashed in a late fumble by Farmington quarterback Tate Sutton and went on to escape with a thrilling win and improve to 4-1 on the season.

With under thirty seconds to play, Vilonia quarterback Austin Meyers scrambled on a 4th-and long in Farmington territory and tossed a pass that was picked off at the Cardinals 1-yard line by Landyn Faught.

But on the very next play, Sutton fumbled while he was trying to advance the ball out of the end zone and it was recovered by Jessiah Nelson.

Kirk would punch it in from four yards out a play later and then Jack Vines intercepted a desperation pass with six seconds left to seal the game for Vilonia, who improves to 2-0 in 5-A West.

Vilonia hosts Pea Ridge on Friday night.

Greenbrier – 49 Clarksville – 21
Greenbrier – Senior tailback Trey Havens ran for two touchdowns, caught a 26-yard pass for another score and also returned a fumble on defense for his fourth touchdown as the Panthers (2-3, 1-1) thumped Clarksville on homecoming night.

Sophomore Carter McElhany also caught two touchdown passes in the win as the Panthers rebounded from last week’s conference opening loss to Morrilton.

They will host Harrison on Friday.

ST. JOSEPH’S SWEEPS, CONWAY SPLITS, GREENBRIER FALLS IN HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL ACTION

Compiled by Jason Ybarra and Mark Rico

St. Joseph’s remains unbeaten in 2-A Central with a pair of wins
The St. Joseph’s Lady Bulldogs remained unbeaten in Conference 2A Central play with a four set win over Maumelle on Tuesday (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 27-25) and a three set sweep of Quest Academy of Little Rock (25-6, 25-19, 25-8) to complete a perfect week on the court.

Olivia Williams pounded a game-high 17 kills and Presli Webb added 15 for the Lady Bulldogs in the win at Maumelle while Lydia Humphrey and Webb paced St. Joseph’s against Quest with three kills apiece.

Yet, with the conference tournament fastly approaching, head coach Luke Davis is just hoping his team can continue to improve and tighten up things before the regular season concludes.

“We played about as sloppy as we could.” Davis said. “It is too late in the year to continue having days like this.”

St. Joseph’s (10-3, 5-0) will travel to Conway Christian on Tuesday, Oct. 6 and then host a pair of non-conference foes on Wednesday, Oct. 7 (Southwest) and Thursday, Oct. 8 (Atkins).

Conway sweeps Bryant and then falls to North Little Rock in 6-A Central action to remain tied in conference standings
The Conway Lady Cats began the week with a three set sweep of Bryant (25-18, 25-11, 25-18) on the road on Tuesday.

Madison Holloway belted 10 kills and added three blocks while Abby Masters contributed 18 assists for Conway (7-2, 6-1).

Karis Scott had 17 digs and four aces for the Lady Cats.

But on Thursday, Conway fell in straight sets to North Little Rock (23-25, 30-32, 19-25) to fall into a statistical tie for the top of the 6-A Central standings with the Charging Wildcats (8-2).

Both Naomi Young and Holloway registered seven kills apiece in the loss while Masters and Olivia Wiedower tallied 13 assists each.

Kennedi Wyrick contributed 13 digs and two aces for Conway (7-3, 6-2).

Conway will host Southwest next Tuesday night in the regular season finale.

Greenbrier falls to perennial power Greenwood
The Lady Bulldogs fell in four sets in perennial power Greenwood (25-23, 14-25, 23-25, 16-25) in other high school volleyball action.

UCA Volleyballers set to resume season Saturday after month-long sabbatical for Covid-19 protocol

by Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Conway – After postponing the last seven games due to health issues, UCA is ready to resume their season after dropping two highly competitive matches in Nacogdoches to start the season back in early September.

UCA’s season was halted back on Sept. 10 after 12 volleyball players and a few staff members of their staff tested positive for COVID-19.

The Sugar Bears will travel to Springfield to take on Missouri State (1-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday with an opportunity to get back in the zone as they face a relatively new opponent in Missouri State.

The two teams met only once in 2012 with Missouri State securing a thrilling five set win.

In their last outing against Texas State – the two-time defending Sun Belt champion – redshirt senior Amanda Beaton set a career-high with 24 kills while fellow senior Bailey Waddington tied her career-high with 51 assists.

Senior Emily Doss is a key defensive specialist for this squad as she leads the team with 3.22 digs per set.

The front line duo of junior Ravin Rhodes and senior Amari Mitchell has been spectacular in the early going for UCA.

Rhodes currently sits at five blocks on the season, while Mitchell has contributed three.

Missouri State – coached by former UCA head coach Steven McRoberts – are led by sophomores Brooklyn Chink and Kennedee Anderson along with freshman Caly Otec.

In the Bears’ lone game on the season against Little Rock on Sept. 19, Chink pounded 20 kills with Anderson compiling 37 assists and Otec contributing 14 digs.

“We are very excited to finally get back to competition after being away because of COVID protocols,” UCA head coach John Newberry said. “We will be traveling a smaller crew for this game and will look completely different. It will be a whole new team dynamic on the road that we will have to adjust to quickly.”

UCA is scheduled to return home on Friday, Oct. 9 at 4pm against Stephen F. Austin in their first action in Conway of the 2020 season.