Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Analysis

With a great running back like Courtney Bryant you'd expect a team to be built around him. And rightly so.

He rushed 188 times this year, including 4 playoff games, for an average of 7.81 yards a rush. He ended the year with 1,469 yards rushing, unofficially.

Then he was injured. With two torn knee ligaments he would not see action in the championship game, the game he had been playing for all year. He was a great running back and he would be sorely missed.

No reason the Nashville team thought Prescott was doomed.

With a quarterback like Jared McBride, who has passed for over 2,500 yards this year, they had built their offense around him, the man who led the team.

One pass after another was thrown in each game. Another completion, another first down, another touchdown.

Against the Curley Wolves on September 29, it was all passing -- 37 in all. A total of 317 yards through the air was gained on the Wolves. This, in spite of McBride being sacked 8 times for losses amounting to 76 yards.

In all Nashville wound up with a net of minus 43 yards rushing against the Wolves that night. In other words they had no running game against the strong Prescott defense.

And, even though McBride had 317 yards passing, the Wolves stopped the Scrappers to save several touchdowns.

In the meanwhile, Prescott had 268 yards rushing, including 168 from Bryant that night. Barrett Yates only attempted 6 passes, completing 3 for 27 yards. All Nashville saw was the running game, and that was Bryant, although 8 other players carried the ball that night for another 100 yards.

When Bryant was injured against Clarksville in the semi-finals of the playoffs, it must have given Nashville false hope. The Scrappers could see their biggest problem being removed. No longer was there a prospect of any one player from Prescott rushing for over 100 yards.

It would be a snap. With a passing game that hadn't done anything but improve since the Prescott game the Scrappers had it made. Wrong.

Coach Eddie Jackson didn't win the conference with a game centered around one player. He had the usually tough and disciplined defense he is known for. But this year he also had a solidly built offense that could move the ball on the ground or in the air. When you use as many backs as he has you should have a backup bunch of players, and he did.

A close look at the game against Clarksville sees the offense scoring twice more after Bryant leaves the game for good. What some did not see was Carlos VanHook not being in the game because of the chicken pox, or that three other players were hobbling around with injuries.

Another thing the Scrappers apparently overlooked was the Prescott defense, one of the best in the state. While Nashville's passing team was improving after the Prescott game, the Curley Wolf defense was also improving.

Through this past Saturday, the Prescott offense scored 419 points while the defense has allowed 131 points. The offense averaged nearly 28 points a game, but the defense allowed less than 9 points per game. Until the playoffs the average was less than 8.

What Nashville thought Prescott was going to do probably won't be told, but the Curley Wolves knew what they were going to do: the same thing they did in September -- play defense and go for the head of the leader.

While McBride was protected better in this game, he was captured for several losses. And the defensive secondary did its part by slapping away several passes that McBride could have completed for big gains -- or touchdowns.

And the running offense, besides Barrett Yates, a senior, was made up of two juniors and three sophomores with a freshman, who did some blocking but no running, was thrown in for good measure.

Sophomores Al Johnston, Carlos VanHook and Heath Duke all did a super job in the backfield. The juniors were Montra Montgomery, who was the game's leading rusher with 44 yards, and Rashad Johnson.

These players came into striking distance twice more than the two touchdowns that were scored. Only a fumbled prevented a touchdown. And the other was a close call just as Nashville's had been in the opening drive.

Nashville might have also taken Yates' passing game as a ho-hum thing. He is a good passer and several of his passes were not caught that should have been. But he completed 5 for 89 yards, including one touchdown.

Yates was throwing to C.D. Flemons (who was injured late in the game), another junior, and to Rashad Johnson, Al Johnston, John Cornelius and to Larry Henderson. Perhaps Prescott had more receivers than Nashville.

Yes, the Scrappers could have considered the game a victory too soon with Bryant being out.

But Bryant was not out. He was on the sidelines, encouraging the Wolves. He was handed the prize at midfield after the presentation of the trophy. You could say the game was centered around him.