Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves tabbed third

As July nears its end and August approaches, thoughts begin turning toward high school football.

Actually, in Prescott, thoughts are seldom far from Curley Wolf football, with residents routinely debating the kind of season the Wolves will have in 2002.

According to a statewide publication, the Wolves are picked to finish third in the tough 7AAA conference behind Nashville and Ashdown.

Oddly enough, these "experts" have picked Mena to finish fourth, De Queen fifth, followed by Fouke, Fountain Lake and Bismarck.

Kirk Armitage left as coach after two seasons and has been replaced by Greg Smith, the former defensive coordinator for the Arkadelphia Badgers.

One of the biggest problems for the 2001 Wolves was youth. The squad started several sophomores, including quarterback Zach Martin.

This year, the team should return a good number of starters from last year's crew, thus giving the Wolves experience.

However, at this point there is a glaring weakness for the team, well, two in truth  the offensive line and at linebacker.

Most of the skill players are back from last year's 4-6 team, but the question at this time is, "Who'll provide the up front blocking on offense, and seal the middle on defense?"

Prescott's schedule will be different from years past, as the Wolves will open the season against the Gurdon Go-Devils, former league foes until Gurdon dropped down in classification.

This was done because the 7AA-West conference had nine teams when the schedule was made out, and both schools wanted to keep the long-time rivalry going. This will be Gurdon's only non-conference game of the year, and will take place at Cummins Field Friday, Sept. 6.

On Sept. 13, the Wolves take to the tarmac to visit the Hampton Bulldogs.

Week three sees Prescott back in the friendly confines as they host the Hope Bobcats, another long-time opponent.

Conference action starts in the fourth week, as the Wolves make the trip to Bismarck to face the Lions.

On Oct. 4, Prescott remains on the road as the Wolves travel into hostile territory to tangle with the Nashville Scrappers. Turnovers and mental mistakes cost the Wolves a chance to upset Nashville at Prescott last season.

On Oct. 11, Prescott will play host to the Leopards of De Queen, before returning to the road on Oct. 18 for a date with the Fountain Lake Cobras.

The longest road trip of the year will occur on Oct. 18, when the Wolves make the cross-state trip to Mena to lock horns with the Bearcats.

The Wolves will wrap up the 2002 season with their final two games at home. First up will be the Fouke Panthers on Nov. 1, followed by the Ashdown Panthers coming to town on Nov. 8.

It's easy to see the team will have its work cut out for it as there are no pushovers on the schedule. In fact, seven of the 10 teams on the slate were in the playoffs last year, including Gurdon.

On offense, the Wolves see the return of R.J Vanhook, who ran for 985 yards last year, though he didn't play much early on

Martel Woodley will back at fullback this year, and will be spelled by junior transfer Ardell Applegate, who played at Little Rock McLellan last season.

Other who will see time in the backfield will be DeMaricus Craven, who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, and sophomore Chris Hooper.

One of the brightest spots on offense will be the return of senior Jarrod Norwood, the team's top college prospect. Norwood maintains a 4.0 GPA and has 4.5 speed as well.

Josh Brown will get the chance to see action this year. He and Martin were competing for quarterback last year until Brown blew a knee out and missed the entire season. Brown is likely to be a back up quarterback as well as a receiver this year.

The team's best route runner, Eli Ratcliff, returns for his junior year. This means whoever is under center just has to throw the ball to the spot and Ratcliff will be there.

Zach Richards and Ryan Roberson are other receivers for the Wolves, while Cole Hillery is expected to be the team's tight end.

The line will likely be anchored by Aaron Tosch, Buck Sloan and Robert Block. Adam Beaver is the leading candidate to be the team's center, though sophomore Nick Johnson will see time in this position as well.

Other lineman are expected to be Brandon Morton, Brandon Ingram, Dan Ingram and Craig Heckman.

If the line comes together quickly, the Wolves will be able to put points on the board.

However, in order to avoid getting into track meets with other teams in the league, Prescott's defense will have to return to its past reputation of being stingy and punishing.

Jason Butler found a home at defensive end last year and enjoys "laying the smack down" on opposing players.

Johnny Burton, who can bench 300 pounds, is expected to be the team's nose guard, while Tosch will return at one of the tackle positions.

Applegate, Hillery and Dan Ingram worked on the defensive line during spring training, and are expected to see action there during the year.

Woodley and Block will anchor two of the linebacker positions, both having played last year and showed they can handle the job.

Jeremy Purifoy, with 4.6 speed, will be one of the team's cornerbacks, with Norwood expected to be on the opposite side of the field. Last season, Vanhook also played corner and safety on defense. He will likely be playing these positions again this year.

Charles Gulley did well on the junior varsity team in 2001, and moves onto the first team, probably as a safety, as will sophomore Luther Stueart.

Early reports are the Wolves will be playing a multiple offense, at times lining up in the pro-I formation.

On the other side of the ball, Prescott will be playing a multiple defense, primarily out of the 4-3 alignment.