Tempo is focus in Conway/Cabot 7A-Central battle

By Jeff Halpern | Photo by Jimmy Jones 

A first-place battle in the 7A-Central Conference is going to be about which team can control the tempo.

The fifth-ranked Cabot Panthers (4-1) host the second-ranked Conway Wampus Cats (5-0) at Panther Stadium in a matchup of teams that are 2-0 in conference play.

And whichever team can dictate the tempo, has a chance to stay unbeaten in conference play at the end of the night.

“Conway is a different team in that they like play up-tempo,” said Cabot head coach Scott Reed. “They are averaging almost 50 points per game, and we don’t need to play that type of pace.”

The Wampus Cats have outscored opponents 235-69 and have opened conference play outscoring Little Rock Southwest and North Little Rock by a combined 77-0.

Cabot has outscored its opponents 157-6 and have outscored Jonesboro and LR Southwest in conference play by a combined 78-6. Its only loss came to Ruston (La.) 17-14, which is 5-1.

“I’m proud of the way our team has played this season,” said Reed. “We have gotten better each week.”

Conway head coach Keith Fimple said while both teams have different styles, he knows Cabot is going to be formidable opponent on Friday night. “You know we’re going into a hostile environment,” he said. “It’s been that way for the past 1,000 years when Conway and Cabot play. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.

“When you look at Cabot, they should be 5-0 because they played very well against Ruston, La. The main things is we want to keep getting better and be at our best every week. My kids understand that because every week in the 7A-Central is a nail biter.”

Cabot hast lost the past six games between the two teams. The last two, Conway was able to top 50 points. Two years ago, Conway won 52-49. A year ago, the Wampus Cats blew away the Panthers 57-21.

“Conway has a great quarterback [Donovyn Omolo] who has a quick release and is very accurate,” said Reed. “They have a running back [Boogie Carr] who is very good. They like to spread you horizontally and vertically.”

Omolo has thrown for at least 200 yards in all five games, including a 380 yards and 5 touchdowns against Ouachita Parish. Carr rushed for 221 yards in a 44-35 victory over Bentonville and caught 6 passes for 86 yards while scoring 4 touchdowns. The Wampus Cats have a balanced group of receivers led by Rome Fields, who caught 12 passes for 134 yards against Ouachita Parish and had 6 for 50 against North Little Rock and 6 for 62 against Bentonville. Cris O’Neal caught 5 for 106 against LR Southwest, 3 for 57 against North Little Rock and 3 for 7 against Bentonville.

“The thing we have to do is on the big downs, like third downs, is get them off the field. We need to limit their possessions,” said Reed.

Fimple said while it’s hard to predict what is going to happen, he said his team is going to do what it does best.

“The thing about Cabot defensively is they do a good job of getting to the ball,” said Fimple. “Their second level (linebackers) is quick and their third level (secondary) is just as good. It’s going to be a chess match between our offensive staff and their defensive coaches.”

Linebacker Gavin Vest leads the Panthers with 25 tackles while Logan Eason has 22. Defensive lineman De’kaleb Rudolph has 18 tackles and 1.5 for losses.

Reed said he doesn’t expect his offense to try and slow the game down, but he wants the Panthers to maximize their possessions and limit the number of times they go three and out.

The Panthers are led by quarterback Abe Owen, who has completed 43-of-95 passes for 672 yards with 5 touchdowns. Evion Jimerson has rushed for 610 yards and 5 touchdowns and caught 5 passes for 143 yards. Hayes Cox has caught 11 passes for 202 yards.

Fimple said the key to slowing down the Panthers is tackling well and forcing turnovers.

“What people don’t realize is how big of a momentum change you get when you get a turnover or a blocked kick. Adversity sets in and you have a momentum swing,” said Fimple.

While first place is at stake in the conference, neither coach wants to make a bigger deal of it especially with games against 4-time defending state champion Bryant left on the schedule.

“The main thing is we want to be focused on playing well and trust the process. We know if we do that then when Friday rolls around, we’ll be fine,” said Reed.

Fimple said when he was in his first year as a coach, he would have a tendency to play up certain games, but doesn’t do that anymore. He said he trusts his players have the experience of playing in big games over the years to not get overwhelmed.

“They know the opponent, they know the scouting report and are not going to get caught up on anything else and be focused on the next game,” said Fimple.