Wampus Cats headed to Arkadelphia

Three Conway Wampus Cat seniors signed their letters of intent to continue their football careers at the next level on Wednesday in the James H. Clark Auditorium. Linebacker Nick Fletcher, halfback Jack Pillow and wide receiver Marquise Pleasant signed to remain in state with all three continuing their careers in Arkadelphia. Fletcher signed with Henderson State University, while Pillow and Pleasant signed to opposite side of the ravine rivalry at Ouachita Baptist University. Conway coach Clint Ashcraft began running down accomplishments for the three men. “All three men were multiple-time letterman here and each earned all-state and all-conference honors,” he said. Ashcraft said Fletcher had more than. 200 tackles, two interceptions, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in his three years with the team. “I believe any of our coaches will say that Nick was the quarterback of our defense the last two years,” Ashcraft said. “He never missed a Sunday night film session when we would go over our game plan and played his junior year hurt. He had offseason shoulder surgery and came back to have a great senior year. “We coaches knew that every Tuesday when Nick came to practice, he would have everything down. He was a leader for us and calmed the guys around him. I believe he thrive in the Henderson system.” Ashcraft said Pillow had 33 catches for over 400 yards and five touchdowns coming out of the backfield. Ashcraft thanked Pillow for his versatility and his positive attitude. “He played a number of positions for us in his time here,” he said. “Once, we had to put him at offensive line and that’s not very comforting as a coach, but he did it with a smile on his face. He was one of, if not the most vocal leader in all aspects of our team.” Ashcraft then went over Pleasant’s stats and said opposing coaches focused on him quite a bit. “In two years at receiver, Marquise had 86 catches for 1,368 yards and 16 touchdowns,” he said. “He also had 21 carries for 211 yards and had 20 kickoff returns for 759 yards and three touchdowns. At the end of the year when all the coaches from the conference gather to vote on all-state and all-conference, a lot of them said Marquise was one they looked to double team. Ashcraft said Pleasant was one of the calmer guys on the sideline, which helped calm others down, as well. Ashcraft left the guys with final words of encouragement. “As you head off to college, take great pride in your school,” he said. “Make sure you leave and impression on the field, in the classroom and how you behave socially. We’re very proud of you and we hope and know that all three of you are going to achieve great things.” Each player were given a chance to speak, thanked God for their opportunities and abilities; thanking their families and friends for being there for them when they needed them to be and their coaches for pushing them to be better on and off the field.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Conway High School Athletics

WAMPUS CATS HEADED TO ARKADELPHIA

ANDY ROBERTSON

Log Cabin Democrat | 2/1/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Log Cabin Democrat