Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott Curley Wolves Hang On For 16-8 Win

Shades of 1995?

The Prescott Curley Wolves and Nashville Scrappers may be on a collision course once again, just as the two teams were in 1995.

Then, the Wolves and Scrappers met on the field at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock the second Saturday in December to play for the then AA state title.

Now, both teams have made it to the semifinals and could conceivably face one another a second time in 1999 on Dec. 11.

The Wolves made it to the semifinals by edging Mariana 18-8 here last Friday, while Nashville dropped Brinkley 28-14.

Both teams will be on the road this week, with Prescott heading east to McGehee and Nashville going northwest to Booneville.

Prescott Coach David Bennet calls this year's team a group of "overachievers," as the Wolves weren't expected to get this far in the playoffs.

In fact, the Wolves were picked to finish fourth in the conference, and head to the hardcourt for basketball season soon after their football season ended.

But the team continued "overachieving" to the delight of Curley Wolf fans, who were treated to a game last Friday night.

The Wolves won the toss to get things started, but deferred until the second half, thereby giving the Trojans the ball first.

Antone Purifoy booted the ball to Baron King at the 17, with the return to the 27.

From there the Trojans began pounding away at the middle of the Prescott defense, marching downfield in search of a score.

Mariana ran eight plays, moving to Prescott's 43 before the Wolf defense stiffened and forced a punt.

The Trojans called time out with 8:21 remaining in the opening period, hoping to catch Prescott's defense napping and get them to jump offsides.

However, the Wolves were wise to the ruse and stayed put, forcing the punt.

Elliott Harris, a blue chipper who has signed with the University of Arkansas already, punted the ball. It went about 50 yards straight up and only 23 yards out, giving Prescott its first possession at the 20.

It was three and out for the slow starting Wolf offense, as Terry Woodley's three yards on first down were all Prescott could muster.

Brad Harris punted to the Mariana 48 for the Trojans's second shot.

Letonio Williams fought to the Prescott 49 on first down, before Ervin Hill was nailed in the backfield for a four-yard loss on the next play.

Third down saw Hill take the ball, get set for a halfback option pass, get hit and fumble, with Prescott recovering the loose ball at midfield.

Josh Bullock got the Wolves going with a screen to Rafael Marlowe, who was brought down at the Trojan 37. He added four yards to his total on the next snap, before a sweep to Calvin Flemons went for an eight-yard loss as containment broke down and the defense was all over him.

Flemons, though, got this back on a reverse on the next snap, but this put Prescott in a fourth down situation.

With three wideouts, Bullock missed Woodley on a lateral, with the ball sailing over his head and rolling out of bounds.

The Trojans took over at their own 46 with 2:31 left in the first quarter.

Williams carried twice for two yards, putting Mariana in a passing situation.

Chris Richardson learned the true meaning of pursuit as he dropped back to pass. Several members of the Wolf defense chased him all over the place before he winged the ball downfield, high over the intended receiver's head.

Harris's punt hardly got 15 feet above the ground, as it rolled to the Prescott 14.

Period one ended with Marlowe gaining seven to the 21.

Woodley got the second phase started with two carries, the second a 24-yard scamper to the Wolf 46.

In fact, Woodley had the first four carries of the quarter, moving Prescott to the Mariana 35 before getting a breather.

It was a short-lived break, as Marlowe carried once for three yards before Woodley was back in harness, breaking for 15 yards to the 18.

The Wolves learned by using the team's superior speed the running backs could eat huge chunks of yardage at a time.

However, as the Trojans had their back pushed against the Mariana goal line, the field got shorter and the visitor's defense began packing the line.

The Wolves made it to the seven before the drive stalled.

At this point, Prescott did something it hadn't done all year long line up for a 27-yard field goal attempt.

Sid Giles kick wasn't pretty, but it did what was necessary and barely cleared the crossbar to put Prescott up 3-0 with 6:19 left in the half.

Fans erupted in cheers at the unprecedented method of scoring.

Hill took the ensuing kick at the eight, returning it to the 29, where Mariana set up shop.

Again the Trojans began marching downfield, moving to the 47 before Richardson was nailed on a keeper and coughed the ball up, with the opportunistic Wolf defense pouncing on it at the Mariana 46.

Woodley broke free and made it to the 22 before being brought down from behind.

The Wolves were flagged for holding, moving Prescott to the 32. From there, Bullock found Andrew Fellows over the middle for the game's first touchdown at the 3:28 point.

The point after was wide right, leaving the score 9-0.

Moreo Wilson took the kick at the 16, getting to the 30 before being tackled.

At this point the Trojans began trying to mix the pass and run. The running game was more effective as Richardson couldn't find the range and overthrew his receivers continuously.

Of course, with the kind of pressure the Wolf defense was administering, it was understandable.

Mariana's drive was aided by two Prescott penalties, one for holding and the other for pass interference.

Still, the Prescott defense wouldn't allow the march to continue as Fellows sacked Richardson for a 10-yard loss on third down.

Mariana's fourth down pass attempt was again high, giving Prescott the ball with 0:14.7 left in the half.

One knee later and it was halftime with Prescott leading 9-0.

The situation for Mariana didn't improve in the second half, as the kick went out of bounds, setting Prescott up at the 35.

The Wolves were methodical in their march to the promised land, using the ground game to eat the clock, and chew up turf.

In all Prescott ran 14 plays and used 5:39 to cover the 65 yards and score.

But getting into the end zone wasn't easy. After Woodley had made it to the one, Bullock tried to sneak in twice and managed to advance the ball to the six-inch line.

On fourth and goal, Marlowe went wide for the score to put Prescott up 15-0 with 6:21 showing.

The PAT made it 16-0, and this was the end of Prescott's scoring.

The Trojans began at their own 22, covering 78 yards in 14 plays as well, with Williams going in from the five.

Mariana went for the two-point conversion successfully, cutting Prescott's lead in half at 16-8 with 0:27.4 seconds left.

Brad Harris fielded the kickoff at the 15, returning it to the 40, only to see it brought back because of a holding call.

Instead, Prescott began at the Wolf 24, ending the third period with a one-yard gain by Woodley.

The final 12 minutes were spent with both defenses pounding on the offenses.

Prescott made it to the 44 before having to punt.

Mariana, starting at the Trojan 20, ran three plays before turning the ball over for the third time on a fumble at the 44.

The Wolves moved to the 33 before Woodley was stripped of the ball with the Trojans recovering it at the 36, with 5:35 left in the game.

The Trojans ran six plays, moving to the Prescott 44 before having to call time out with 2:43 showing and facing a fourth-and-six.

With the clock favoring the Wolves, all Mariana could hope to do would be keep the drive going, score and go for two to tie the game and force an overtime.

It didn't work out as the Trojans planned. Richardson was stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey, giving Prescott the ball on downs.

This took the heart out of the Trojan defense as Prescott gobbled the field, moving to the Mariana 20 before time ran out.

Unofficial statistics show Bullock to be five of eight in passing for 93 yards, while Mariana was two of 10 for 24.

Both teams punted twice, Prescott for a total of 53 yards, and Mariana for 57.

The Wolves were penalized more, getting flagged five times for 50 yards, while the Trojans were hit twice for 10.

Mariana fumbled three times, losing all three, while the Wolves put the ball on the ground once, losing it.

Prescott was the only team to record a sack.

The Wolf offense racked up 17 first downs, while the defense gave up 12.

Both teams ran 51 offensive plays, but Prescott's superior ground game gained 216 yards, while the defense surrendered 181.

Overall the Wolves had 309 offensive yards, while Mariana had 205.

The Wolves rushed 44 times for 216 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.

Mariana had 41 rushes for 181 yards, or a 4.4 yard average.

Woodley was the leading ground gainer, carrying 28 times for 171 yards.

Marlowe followed with 10 carries for 29 yards.

Bullock ran the ball four times for 17 yards.

But it remains do-or-die time for the Wolves as they continue sniffing out their second state title of the decade.

Kickoff at McGehee will be 7:30 p.m.