Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves go to 3-0 with 47-12 pounding of Hope part I

Butts kicked, names taken.

This pretty much says it all about the Curley Wolves's 47-12 win over the Hope Bobcats Friday night at Hammons Stadium.

Several mistakes by Hope led to this whipping. First, vandals forgot the golden rule of not disrespecting someone else's house. This was done as graffiti was written all over the campus at Prescott High School. It served to provide incentive for the Wolves.

Next, never underestimate the desire of revenge, a dish best served cold. The senior members of Prescott's squad haven't forgotten the 50-0 shellacking at the hands of the Cats two years ago. This win served to remind Hope never underestimate your opponent.

Third, the Wolves wanted to make sure everyone knew last year's win wasn't a fluke.

From the outset, Prescott simply dominated the game and proved why the Wolves are the top ranked team in AAA in the state.

Fans didn't have time to get settled in their seats well before Prescott scored.

After winning the toss, A.J. Lewis fielded the opening kick at the 12, returning it to the 41 where Prescott set up shop.

The Wolves needed but six plays to put the first points on the board, as the Cats were served repeated helpings of R.J. Vanhook, who carried three times on the drive. Zach Martin found Lewis for a three-yard touchdown to make it 6-0 with 9:44 showing. The point after was blocked.

Hope started on its 20 following a kick into the endzone. Three plays later, the Cats punted for the first of seven times on the night, with Prescott taking over at the Wolf 38 with 8:22 left in the first quarter.

Martin was sacked for a three-yard loss on first down, but made up for it by lateraling to Lewis, who whipped a pass to Roger Muldrow at the 46. The duo of Martin and Lewis hooked up again, with Lewis being brought down at the Hope 12.

On the next play, Martin hit Luther Stueart for Prescott's second touchdown with 7:13 showing. The Wolves attempted a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful. Still, Prescott was up 12-0 with plenty of time left in the first.

Starting at the Cat 24, Hope went backwards on three plays and punted to the Prescott 39 with 5:39 to go.

Wolf offensive coordinator Brian Glass went deep into his bag of tricks on this series. He began by having Martin lateral to Lewis, who lateraled the ball back to Martin. Martin winged a pass to Vanhook, who couldn't come up with the ball. This play served to thoroughly confuse the Hope defense.

Lewis gained nine, with Martin keeping the drive alive by gaining four yards on a quarterback sneak to the Cat 48.

Martin returned to the air and found Cole Hillary at the Hope 47. Staying airborne, Martin flipped the ball to Lewis who rambled to the Hope four.

The Wolves punched it in three plays later with Martin and Lewis connecting on a five-yard pass. Urfan Taghizada, a.k.a. Fufa, booted the extra point to make it 19-0 at the 1:55 mark.

Starting at its 24, the Cats managed to get Hope's inaugural first down of the night when David Wright found D.J. Covington at the Hope 49. However, three plays later, the quarter ended with Hope facing a fourth down at midfield.

The Cats got period two underway by punting to the Prescott 14.

Vanhook gained nine on first down, but Martin was picked off by Antonio Rogers, who ran the ball back to the 10.

Ephriam Maxwell gained four, but Wright was picked off by Lewis in the endzone. Lewis ran the ball out, getting to the Wolf six before being brought down.

Three plays netted five yards and brought up Prescott's first punt of the night. The kick went to the Hope 49 and was returned to the Wolf 46.

This would prove to be Hope's lone touchdown drive of the night. Greg Smith got things started with a 13-yard gain off a trap play.

Hope used the trap to move the ball to the 12 before abandoning its most successful play to go to the air. Wright missed Covington and was hit with a procedure call, moving the ball back to the 17.

Wright again tried to hit Covington, but was again unsuccessful. On fourth down, the Cats went for it and were aided by an offside call against Prescott.

When the ball was snapped a hard hit separated it from the runner. However, the pigskin was booted out of the pile up and picked up by a Hope player, who scampered in for the score. The point after made it 19-7 with 6:16 left in the half.

The touchdown served to irritate the Wolves.

Starting at the Prescott 38, Martin moved his team downfield mixing the pass and run, keeping Hope's defense off balance.

Glass found a weakness in the Hope defense and exploited it with draw plays to Vanhook, who had to be brought down by Cat safeties. The draw was used five times in the nine-play drive, with Vanhook scoring on a two-yard plunge.

Fufa split the uprights to make it 26-7 with 1:25 left.