Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves one step closer to playoffs with 48-7 win over Cobras

And, lo, the heavens opened and the rains came.

This was followed by Prescott opening a deluge of scoring in the second half to drown Fountain Lake 48-7 Friday night.

Prescott ran its record to 5-2 on the regular season and 3-1 in conference play.

Early on, the game wasn't as one-sided as the score would appear. In fact, the Cobras drew first blood and led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.

During the first 12 minutes of play, the Wolves made mental mistakes and practically gave the Cobras the touchdown.

After the score, Prescott Coach Greg Smith informed his players Fountain Lake had come to play, and they'd better get their heads into the game.

Rain had been predicted, but the prediction was for the precipitation to arrive around midnight. It didn't wait till game time before a heavy mist began falling.

The Wolves won the opening toss, took the kick and started at the Prescott 30.

Three plays later, Prescott punted to the Cobras, after two incomplete passes and a three-yard gain.

Fountain Lake began at its43, moved to the Wolf 36 and lined up to punt on fourth down. However, Prescott had 12 men on the field, which netted the first of 14 penalties against the Wolves on the night.

The flag gave the Cobras new life 15 yards closer to the Prescott end zone. Mike Wallace took the handoff, waltzed through a massive hole on the left side of the Wolf line and scored.

The point after made it 7-0 with 7:22 left in the first.

Throughout the game, the Wolves made mental mistakes and suffered costly penalties. Otherwise, the score would not have been as close as it was.

Following the Cobra kick, Prescott took over on the Wolf 35, ran two plays with R.J. Vanhook fumbling.

Fountain Lake recovered the ball at the Prescott 49, but had its drive end when Joe Stueart picked off Robert Wallace's pass. Stueart returned the interception to the Cobra 44.

The Wolves needed but four plays to get on the board.

The drive began with Vanhook gaining 11 to the 33, followed by Damaricus Craven gaining two. Zach Martin added two more, before a draw to Vanhook capped the drive with a 29-yard score with 3:51 showing.

The point after was blocked, with the Cobras leading 7-6.

Fountain Lake punted to end its next offensive series, with Prescott taking over at the Wolf 40 with 1:20 to go.

The Wolves, primarily on the rushing of Vanhook, made it to the Cobra 21 as time expired.

Prescott added two touchdowns in the second quarter, but had fits all night converting the point after.

Period two began with the Wolves getting flagged for illegal motion, but on a second and goal from the four, Martin connected with Jarrod Norwood for a touchdown to make it 12-7 Prescott with 10:59 to go in the half.

The try for two was no good.

Fountain Lake started at its 20 following a touchback on the kick from Jason Butler.

The Cobras went nowhere fast, as Eli Ratcliff picked off a Wallace pass on third down, returning it to the Fountain Lake 12.

Martin wasted no time in winging a pass to Haris Williams for the touchdown to make it 18-7 with 9:57 remaining.

The rest of the half was marred by penalties and turnovers by both teams.

Fountain Lake got the third quarter underway from its 21, and ran two plays before Norwood picked Wallace off and returned the ball to the Cobra 25 with 11:11 on the clock.

Instead of putting the Cobras away, the Wolves suffered a turnover as Martin was picked off by Mike Wallace, who returned the interception to the Cobra 30.

Fountain Lake showed signs of moving the ball, but had its drive stall at midfield.

Vanhook needed one play to score his second touchdown of the night, as he broke free, hit the right sideline and sprinted in from 50 yards out.

The try for two was, again, no good, but Prescott led 24-7 with 6:56 left in the third.

Tommy Wallace took over under center after Robert Wallace was nailed on Fountain Lake's previous series and was knocked out of the game.

T. Wallace found Martel Woodley instead of a Cobra receiver. Woodley was tackled at the Fountain Lake 37.

Three plays later, Vanhook scored for the third time on a 12-yard run to make it 30-7 with 5:25 to go.

Amazingly, the Wolves managed to convert the two-point conversion to make it 32-7.

The Cobras were stymied on the next Fountain Lake possession, wound up going in reverse on three plays and lined up to punt.

However, the snap sailed over the punter's head and was knocked out of the end zone for a safety, making it 34-7 with 4:03 on the clock.

The Cobras then had to kick the ball to Prescott, with the Wolves taking over at the Fountain Lake 37.

Prescott was immediately flagged for illegal motion, moving the ball back to the 42.

Vanhook took the handoff, ran to his left, reversed field, found an opening and sprinted in for his third touchdown of the night to make it 40-7 with 3:32 left in the third.

The point after was no good.

Fountain Lake managed to run four plays before punting to the Wolf 40, with Prescott getting to the Cobra 29 as the quarter ended.

Vanhook gained 27 before being brought down at the Cobra two to start the final 12 minutes of play, with Woodley capping off the drive.

The two-point conversion was good to make it 48-7 and enact the new 35-point rule.

With the clock not stopping, the Cobras managed to maintain possession most of the fourth quarter, but did nothing with the ball.

With 4:54 left in the game, Prescott took over, with the team made up entirely of substitutes.

Ryan Roberson was under center, throwing two incomplete passes before being replaced by A.J. Lewis.

Lewis found Ratcliff for a 43-yard pass.

Ratcliff was brought down at the one, with Lewis kneeling twice to end the game.

The Wolves were as dominant statistically as the team was on the field, once it got started.

Prescott's offense put up 465 total yards, 208 through the air and 257 on the ground.

The Wolf defense allowed 121 total yards, as the Cobras had 90 rushing yards and 31 passing yards.

Prescott had 19 first downs, against 10 for the Cobras.

Both teams fumbled twice and lost their fumbles.

The Wolves were flagged 14 times for 115 yards, while Fountain Lake was penalized five times for 30 yards.

Vanhook gained 204 yards and scored three touchdowns on 11 carries.

Craven carried twice for 22 yards, with Woodley adding 25 yards and a touchdown on five attempts.

The Wolves will be on the road the final time this season when the team travels to Mena Friday, Oct. 25.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.