Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves feast on Lions part 3

Ashcraft took the punt at the nine, returning it to the 21 with 2:41 showing.

Three plays later, Bismarck was at the Prescott 33, before the Lions were hit with a procedure call at the buzzer.

The final 12 minutes began with Bismarck facing a third and seven at the Prescott 41.

The Lions made it to the Wolves's 25 before the defense again solidified.

Meanwhile, Ashcraft was knocked out of the game momentarily by a vicious hit, and was replaced by Cody Kemp.

Kemp was introduced to the Wolfpack "D" by Dustin Morrow, who tried to bury him at the 49.

The sack may have made Kemp gun shy, as his pass attempt on the next play wound up in the hands of Vanhook, who picked it off at the 30 and returned it 70 yards for a score.

There was much celebration on the Prescott sidelines when the defense scored.

A bad snap on the PAT left the score at 34-0 with 9:06 left in the game.

From there on out, the Wolfpack "D" simply pinned its ears back and went hunting for fresh, raw Lion meat.

Kemp took the kick at the 19, returning it to the Lions's 31.

He was promptly sacked at the 28 by a host of Wolves. An option on second down resulted in a fumble, with Wagner falling on the ball at the Bismarck 25.

A sweep by Smyly put the ball at the 33, but wasn't enough for a first down.

Each time the Lions tried a trick play, the trick blew up in their collective faces.

On fourth down, Matt Garner lined up to punt, instead of kicking the ball, he looked to pass.

All he saw was a solid wave of maroon. Garner panicked, flung an underhanded wounded duck into the air in a perfect spiral, which found its way into Norwood's hands at the Lion 45. He returned the pick to the seven with 6:17 showing.

Prescott's offense used three plays and 91 seconds to score again.

It began with Craven carrying to the two, Woodley making it to the goal line and Craven scoring on a pitch.

The PAT was almost picture perfect, and Prescott led 41-0.

Now, the defense had a different goal in mind  keep the shutout going, prevent Bismarck from scoring at all costs.

The ensuing kick went out of bounds, resulting in a delay of game penalty against Prescott. Bismarck, though, opted to take the ball at its 35 instead of having it kicked again.

Ashcraft returned at quarterback and led his team downfield against Prescott's second string defense.

He moved the Lions from the Bismarck 35 to the Prescott 36, before his pass was picked off by Charles Gulley at the Wolf 30 and returned for the defense's third touchdown of the game with 2:17 showing.

The PAT split the uprights making it 48-0.

Kemp fielded the kick at the Lion 20, making it to the 28 before going down under a swarm of Wolves.

The Lions moved to the Prescott 45 before Ashcraft's lateral to Smyly

hit the turf and was recovered by the Wolves with 12 seconds to go.

Instead of trying to score again, Martin took a knee as time expired.

Prescott's offense showed the capability of moving the ball, while the defense showed it can stop teams and score.

In all, it was a much-needed win for the Wolves, as they will be in conference action for the remainder of the season. Their goal is to win the next six games and head to the playoffs.

Statistically, the game was closer than it looked. This, though, was mainly due to Bismarck having the ball more because of quick scores by Prescott on both sides of the ball.

Prescott was three of five in passing for 52 yards, while Bismarck was a woeful five of 21 for 30 yards with three interceptions  two returned for touchdowns.

Both teams punted five times. Prescott's punts totaled 129 yards, while Bismarck's total was 137. Prescott averaged 25.8 yards per punt, while the Lions average was 27.4.

By the end of the game, the teams were even in penalties, both with seven. Prescott's though, was flagged for 65 lost yards, while Bismarck lost 55 yards through penalty.

Turnovers, though, were definitely in Prescott's favor. The Wolves fumbled three times, losing the ball once. Bismarck put the ball on the ground seven times, and lost it six.

The teams were close in first downs, as Prescott had 10, while Bismarck netted eight. This, though, was again because of how the Wolves scored.

Bismarck ran the ball 32 times for 121 yards, most of the yardage coming against Prescott's second team late in the game. This averaged out to 3.8 yards per carry.

Teague rushed seven times for 41 yards, with Vanhook carrying 10 times for 26 yards. Martin ran four times for six yards, with Woodley carrying three times for six yards. Craven ran eight times, gaining 33 yards.

In all, Prescott also rushed the ball 32 times, gaining 111 yards, for a 3.5 yard per carry average.

Bismarck ran a total of 53 offensive plays, with Prescott seeing 37 offensive snaps.

So far this season, Prescott is undefeated at Cummins Field. The Wolves will try to extend this streak Friday night, as they host the Nashville Scrappers in another important conference game.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.