Another chapter in Conway High sports history was written Friday when the Wampus Cat boys soccer team completed a perfect season by winning the state 7A championship.
This one belongs in the books alongside that 36-0 state champion basketball team of 1974 and the 11-0 football team of 1964 that was voted the state's best. All right, include the back to back 10-0 football teams of 1946 and 1947 although they didn't have state champions then.
Oh sure, there may be a har-rumph or two here and there about daring to put soccer on the same pedestal as these storied basketball and football teams. But not from this corner. Soccer is solid. It's here to stay.
If you have the mindset that "real" sports in Conway are boys football, boys basketball and boys track and field, you have missed the bus. This is 2008. Certainly soccer is not new any more at Conway High, and the Wampus Cats have pretty well put themselves at the top of the heap in the sport in Arkansas with this state title. It follows one a few years ago and other appearances in the final match.
This one is special, though, because it was a team that went undefeated, 21-0 for the season. That is difficult, very difficult in soccer and in any other sport you can name. These are teen-age kids, too.
Dissecting this milestone achievement will have to be done by someone more skilled in the science of soccer than we are. We can hit a few high spots, however.
Desire and determination are essentials, and the Wampus Cat soccer bunch brought these to the forefront. A coach or fervent parents don't instill these qualities in players. They have to cultivate it themselves, and to maintain such a pace over a period of months and through 21 games is remarkable. It means there was not a letdown anywhere along the road. Sure, some games were more polished, more according to plan than others, but the Cats kept things in the middle of the road and rolling strong. Team speed is another asset, and you don't get this from a coach or from parents either.
Robert Irons is the CHS soccer coach, and he's a veteran. He knows the game, and probably more importantly, he knows his players.
Accolades have to go to the three Wampus Cats who were prominent in that championship win over a very good Fort Smith Southside team.
Stephen Maxwell is the goalie, the stopper, who didn't allow the Rebels to get a ball into the net. He has allowed only four goals all season, and they could well borrow a title from that other football game and call him the Minister of Defense.
Andres Mendoza scored Conway's lone goal, but it was enough to subdue the Rebels. He did it with a catch off his chest then a left-footed kick that Southside's goalie couldn't reach. Yes, it was a difficult shot, and it is somewhat more skilled than kicking the refrigerator door closed when you have both hands full.
Corey Free is a CHS senior who was voted the Most Valuable Player in the championship game, and it was especially sweet for him since Conway had been the runner-up the past two years in championship games.
There is a reason kids play soccer, and it's not just to ride in SUVs with their soccer moms. They play the game because it is fun. They play it because it is a team game and one that does not put a premium on height or weight or strength. There is a decided emphasis on conditioning, of course. You don't play much soccer if you are overweight and out of shape.
Congratulations, Conway Wampus Cat soccer team. You have done extremely well in writing this latest chapter of our local sports history.
