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Next man up.

There's no sugar-coating it in football, like most other sports, somebody's got to step up when a teammate goes down.

That's the situation Conway finds itself in through two games. Senior quarterback Wesley Tapp, who has passed for 512 yards and four touchdowns this season, left the Wampus Cats' last game with a lower right leg injury.

Conway Coach Buck James told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday he expects his quarterback to miss the next 4-6 weeks.

"We're still finding out what's going on," James said. "He's going to be off of it for two weeks, we know, and then hopefully we can start a process of getting him back."

Sophomore quarterback Ryder Cook replaced Tapp in the third quarter of the 41-17 loss to Bentonville. James said Cook and senior John Hunter Scaife will split time in Tapp's absence.

"That's the way football is. It's next man up," he said. "These guys got a job to do, and we expect them to do it. I don't have any reservations about it, you know? We hate that this happened to Wes, but the fact of it is that it happens at every level of football."

Tapp's varsity career began in a similar situation last season, when he stepped in for senior Grayson Wilson, who missed a month with a shoulder injury.

"It's something you don't ever want to happen," James said. "But you prepare for it. I mean, every backup quarterback in the United States knows he's one snap away. It's not something that's uncommon in today's football game."

Conway (1-1) must now turn its attention to Marion (2-0) for its final nonconference game before a bye week. The Patriots have outscored their two opponents this season 111-34, averaging 55.5 points per game.

"They've scored a lot of points this year," James said. "They expect to have a good season. We've got to play well. There's no doubt about it; we've got to be able to run the football, we've got to be able to stop the run, and we've got to be able to keep them from running past us."

With the quarterback situation in flux, the pressure for the rest of the Wampus Cats to perform is heightened. That adds to an inexperienced defense that has allowed 78 points in two games.

"We haven't done near as good as we thought we would do," James said of the defense. "We're still working on that. But there's really only three guys on that defense that played a lot last year. ... We haven't played to the level that I was expecting or the level that we want."

BAUXITE

Celebrated too hard

Bauxite Coach Caleb Perry long ago removed any jumping movements from his workouts for fear of what it would do to his knees. He'd already had four surgeries during and after his time playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks, so it didn't seem like a necessary risk post-playing career.

But excitement got the better of him last week in Bauxite's 38-36 win over Monticello.

"For whatever reason, when I got excited, I decided to jump really high in the air, and I kind of got knocked off balance by the player that bumped into me, and all my weight just went on one leg," Perry said. "When I reached down to grab my knee, I knew it was not good; my kneecap wasn't in the right place."

Perry ruptured his patella tendon celebrating on the sideline. He had surgery Monday to repair it.

"I've been in a lot of pain the last 24 hours," he said. "It's not been a lot of fun."

Perry wasn't the only member of his household to pick up an injury against Monticello. One drive prior to his own injury, junior Eli Perry, his son, tweaked an already torn right ACL.

Perry said his son, who has been the Miners' starting quarterback for parts of the past two seasons, tore his ACL one week before the season. He wore a brace and decided to play in limited action last week, roughly six plays as a fullback, before the injury sidelined him.

"He was moving around really well," Perry said. "I think he jumped up and down or something after our last touchdown and irritated it again. I think in the big scheme of things, nothing really changed for him."

In place of the younger Perry at quarterback, Bauxite called up freshman Wyatt Foreman to join sophomore Sam Combs at the position. The Miners only had one quarterback in their opening loss to Glen Rose. Perry said that affected the way his staff called plays.

"So I think between both of those guys, we can still get pretty good offensive production," Perry said. "Obviously, having two quarterbacks, you're not calling plays afraid of getting someone hurt. You're actually able to call plays to move the ball. I can't say enough about both of those kids. They're fantastic competitors, great students. Both of those kids are ideal players that every coach would love to have."

Perry said he's unsure whether he'll be able to travel to Bauxite's game at Magnolia on Friday but should be fine for the remainder of the season. His son's season is over, but he should return in time for spring football.

ENGLAND

Lions forfeit game

The England School District announced Wednesday on Facebook that it has forfeited its game Friday against Mayflower following the suspensions of multiple players.

"This decision was made following a series of incidents during last week's game that resulted in suspensions, as well as injuries that have left our team unable to safely compete," the district said in the post.

The suspensions came as a result of a series of altercations during a Sept. 5 loss to Drew Central, which was abruptly cancelled in the third quarter at the request of England Superintendent Judy Hubbell.

"The safety of our students is, and always will be, my top priority. Their safety takes precedence over athletics, classwork, and extracurricular activities," Hubbell said in a statement released that night. "I take full responsibility for the decision to terminate play earlier this evening."

Tensions began rising in the first quarter against Drew Central when each team had a player ejected. Later, a sideline brawl erupted near the England cheerleaders, which was when Hubbell instructed them to leave the field and head toward the team bus. Hubbell then instructed England coaches to ask the referees to end the game, which Drew Central led 46-16.

According to the Arkansas Activities Association, 14 England players were suspended as a result of their actions on Sept. 5. Drew Central, which hosts Helena-West Helena on Friday, will be without four players due to suspensions.

Six football programs, including England, Drew Central, Magnolia, Nashville, Nettleton and Trumann, have been placed on warning for the 2025-26 school year by the Arkansas Activities Association thus far for violations of the AAA Sportsmanship Manual.

Conway head coach, Buck James is seen on the Wampus Cats sidelines during Friday night's game, November 8, 2024, at Bryant Hornet Stadium in Bryant. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Justin Cunningham)