Arkansas high school football notebook: Buck James not happy despite Conway win (10/2/2023)

News and notes from Week 5 around Arkansas prep football

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS — When your team blows out your opponent and triggers the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule into effect for the final 17:09 and give your substitutes plenty of playing time in the second half, one would think the head coach would be happy with the victory. 

But that wasn’t the case for Conway head coach Buck James, who thought his team didn’t compete at the level he likes to see in a 36-7 victory over North Little Rock (1-4, 0-2 7A-Central) Friday night. Conway is now how 5-0 and 2-0.

And James had good reason to feel that way. The Wampus Cats committed 8 penalties for 65 yards, including two 15-yard penalties — a personal foul and face mask — on consecutive plays in the second quarter. Conway had to settle for three field goals inside the North Little Rock 20 and turned the ball over on downs with 6:13 left in the second quarter when two penalties pushed them back, leaving them with fourth and 13 from the North Little Rock 24 that ended with Jaydon Gaines letting a touchdown pass go through his hands and a Donovyn Omolo throwing incomplete on fourth down.

Conway blew out North Little Rock on the road Friday night, but Wampus Cats head coach Buck James wasn't happy. (Photo by Braeden Botts)

“We didn’t compete, and we take pride in that,” said James. “We have to have a higher level of expectation in that. We’ve got to get the ball in the end zone.”

James said he could see problems building during the week when he didn’t see his team practice at the level he is used to seeing, and his worst fear was realized when it carried over on Friday night.

“We’ve practiced well in this past, but we didn’t practice well this week,” said James “We got a little satisfied with where we are at. You have to handle succesl like you handle failure.

“We didn’t compete at a high enough level. For us to compete in this conference, we’ve got to play a lot better. We’ve got a long ways to go. We’ve got to practice a lot better and we didn’t practice very well this week.”

With a game against Cabot, which defeated Conway 35-20 a year ago, coming Friday night James knows his team has to play a lot better if it wants to win the conference and compete for a state championship.

“Cabot beat us last year. They’re well-coached and have a great football team,” said James. “North Little Rock has some good athletes and they’re struggling with a coaching change. Coach (Clint) Reid is a winner and they’ll get better. They competed well and have some good athletes.”

While James was not giving his team two thumbs up for the victory, there were some positive signs. Cris O’Neal caught 6 passes for 108 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown in the first quarter. He also returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Jacoby Wade had two interceptions and Major Strain Mahar had field goals of 23, 24 and 28 yards.

While James wishes his team played a lot cleaner, North Little Rock head coach Clint Reid is hoping his team can get back to the level where it won the 2017 state championship and made five consecutive state championship game appearances from 2016-2020.

“This is out of the norm for us,” said Reid. “I’ve got to get better and have them at a championship level. We’ve got to keep fighting the good fight and grab a paddle and work together. Adversity is tough, but it is good for them. We get to line up next Friday and learn from the mistakes we’ve made.

“That’s a very good football team over there. Give them a lot of props. We’ve got to learn how to compete a little bit better and fight though adversity. We didn’t do a very good job of that. They’ve got on top of us tonight. We’ve got to be more consistent early.”

--Jeff Halpern 

Maumelle defense shuts door on Mills

Maumelle needed a boost of confidence coming off of back-to-back losses. They got it by handing Mills its first loss of the season, 34-28 in front of many eyes across the state during the Thursday night TV headliner to kick off Week 5.

The Hornet defensive line put early pressure on Comets star senior quarterback Achillies Ringo and the offense responded by getting Maumelle (3-2, 1-2) out to a 14-0.

Mills punched back multiple times and tied the game at 28 with 6:48 remaining, but a response from sophomore quarterback Andrew Bjork by way of an 14-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Newell with 2:01 remaining sealed the deal, despite a strong push from Mills.

Maumelle’s defense collected an impressive 12 tackles for loss, led by Newell, Joe Mason and Dalen Larrey who each had two. Johnothan Williams led all Hornets with seven total tackles, including a sack.

Speaking of Bjork, the youngster showed a great deal of poise leading the Hornet offense. He passed for two touchdowns, ran for another, and also converted two key two-point conversions. Jaiden Warsham provided some good production in the rushing attack, finishing with 106 yards and a score while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

--Kyle Sutherland 

Murfreesboro off to best start in more than 15 years

The best times in recent memory are currently being had in South Pike County following Mureesboro's 30-6 over Dierks as the Rattlers are on a five-game win streak for the first time since 2016.

As impressive as the defense has been surrendering just 7.4 points per game, including a shutout and only allowed double-digit points once, the rushing attack has also thrived and put together its best collective performance against the Outlaws.

Of Murfreesboro’s 408 yards on the ground, three Rattlers eclipsed 100 yards led by Lathan Compton’s 128 on 10 carries, while Brandt Stevens added 113 and a score and Malachi Sanders carried 15 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

Currently tied for first with Mineral Springs in the 2A-3 standings, the Rattlers have a strong chance of playing the Hornets for the conference title in their Week 10 matchup - assuming they handle their business over the next month. 

--Kyle Sutherland