Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

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

Wright was picked off by Stueart on first down, with Prescott setting up at the Hope 27 with 1:08 to go.

Martin hit Vanhook with a screen to the 18. He returned to the air, connecting with Ray Smith at the two. Another draw saw Vanhook in the endzone for the second time in less than a minute. Fufa's PAT made it 33-7 with 39 seconds left.

Hope managed to run three plays and punt before halftime. Martin took a knee as the buzzer sounded with the Wolves in command 33-7.

The Cats managed five points in the third quarter, while Prescott was unable to score.

The safety came when Martin was called for grounding the ball while running from a defender and attempting a pass from the Prescott endzone. This made it 33-9 with 5:46 to go in the third.

On the ensuing drive, the Cats, starting at the Prescott 45, moved to the 10 before being pushed back to the 16. A 32-yard field goal was successful, cutting the lead to 33-12 with 2:05 showing.

Period three ended with Prescott driving at the Hope 37.

The final 12 minutes started with Martin missing connection with Lewis on third and eight. However, Glass again went to his bag of tricks with the lateral from Martin to Lewis, who hit Muldrow for a touchdown with 11:44 to go in the game.

Fufa's PAT put the Wolves up 40-12.

It was three and out for the Cats, with Prescott starting at its 24 with 9:22 remaining.

The Wolves were unable to move and had to punt, but caught a break when Marcus Washington fumbled at midfield with Prescott recovering.

Vanhook gained 11 on first down, with Lewis adding five on the next play. Vanhook added 17 to his total by fighting to the Hope 14.

Martin went to the air, only to miss connection with Smith on first down. He found Lewis at the 10 on second down, with Lewis going in untouched on a draw the next play.

Fufa's point after made it 47-12 with 6:11 left, and invoked the mercy rule.

Under this rule, when a team trails by 35 or more points in the second half, the clock doesn't stop for the remainder of the game.

At this point, both teams began substituting heavily, with Prescott Coach Greg Smith making sure anyone wearing maroon and white got some playing time.

Unofficial stats show complete dominance by the 3-0 Wolves.

Prescott was 17 of 27 in passing for three touchdowns and 206 yards. Hope was six of 13 for 59 yards, with two interceptions.

The Wolves punted three times for a total of 109 yards, or an average of 36.3 yards per punt. The Cats got in more practice with seven punts for 292 yards, or an average of 41.7 yards.

Prescott was penalized six times for 37 yards, while the Cats were flagged twice for 10 yards.

The Wolves did not fumble during the game, while Hope lost one of three.

Both team's quarterbacks were sacked twice in the contest.

Prescott showed ball and clock control with 20 first downs, while the defense gave up eight.

The Wolf ground attack saw 31 rushing attempts for 144 yards, or an average of 4.65 yards per rush.

Hope ran the ball 29 times for 99 yards, an average of 3.4 yards per carry.

Overall Prescott ran 58 offensive plays for 350 yards, while Hope snapped the ball 42 times for 158 yards.

Vanhook was the game's leading rusher, with 20 carries for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Prescott gets the week off on Sept. 26, as the Bismarck Lions have forfeited the remainder of the season. This gives the Wolves a 2-0 win, along with a 1-0 conference mark.

It also provides Prescott time to heal up bumps and bruises before entertaining the Nashville Scrappers on Oct. 3. This game will mark the first time Jason Butler returns to the lineup after suffering a knee injury against Lakeside in a scrimmage game in August.

Last year the Scrappers posted a 40-14 win over Prescott at Nashville. This year the game will be played in the friendly confines of Cummins Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., but fans should arrive early to find parking and seating.