Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Owls Dampen Playoff Hopes Of Wolves, 49-0

There's not much to say about the Prescott-McGehee game other than the Owls posted a 49-0 win.

Almost nothing went right for the Curley Wolves in the contest, while pretty much everything went well for the home team in the semi-final game of the Class AAA playoffs.

The Wolves did win the coin toss and deferred until the second half.

With the rain coming down in buckets, Antone Purifoy got the game underway by kicking to Bradley Kemp at the Owl 25, with the return to the 37.

Lenorse Beasley was stopped for no gain on first down, but Randy Polite broke through the line on the second play of the game for six. The point after put the Owls up 7-0 with 11:06 showing.

Mark Jones fielded the kickoff for Prescott at the 15, returning it to the 27.

Three plays later the Wolves were in punt formation as the offense did nothing.

The punt traveled to the Owl 38 with 8:54 left in the opening period.

McGehee fought to the Wolf 32 before turning the ball over on downs, as the weather conditions were more suited to staying indoors than playing football.

Water pooled on the gridiron, which appeared to be barren of grass in places.

In the home stands, it looked like a Lawrence Welk rerun as the fans blew soap bubbles throughout the game.

Prescott's second possession went much like its first, three and out as the offense just couldn't get in gear.

The punt, though, only made it to the Wolf 45, giving McGehee excellent field position. Actually, most of the first half was played in Prescott territory.

The Owls, on their third drive, drove to the Prescott 29 before turning the ball over on downs for the second time in a row.

The Wolves took over with 0:23 left in the period, ran three plays and punted all before the quarter ended.

With the wind howling, the punt only went 10 yards from the 28 to the 38 as time expired.

The Owls scored twice in the second quarter to go up 21-0, but Prescott did have its chances during this 12 minute segment.

McGehee opened the second frame by driving down the short field for the second score of the game.

The touchdown came on a three-yard run from Bailey with 10:15 showing. The PAT made it 14-0.

Brad Harris took the kick at the 20, making it to the 30 before being brought down.

Before the first snap the Wolves began going backwards as they were flagged for illegal motion.

Two running plays gained nothing, forcing Josh Bullock to go to the air. He found Andrew Fellows at the 48 for Prescott's initial first down of the game.

McGehee was flagged for pass interference on the play, but the penalty was declined as the yardage gained was more than the penalty.

Bullock fired long on the next play, but went too long as he missed an open Terry Woodley at the 15.

A completion would have cut the score to 14-6 and could have changed the complexion of the game.

But it wasn't meant to be.

The Wolves drove down field to the Owl four before Bullock scrambled and appeared to score.

A penalty flag, though, wiped out the touchdown and moved Prescott back to the 33 as the yardage was assessed from the point of the clip.

A pair of incomplete passes later and it was McGehee's ball at the 33 with 6:14 left in the half.

Seven plays later the Owls were up 20-0 as Bailey went up the middle for a 35-yard score. The PAT made it 21-0.

On Prescott's next drive, Bullock was picked off after the ball slipped out of his hands.

His counterpart, Leroy Hood, made the pick at the Prescott 45, returning it to the 27 with 1:01 showing.

The Owls drove to the Prescott one, where the Wolves made a textbook goal line stand to keep McGehee from scoring again.

On fourth down, the Wolf defense rushed so hard the ball was knocked back 10 yards, with Prescott recovering.

Still, the Owls held a 21-0 lead at the break.

Absolutely nothing went right for the Wolves in the third quarter as the Owls scored four times to go up 49-0.

The Owls scored first on a 10-yard run by Aaron Wright; followed by a 46-yard romp by Bailey; with a 12-yard pass from Hood to Wright the third touchdown; capping the period with a seven-yard score by Donnie Shepard.

In addition, the Wolves fumbled the ball away twice, while punting twice as well.

Toward the end of the quarter, after the second fumble, Harris was hit for a personal foul, and was then ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Leading 49-0, the Owl coach substituted heavily for the remainder of the game.

Prescott did have one more chance to score toward the end of the outing after an Owl punt lost yardage.

At the 3:02 point McGehee lined up to punt. The boot went almost straight up, hitting at the Owl 33 and rolling to the 28, for a loss of a yard.

The Wolves drove to the five when time ran out.

Statistically the Owls dominated the game as well.

Prescott was three of 17 in passing for 66 yards, while the Owls were one of three for 12.

The Wolves punted seven times for 176 yards, giving up 21 yards in returns.

McGehee punted twice for 29 yards, allowing one yard in returns.

The Wolves were flagged six times for 62 yards in the game, while the Owls saw laundry hit twice for 12 yards.

Bullock was sacked three times, while Hood was pretty much untouched by the Prescott defense.

Prescott fumbled seven times, losing three, while McGehee put the ball down three times, losing one.

The Owls racked up 16 first downs, while Prescott managed four for the game.

Prescott's ground game, one of its strong points throughout the season, was shut down by the Owl defense. The Wolves rushed the ball 27 times for 39 yards.

On the other hand, the Owls ran the ball 43 times for 361 yards.

Surprisingly both teams were close in total plays, Prescott ran 44, while McGehee ran 46.

The difference is in what the teams did with their snaps. McGehee had a total of 373 offensive yards on the night, while Prescott managed 105.