Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves district co-champs after 42-22 win over Ashdown part 1

District co-champions.

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Prescott's Curley Wolves, under first year Head Coach Greg Smith, earned this distinction and a trip to the playoffs after whipping Ashdown 42-22 at Cummins Field Friday night.

The Wolves will host the third place Pine Bluff Dollarway Cardinals from the 8AAA conference.

To get to this point, though, Prescott first had to get by the Panthers, and it was no easy task, in spite of the score.

The game began with Ashdown winning the toss and deferring until the second half.

Chris Hopper took the kick at the 16 and returned it to the Panther 48.

The Wolves used nine plays to cap the scoring drive, which culminated with Zach Martin connecting with Joe Steuart with a three-yard pass with 8:45 to go in the first.

The point after split the uprights and Prescott led 7-0.

Ashdown Coach Todd Ledford had been concerned with Prescott's speed, but failed to take the Wolf passing attack into consideration. This oversight proved costly for the Panthers in the long run.

The Panthers first offensive possession began at the Ashdown 20 and lasted four plays before the ball was punted back to Prescott.

Panther ball carriers were introduced to the Wolfpack defense, with several needing to be helped from the field during the battle.

Prescott's second drive started at the Wolf 33 with 6:43 left in the first.

Nine plays later, Martin found Jason Butler all alone in the Ashdown secondary for a 13-yard touchdown.

The point after was good, putting the Wolves up 14-0 with 2:32 showing and Ashdown reeling.

Butler's kick sailed to the end zone for a touchback, putting the Panthers at the 20.

Ashdown began moving downfield, primarily on the running of Russell Smith. The Panthers made it to the Prescott 48 before R.J. Vanhook picked off a Wes Aylett pass at the Wolf 45 and sprinted 55-yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

The PAT was wide right, but Prescott now led 20-0 with 1:02 to go in the opening quarter.

Starting at the Panther 20 after the touchback on the kickoff, Ashdown managed to run three plays before time expired.

Ashdown started the second quarter facing a second and seven on the Panther 35. The drive stalled at the Prescott 44 where the Panthers turned the ball over on downs.

Steuart got behind his defender on the first snap and caught Martin's pass for a 56-yard score with 9:49 showing in the half.

Prescott opted for the two-point conversion, but was unsuccessful. Still, the Wolves were up 26-0.

This ended scoring in the first half of play, though the action continued on the field. Both defenses stuffed the other offense.

Late in the period, however, Prescott was at the Ashdown 14, driving to what appeared to be another touchdown. But, Martin was stripped of the ball, with the fumble recovered by Ashdown at the Panther 16.

Prescott's defense was caught napping as the third quarter got underway.

Jace Garrison took an inside handoff on a slot trap and scampered 70-yards for Ashdown's first touchdown of the night.

The point after made it 26-7 with 11:43 to go.

At this point, play degenerated on the field, but only on Ashdown's side. Panther players began taking cheap shots at Prescott players, which resulted in penalties for unnecessary roughness.

The Panthers began blitzing on almost every play, but once a Wolf was down, Ashdown players would either pile on or hit the Prescott player late.

The Wolves were unable to handle the blitz early on and were forced to punt, with the ball rolling down at the Panther 12.

Ashdown ran three plays, but Aylett found Steuart at the Ashdown 46.

Once again, the Wolves couldn't handle the heavy rush as all 11 Ashdown players were stacked on the offensive line and were forced to punt. But, a low snap and heavy rush resulted in the punt being blocked with Ashdown taking over on the Prescott 37.

The Wolf defense stepped up and shut Ashdown's offense down, with the Panthers turning the ball over on downs.

Neither offense did much with the two squads swapping possession until late in the frame, when Prescott struck twice.

After the Panthers had turned the ball over on downs with 1:56 to go at the Ashdown 35.

An unnecessary roughness call on first down moved the ball to the Panther 20. Two plays later, Martin hit Haris Williams for the touchdown.

Prescott went for the two-point conversion, successfully, to make it 34-7.

Starting at its 30, the Panthers went to the air, with Aylett again finding Steuart, this time at the Ashdown 37. Steuart took the ball in for Prescott's final score of the night.

Another successful two-point conversion made it 42-7 with eight seconds left in the quarter.

Ashdown started the final 12 minutes under the "mercy" rule, with the clock not stopping until the Panthers managed to get the difference in the score under 35 points.