Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves keep playoff hopes alive with 21-14 win

Prescott kept its slim playoff hopes alive Friday night with a 21-14 win over Fouke.

Overall, the game was dominated by penalties and mistakes on both sides of the ball, as neither team played particularly well. Prescott ran its record to 4-5, while Fouke fell to 5-4.

Were it not for three big plays, the Wolves may not have scored. But, R.J. Vanhook broke loose on a trio of occasions to give the Wolves the win.

Fouke won the toss, took the ball and got started at the Panther 35.

Fouke quarterback Brandon Ataway, who was being watched by scouts from the University of Arkansas, got the game underway in an inauspicious manner by fumbling the opening snap.

Prescott recovered at the Panther 43 and the Vanhook express was ready to roll.

Vanhook gained five on first down, with Jared Norwood giving the Wolves a first down with an eight-yard gain on a counter play.

Two plays later Vanhook was in the endzone, scoring on a 31-yard sweep.

The point after split the uprights, and Prescott led 7-0 with 9:59 showing.

Flags began flying immediately thereafter as Prescott was called for being offside on the kickoff. This moved the ball back to the 35.

The second flag of the night, there were 16 in all, came on the kick as the ball sailed out of bounds.

Fouke took control on its own 40, ran three plays and punted.

Starting from the Wolf 24, Norwood gained a yard on the counter. Martel Woodley was stuffed on second down, with Zach Martin getting picked off on third down.

Martin's pass was deep, and the Panthers started from the Fouke 35.

It was one, two, three kick for the Panthers as the Fouke offense showed no signs of life early on.

Vanhook took the punt at the 25, returning it to the 36 for Prescott.

He carried twice to the 47, before the Wolves were called for holding and lost 10 yards, from the spot of the foul, which moved the ball back to the 36.

Vanhook gained three, before Martin hooked up with Norwood at midfield.

A quarterback draw gained four on third down and set the Wolves up for their first punt of the night.

But, before the ball was kicked, Prescott was flagged for delay of game and moved back another five yards.

Casey Ward's punt went to the Panther 34, but was all for naught as Fouke was penalized for the first time of the game for roughing the kicker.

This moved the ball 15 yards forward and possession remained with the Wolves.

It didn't matter, as Prescott turned it over on downs four plays later as the first quarter came to an end.

The Panthers took over on the Fouke 40, ran 12 plays and tied the score to get the second quarter underway.

Fouke's drive was time consuming, taking 5:27.

Prescott was caught napping on the kickoff, which turned out to be an onside kick, recovered by Fouke at midfield.

The Panthers needed fewer plays and less time to take the lead as Fouke's second scoring drive took seven plays and 3:16.

With 3:17 left in the half, Fouke now led 14-7 and Prescott's offense hadn't gotten off the bench in the second quarter.

The next kick was of the pooch variety, fielded by Haris Williams at the Prescott 38.

The Wolves began driving downfield, getting to the Panther 38 before Vanhook lost the ball, which was recovered by Fouke at the Panther 38 with 1:26 left in the half.

Ataway drove the Panthers downfield, using the clock wisely, only to get sacked for a 10-yard loss by Toby Bullock as the buzzer sounded ending the first 24-minutes of play.

Fouke opened the second half with a squib kick, fielded by Norwood at the 35, and returned to the 45.

The Wolves wasted no time in tying the score, relying heavily on Vanhook's running.

However, on the third play of the half, players crashed into the down markers, ripping the chain from the tape. The end result was Prescott getting a bad spot, and being forced to try for a first down on fourth down instead of earning it on third as they had.

The Wolves drove to the Fouke 34, where Vanhook again broke free and scampered in for his second touchdown of the night. The PAT tied the game at 14-14 with 9:13 left.

Fouke's offense took the rest of the night off, being unable to do much more than play between the 20s against Prescott's defense.

In fact, the remainder of the third period was uneventful other than a plethora of flags, mostly against Prescott, stopping any chance the Wolves had of driving in for the go-ahead score.

Period four got underway with Ward punting to the Fouke 33.

Three plays later, the Panthers returned the favor, with the ball rolling dead at the Wolf 17.

This was the starting point for the final scoring drive of the night.

Vanhook gained a yard on two plays, before Martin hit Norwood at the Fouke 49. Martin paid for the completion as he was hammered as he released the ball.

Two plays later, Vanhook found a seam, hit the gap and sprinted 49-yards to give Prescott the lead. The point after made it 21-14.

Ataway and Fouke went to the air, but ultimately turning the ball over on downs at the Prescott 12.

The Wolves took over with5:59 left in the game, drove the length of the field and scored.

However, instead of Martin getting six for crossing the plane of the goal line, the Wolves were penalized for holding and moved back to the Panther 13.

It was a moot point as the game ended on Martin's next carry.

Statistically the game was fairly even.

Martin was three of six in passing for 50 yards, with one interception, while Ataway hit four of 14 for 100 yards.

The Wolves punted twice during the game with a 39 yard average. Fouke punted four times for 146 total yards.

When it came to penalties, Prescott was hard hit, being flagged 10 times for 82 yards. Fouke was penalized six times for 50 yards.

Both quarterbacks were sacked once during the contest.

Prescott fumbled three times, losing the ball once. Fouke fumbled once, losing it.

The Panthers had more first downs than Prescott, 15 to 12.

But, Vanhook's rushing gave the Wolves the edge in the running game, as Prescott had 259 yards on the ground, with Fouke gaining 149 yards rushing.

Both teams ran 50 offensive plays.

Fouke rushed the ball 36 times, gaining 149 yards, for a 4.1 yard per carry average.

Prescott gained 259 yards on 44 rushes, for a 5.9 yard per carry average.

Vanhook was the workhorse, toting the mail 31 times for 208 yards.

Woodley carried six times for 24 yards, with Martin gaining two yards on three carries. Norwood ran the ball four times for 25 yards.

Prescott remains in a must-win situation to have any chance for post-season action.

This week the Wolves will be in action Thursday as Prescott travels to Ashdown to tangle with the league-leading Panthers.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.