Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves's playoff hopes dim following loss at Mena

Prescott's playoff chances got even slimmer Friday as the Wolves fell, 32-7, to Mena.

The game was delayed almost 90 minutes because of a lightning storm coupled with torrential rains. While this gave the Wolves time to rest and work on the game plan, the same held true for the Bearcats.

Prescott won the opening toss and deferred until the second half, thereby giving Mena the ball first. The Cats took over on the 35, ran three plays and punted.

The Wolves began operating from the Prescott 34 with Ben Smith under center. Tristan Stuart lost a yard on first down, and a flag was thrown against the Wolves for motion. However, the Cats chose to take the loss.

The next two plays saw Prescott move to the 42, short of a first down, and punt. The ball was fielded at the Mena 37, with another flag thrown against the Wolves for a false start. The penalty was again declined.

From there, the Cats needed but five plays to cover the 63 yards and put the first points on the board. the touchdown came on an 11 yard sweep with 5:18 to go in the period. the point after made it 7-0, Mena.

Prescott began at its 20, with Smith finding Jeremy Henry with a six-yard pass. Unfortunately, the Wolves lost five yards on second down, putting the team in a third and nine situation.

Smith rolled left, found Ryan Roberson open and fired an 18-yard strike to keep the drive alive. However, the Wolves could only gain three yards on the next three plays and were forced to punt.

A high snap caused some concern, but Justin Marcum got the punt away.

A Mena player touched the ball, resulting in a fumble the Wolves recovered at the Wolf 43.

The Wolves moved backwards on the drive, getting hit with a motion and holding call, moving the team back to the 24. Smith went to the air, only to be picked off. the ball was returned to the Wolf 13.

But, a yellow hanky was lying on the turf, with Mena being flagged for clipping. This put the ball on the 28.

The Cats moved to the 12 before time expired in the quarter.

Mena opened period two with an incomplete pass and attempted a 29-yard field goal. The kick was wide, giving Prescott the ball on the Wolf 20 with 11:49 left in the half.

At this point the officials halted play because of the lightning. Because it was a conference game, it couldn't be called, and because of the distance involved, it couldn't be rescheduled for the weekend. This meant the game would have to be completed no matter how late it was.

Play resumed at 9:45 p.m., when the majority of games around the state were finishing up.

The Wolves managed to earn the team's initial first down when Smith found A.J. Lewis, who fought to the 33. However, the next three plays saw a gain of five yards, putting the Wolves in punt formation on fourth and five.

This time the punt was blocked, with the Cats recovering at the Prescott 20. One snap later it was 13-0 with 10:01 showing. The point after was wide.

Because of the field conditions, the Cats squib-kicked the ball. Squib-kicks are hard to handle because of the erratic spin, but Prescott fielded the kick, returning it to the 27.

The Wolves drove downfield, using several different players to move the ball. Lewis was primarily a decoy, keeping two Cats occupied.

Prescott made it to the Mena 35 before Smith was picked off at the Cat eight. The Cats would have been better off letting the ball fall incomplete as it was a fourth down play.

Mena was gifted with a facemask call against the Wolves on first down, moving the ball to the 28, after a five-yard gain. At this point, Prescott's defense stiffened and held the Cats, forcing a punt.

The ball rolled dead at the Wolf 34, with Prescott starting its lone scoring drive of the night.

Smith optioned to Stuart, who lost three on first down. Smith went to the air on second down, finding an open Lewis, who fought his way to the Mena seven. Two plays later, the Smith-Lewis tandem hooked up again for a seven-yard touchdown.

The point after was good, cutting Mena's lead to 13-7, with 2:16 left in the half.

The Wolves also opted to squib-kick the ball, but missed the attempt, giving Mena the ball at the Prescott 42.

The Cats wasted no time in getting the score back, as Mena ventured into the promised land in three plays, with the help of another facemask call against Prescott. The touchdown came on a two-yard blast with 0:31 seconds left. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the score at 19-7.

Prescott fielded the kick, returning it to the 30 and managed to gain a yard as halftime arrived.

The Wolves got the ball to start the second half, beginning at the Prescott 33. however, three plays and it was punt time again for the Wolves.

The low punt was fielded at the Mena 30 and returned to the 49.

Prescott was immediately flagged for illegal participation (12 men on the field) with the ball moved 15-yards closer to the Wolf end zone at the 36.

Seven plays later, Mena scored again, this time on a six-yard run to make it 25-7. The PAT made it 26-7 with 8:08 left.

It was four and out for the Wolves, as Prescott turned the ball over on downs at its 44-yard line. However, Mena returned the favor and was unable to capitalize on the field position.

Starting at the Prescott 38, the Wolves ran three plays, getting to the 44 and punted. A low snap led to Marcum being tackled on the 23, where Mena took over with 0:58 left in the third.

It took the Cats two plays to score, with the touchdown coming on a 17-yard run with 0:15 to go. the PAT was no good, leaving the score at 32-7.

Prescott fumbled the kick, with Mena recovering at the Wolf 16 with 0:05 showing. One play gained three and the third quarter ended.

The Cats got to the seven only to be stuffed by a determined Wolf defense. Prescott took over on downs at its own seven with 10:37 left in the game.

The distance to the Mena goal was increased as Prescott was flagged for motion and moved back half the distance to the four. However, the Wolves caught a break when Mena was flagged for pass interference, moving the ball to the 20.

This gave Prescott some breathing room, as the Wolves began marching downfield. Prescott made it to the 45 before losing ground back to the 39. The drive ended when Smith was picked off following a tipped pass.

Mena again had good field position at the Prescott 40 with 6:14 on the clock.

Three plays gained seven yards, with the Cats opting to go for it on fourth and three. Mena was aided by a pass interference call against Prescott, moving ball to the Wolf 19.

Mena's drive ended with the Cats turning the ball over on downs at the 10.

Smith found Roberson at the Mena 45 with 0:19 remaining. A pitch on the next play was fumbled, picked up by Mena and returned to the Prescott 22 as time expired.

Prescott falls to 3-5 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.

To have a shot at the playoffs, the Wolves must win the next two games against Lafayette County and Ashdown. The wins must also be by 13 or more points. Both are home games for Prescott.

However, the Wolves will have to have some help from other teams.

Friday night is Homecoming for the Curley Wolves, with the queen to be crowned at the pre-game ceremonies.

In addition, there will be a plaque presented to the team before the game from the classes of 57-59.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., but Homecoming activities will begin at 7 o'clock.