Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves take hard fall against Fountain Lake, playoff hopes slim

Prescott's playoff hopes got a lot slimmer as the Wolves fell 41-9 to the Fountain Lake Cobras Friday night.

The Wolves played well in spurts, but were unable to put everything together consistently. Mental mistakes and penalties killed drives throughout the night.

Fountain Lake won the toss to open the game and deferred until the second half. This gave the Wolves the ball first, and showed Prescott fans the Cobras had no intention of letting A.J. Lewis beat them with his legs.

The short kick was caught by Camron Wilson at the Prescott 35. Ben Smith started at quarterback, dropped back on the first snap and winged the ball toward Lewis, only to see it tipped away. Had the pass been completed, it would have been a footrace to the end zone.

The Smith to Lewis connection failed on second down, with Lewis taking over under center. Lewis gained nothing, and an illegal shift penalty was declined by the Cobras, putting Prescott in a fourth and 10 situation.

The punt rolled dead at the Cobra 30 with 11:27 left in the first.

Tyler Yarbrough nailed Justin Bradbury on first down, with a pass attempt going straight up and landing harmlessly on the turf. However, the second snap saw a reverse to Brandon Breshears, who found a seam and sprinted 61 yards for the touchdown. With 11:13 left in the first, the Cobras led 6-0. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0.

Yarbrough fielded the kick at the10, returning it to the 44 where Prescott set up its offense.

Lewis relied on his arm, completing passes to Smith and Ryan Roberson, as the Wolves moved t the Cobra 14. Roberson was wide open behind the Cobra secondary, but fell down after catching the ball, otherwise, the Wolves would have put six on the board. However, three plays later the Wolves were on the Fountain Lake 15 facing fourth and 11. The coaching staff opted to attempt a 32-yard field goal, which was good by Justin Marcum.

This cut the lead to 8-3 with 7:50 remaining.

Starting at the Cobra 40, Fountain Lake managed to get to the Prescott 20 before turning the ball over on downs.

The Wolves went to the air again, though Lewis failed to connect with Roberson on first down. Lewis was caught for a yard loss on second down, but found a wide open Tristan Stuart at the 46.

Prescott went back to the ground, chewing up chunks of yardage to the Cobra 29 before Lewis hit Jeremy Henry for a touchdown to put the Wolves in the lead at 9-8 with 1:19 to go. The try for two was no good.

The Cobras began on the 33, getting to the Prescott 38 before time ended in the first. Five play into the second quarter, Fountain Lake regained the lead for good with a 25-yard run by Michael Makin with 9:34 left in the first half. The try for two was no good, but the Cobras led 14-9.

Starting at its 34, the Wolves managed a yard on first down. Second down saw Lewis under a heavy rush. He threw a "hail Mary" which was picked off by Makin and returned to the Prescott 46 with 8:28 to go.

Eight plays later, the Cobras were again in the Prescott end zone, this score coming on a five-yard run by Makin with 3:26 left. The try for two was good, pushing the Cobra lead to 22-9.

Scoring ended for the first half at this point as neither team could maintain a drive. Prescott got to the Cobra 33 before turning the ball over on downs, and a halfback option pass by Breshears was picked off by Lewis with eight seconds showing.

Fountain Lake began the third quarter at its 28, and needed three plays to cover the 72 yards. With 10:38 left in the period, Breshears scored on a 24-yard run to make it 28-9. The try for two failed.

Roger Muldrow fielded the kick at the 30, returning it to the 38 for the Wolves. Prescott made it to the Cobra 18 before Lewis was sacked, then picked off by Makin in the Fountain Lake end zone with 5:55 remaining.

Eight plays later, Eric Hefley scored on an 18-yard run to make it 34-9 with 1:56 showing. The point after was wide.

Doug Holley called for a fair catch at the Prescott 42 on the short kick.

The Wolves fought to the Cobra 27 before losing eight yards on the final play of the quarter.

Three straight pass attempts gained nothing and gave the Cobras the ball at the Fountain Lake 35 with 11:07 left in the contest.

The Cobras ran eight plays, made it to the Prescott 36 and chewed almost four minutes off the clock before turning the ball over on downs with 7:13 left.

Lewis broke free to the Cobra 26, but the Wolves went backwards after this. Lewis lost two on the next play and was sacked for a 20-yard loss on second down. Muldrow gained two on third and forever, forcing the Wolves to punt.

The ball rolled dead at the Fountain Lake 13. Breshears took the handoff, found a hole and sprinted 87 yards for the game's final score with 4:14 left. The point after was good, making it 41-9.

From there, both teams substituted freely and heavily getting younger players some experience.

Unofficial stats show the Cobras led in most categories. Prescott was 10-22 in passing for 183 yards with two interceptions, while Fountain Lake was three of 10 for 44 yards and one pick.

Prescott punted three times for a total of 93 yards, or a 31 yard average.

The Wolves were flagged five times for 35 yards, while the Cobras had three penalties for 25 yards.

Prescott managed 11 first downs while Fountain Lake had 20.

Prescott snapped the ball 49 times for a total of 236 yards, while the Cobras ran 56 offensive plays, gaining 510 yards.

Prescott will be on the road again Friday night as the Wolves travel to Mena for a date with the Bearcats. For Prescott to have any shot at the playoffs, the Wolves need to win and get back on track.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.