Conway uses passing fancy to beat Cheney
CONWAY SPRINGS – Conway Springs threw the football just five times in the first half of its Class 3A-District 9 opener. Three of those passes went for six points each. Not too shabby.
The second-ranked Cardinals (7-0, 1-0) rode that offensive efficiency and another big night from tailback Luke Fisher to a convincing 35-19 victory Friday night over visiting Cheney.
“Everyone did their jobs really well tonight,” said Fisher. “Travis Wood was able to run the ball really well tonight and our passing game looked great, too.”
The combination of Wood and Fisher combined to rush for 313 yards, overwhelming a Cheney defense that was able to contain the ends well enough to prevent the big play, but unable to get off the field when it mattered.
Conway Springs opened the scoring on 22-yard pass from Wood to tight end Zach Barkley on their first possession and looked as if they would run away with the game after scoring again on their second, courtesy of a 34-yard touchdown run by Fisher that capped a seven-play drive that started on the Conway 35-yard line.
But the Cheney offense began to find their own rhythm midway through the second quarter, with junior quarterback Austin Wheelock finding Michael Benward twice for touchdown passes of 81 and 11 yards, making the score 15-13 with just 1:53 remaining in the half.
It only took Conway Springs 12 seconds to restore order.
On a fourth-and-goal with just 15 ticks left on the clock, Luke Ebenkamp’s 4-yard touchdown reception from Wood put the Cardinals back up 21-13 just before the break. After the ensuing kickoff, Cheney’s botched hook-and-ladder attempt would give Conway Springs one last shot at the end zone with a second to play. Unfortunately for Cheney, it would be one second too many.
Backup quarterback Josh Dugan’s prayer of a pass was answered by an acrobatic grab from wideout Lucas Shaffer, giving the Cardinals a 28-13 going into the second half, shifting momentum in remarkable fashion.
“It was all about Josh’s passing,” said Shaffer. “I just figured I would go up and make a play.”
After receiving the ball to start the second half, Conway slowly put the game out of reach. The Cardinals used their running game to methodically march down the field on a drive the swallowed up 6:45 to start the third quarter. Fisher scored the ball in from 11 yards for his 26th touchdown of the year.
The Cardinals’ workhorse finished the contest with a game high 167 yards on 28 carries.
“It’s really important for us to establish the run,” said Fisher. “We like to go on long drives that take time of the clock. Our running backs and offensive line just keep driving.”
Cheney | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6 | – | 19 |
Conway Springs | 8 | 20 | 7 | 0 | – | 35 |
CS – Barkley 22 pass from Wood (Two-point conversion good)
CS –Fisher 34 run (Fisher kick)
C – Benward 81 pass from Wheelock (Craig kick)
C – Benward 11 pass from Wheelock (run failed)
CS – Ebenkamp 4 pass from Wood (kick failed)
CS – Shaffer 24 pass from Dugan (Fisher kick)
CS – Fisher 11 run (Fisher kick)
C – Trego 1 run (run failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Conway Springs: Fisher 28-167, Wood 26-146, Pauley 7-36, Dugan 1-(-5), Ebenkamp 3-15, Shaffer 1-5. Cheney: Wheelock 8-31, Trago 8-16, Watson 6-48, Grover 3-0.
Passing – Conway Springs: Wood 3-4-40, Dugan 2-2-34 Cheney: Wheelock 11-20-177.
Receiving – Conway Springs: Barkley 1-22, Shaffer 1-24, Kreifels 1-14, Wood 1-10, Ebenkamp 1-4 Cheney: Benward 3-123, Watson 2-16, Grover 5-41, Trego 1-(-3).
This story was originally published October 18, 2014 at 1:09 AM with the headline "Conway uses passing fancy to beat Cheney."