Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Curley Wolves Start Slow Come From Behind For Win, 34-15

Superior speed, when used right, can defeat superior size.

This is exactly what happened Friday night as the Prescott Curley Wolves advanced to the third round of the state class AAA playoffs with a 34-15 win over Lonoke.

Prescott's next opponent will be Marianna, as the Trojans also advanced with a 20-0 win over Green Forest. The Wolves will again host the contest.

The Wolves won the toss to start the game against Lonoke and deferred until the second half.

This gave the Rabbits the ball to get the outing underway. Terance Collins fielded the kick at the 18, returning it to the Lonoke 43.

The Rabbits offense ran off six straight running plays, moving to the Prescott 22, when the Lonoke coach changed his strategy and went to the air.

Four incomplete passes later, the Wolves had their first possession, and averted a possible score by Lonoke.

However, Prescott's offense was stuffed initially as Terry Woodley lost seen on first down, but gained six back on the second play.

Josh Bullock's pass, intended for Edward Glenn, was picked off by Lonoke's Chad Wise at the Rabbit 35.

From there, Lonoke put together the first scoring drive of the night. The Rabbits ran nine plays and had the help of an unnecessary roughness call as the visitors went up 7-0, after the point after, with 4:04 to go in the first.

Lonoke quarterback Zack Wadood finished the drive with a 10 yard run.

This did not set well with the Wolves in the least.

Following the kickoff, which went out of bounds and put Prescott at its 35, the offense went to work.

The Wolves showed the Rabbits what speed is all about as they marched the 65 yards in six plays and needed less than two minutes to score.

A key play in the drive was a 27-yard pass from Bullock to Glenn, moving Prescott into Lonoke territory.

Calvin Flemons capped the drive with a five-yard scoring run with 2:07 showing.

With the PAT splitting the uprights, the game was deadlocked at 7-7. This was as close as the Rabbits would be for the remainder of the game as the Wolves put on a display of pure speed for the remainder of the contest.

Lonoke all but abandoned its ground game, though it had proven to be successful early on, and went to the air.

Ray Hatton took the kickoff at the 11, getting to the 25 where Lonoke set up shop.

Two running plays moved the Rabbits to the 30 before Wadood began hearing footsteps. On third and five he dropped back to pass, wildly winging the ball in the direction of Brad Pitts.

As he let go of the pigskin, he was introduced to the Prescott defense. The pass was incomplete and Wadood started getting gunshy in the pocked.

Brad Harris took the punt at the Prescott 39, returning it to the 43 with 0:33.4 seconds left in the first.

Before a play could be ran, the Wolves were flagged for illegal motion and moved back to the 38.

The last snap of the quarter was a fumble recovered by Prescott at its own 36.

Undaunted by the back-to-back miscues, the Wolves began moving down field for touchdown number two.

Bullock found Andrew Fellows with a pass, which concluded with Fellows being brought down at the Rabbit 15.

With the fog rolling in, it was a matter of only four more plays before Prescott took the lead for good.

Woodley gained 11 yards on two plays, putting Prescott at the four. C. Flemons added one before Woodley went in from the three with 10:06 left in the half.

The Wolves lined up for the PAT, catching Lonoke off guard with the fake. Instead the ball was snapped to the holder, A. Fellows, who sprinted outside for the two-point conversion.

This put Prescott up 15-7 and firmly on the road to round three.

Terrence Collins took the ensuing kick at the 17, returning it to the 28 for Lonoke.

With the help of a pass interference call on second down, the Rabbits started moving toward Prescott's end zone.

After the penalty, Wadood connected with Wise on a six-yard pass, before missing connection on second down. Third down saw Wilbert Wilkerson cross midfield to the Prescott 48, setting up a fourth down situation.

Lonoke lined up in punt formation. However, Wadood took the snap, sprinted right and made it to the Wolf 13 before Glenn knocked him out of bounds and prevented a touchdown.

The Wolf defense took this fake unkindly and began punishing Rabbits.

Lance Bradshaw gained one on first down, for almost the only positive yardage made on the possession.

From there, Wadood was harassed by Wolf defenders, almost sacked, but instead wound up getting penalized for intentional grounding.

This cost Lonoke a down and five yards from the spot of the foul.

Wadood hit E. J. Jones at the Prescott nine on third down, before a toss to Wilkerson lost yardage to the 10 and gave the Wolves the ball on downs.

With their back against the wall, the Wolves tried a couple of running plays. This netted one yard.

Third down saw Bullock drop back and fire the ball down field, only to be picked off by Jones at the Prescott 41 with 5:12 in the half.

An option play lost three yards before the Rabbits were flagged for having too many men on the field.

Two incomplete passes set up a fourth and long situation and again had Lonoke in punt formation.

Instead of trying a second fake the Rabbits attempted to punt, only to see Fred Hopson break through the line and block the kick.

Bryan Joseph picked up the loose ball and returned to the Rabbit 31, putting Prescott in excellent position for touchdown number three.

The Wolf offense took the field with 3:59 on the clock. When it read 2:59, Woodley was standing in the Lonoke end zone.

Woodley was the lone ball carrier on the three-play drive, scoring from six-yards out.

The PAT put Prescott up 22-7.

Collins took the kickoff at the 19, returning it to the 34 where Lonoke began its next drive.

It was a short-lived drive as Wadood was picked off by Rafael Marlowe on third down.

Marlowe's pick gave Prescott the ball at the Rabbit 48 with 1:54 left. Plenty of time, it appeared, for the Wolves to add to their lead.

However, this wasn't the case as things turned out.

A first down pass from Bullock to Ronnie Nolen was wiped out by a lineman down field penalty.

The Wolves overcame this infraction and drove the ball down Lonoke's throat to the Rabbit 24 before getting flagged for illegal motion on second down.

Bullock's next pass attempt was slapped down, with the third down pass picked off by Zack Wall at the Lonoke 30.

Prescott quickly returned the favor by picking Wadood off on his third pass attempt after the Wolf turnover.

Harris intercepted Wadood at the Wolf 25, returning it to the 39 with 10 seconds left.

Bullock took a knee and the Wolves went to the locker room with a 22-7 lead.

As the second half began, Prescott's offense struck like lightning to widen the gap to 28- 7.

Woodley set Prescott up in good field position, returning the kickoff to the 40.

After a one-yard loss, Bullock dropped back to pass.

What began as a mix up turned into gold as the play actually would up turning into a quarterback draw.

As the hole opened Bullock pulled the ball down and broke for the end zone, where he wound up 61-yards later.

The PAT went wide right, but the Wolves were up 28-7 with 11:04 left.

On the sidelines, players were reminding each other the game was far from over and Lonoke had plenty of time to get back in it.

They appeared to be prophetic as the Rabbits scored their final touchdown on the next possession.

Troy Scott fielded the kickoff at the 18, getting stopped at the 25.

Bradshaw, who carried the bulk of the ground game for Lonoke, gained five on first down.

An option on second went for naught, before Wadood connected with Jones at the 42 for a first down.

Next came a three-yard gain, followed by a crossing of the 50 as Hatton made it to the Prescott 40.

Wilkerson kept things going with a sweep to the Wolf 18. Two plays later Wadood broke containment and scored.

The two-point conversion closed the gap to 28-15.

Once again, this only served to irritate the home team as the Wolves responded in kind.

Sid Gilles fell on the kickoff at the Prescott 31, where the Wolf offensive attack resumed.

Woodley gained nine on first down, with Lonoke helping Prescott's cause by lining up in the neutral zone on second down.

The added five yards moved the ball to the 45, where Marlowe took the handoff from Bullock and fought to the Rabbit 40.

There the Lonoke defense stiffened. Two plays netted five yards before Prescott was nailed for motion and moved back to the 40.

Bullock failed to connect with C. Flemons on third down and the Wolves lined up to punt.

Taking a cue from the Rabbits, modifying it somewhat, the Wolves snapped the ball to the up-man, C. Flemons, while Harris leapt into the air as if the ball had been snapped over his head.

This caught the Rabbits napping and allowed Flemons to reach the 25 before being brought down. It also gave Prescott a first down and kept the drive alive.

Two plays moved the Wolves six yards closer before Bullock found a wide open A. Fellows behind the Lonoke secondary for the final touchdown of the night.

The hardest thing about the play was Bullock and Fellows making connection, he was so wide open.

The try for two was no good, but the Wolves were up 34-15 with 2:56 left in the third.

There was no time to relax as the Rabbits, starting at the Lonoke 30, tried to claw their way back into the contest.

Wadood, though, was showing a tendency to throw the ball high after his earlier meetings with Wolf defenders and missed two receivers.

However, on pass number two, Prescott was hit with its second interference call, which cut the distance to the Wolf goal by 15 yards and kept Lonoke's drive going.

After the penalty, the Rabbits went to their ground game, getting to the Prescott 39 before Wadood was almost sacked by a pack of rabbit hungry Wolves.

He managed a two-handed toss to Hatton for a yard loss. The drive quickly stalled and, on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Wolves took over on downs.

But, three offensive plays later, Prescott had to punt. The ball went to the Rabbit 45, where it was fumbled, but a Lonoke player managed to fall on it.

A five-yard gain and Wadood being sacked for a five-yard loss put the Rabbits in a fourth- and-10 situation.

Lonoke Coach Mike Uhiren reached deep into his playbook and pulled out the old fumblerooski, or guard around.

Lining up in punt formation, the Rabbits ran through the motions, with Brocrick Moore picking the ball up and rambling to Prescott's 37 for a first down.

All this did was make the Wolf defense mad, with Wadood taking the brunt of their irritation.

On first down he was sacked for a seven-yard loss. This was followed by two incompletions and a reverse that went nowhere on fourth down.

However, it was three and out for the Prescott offense as the Lonoke defense was fighting for its very life.

The Wolves did manage to gain nine yards in three plays, and were lined up to go for a first down on fourth down.

But, an illegal motion call moved Prescott back five to midfield, with Coach David Bennett opting for the safer play and punting the ball.

Harris' punt hit Hatton in the chest, bounced forward and was picked up on the hop by Glenn, who ran in for an apparent touchdown.

The officials, though, ruled the ball couldn't be advanced as the receiver never had control when the fumble occurred.

It didn't matter as Prescott had the ball, a 19-point lead and the clock showed 4:21 in the final period.

The Wolves marched to the Lonoke 15 before the drive stalled and Prescott turned the ball over on downs.

With 1:47 left, the Rabbits wanted one more score to make the loss at least look better.

Wadood was sacked by Woodley on first down and almost picked off by Mark Jones on second down.

Third down saw his pass attempt wind up in the hands of Giles at the Rabbit 30 and be returned to the Lonoke 1 with 0:37.1 showing.

A snap and knee ended the game with the Wolves still alive in the title hunt.

Unofficial statistics show Prescott's aerial attack with five completions in 14 attempts for one touchdown, with three picked off.

Lonoke's passing game was, in a word, pathetic, as the Wadood was six of 23 for 18 yards and was intercepted three times.

Prescott punted twice for 46 yards and no returns. Lonoke punted once for 31 yards and had one punt blocked.

The Wolves lost the battle of penalties as they were flagged nine times for 72 yards, while Lonoke was penalized five times for 25 yards.

The Wolves put the ball on the ground once, but recovered it, while Lonoke fumbled twice and lost one.

While Prescott offensive line kept Bullock from being blemished at the hands of Rabbit defenders, Wadood was sacked three times by Prescott.

The Rabbits did manage to earn more first downs than Prescott, with an 18-13 margin.

Lonoke also ran more offensive plays than did the Wolves at 65-48. The difference was Prescott did more with its snaps than Lonoke.

Both ground games were successful as Prescott tallied 220 rushing yards, while Lonoke ran for 233 yards.

Overall Prescott gained a total of 346 yards, while the Rabbits managed 251.

Woodley rushed 23 times for 77 yards, while C. Flemons carried three times for 31 yards.

Bullock was the leading ground gainer on the night, racking up 81 yards on three runs, with the big one being a 61-yarder for the touchdown.

Marlowe added 21 yards on four carries, while Harris gained 10 yards on his lone attempt.

In all, Prescott rushed the ball 34 times averaging 6.5 yards a run.

Lonoke ran 42 times for 233 yards, gaining 5.5 yards a carry.

Next up for the Wolves is a date with the Marianna Trojans this Friday night at Cummins Field.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.