Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Curley Wolves Edged By DeQueen Leopards

In one of its best games of the conference season, the Prescott Curley Wolves almost pulled off an upset Friday night at De Queen, reportedly one of the better teams in the 7AA Conference.

Trailing 26-25 after its last touchdown, coach David Bennett attempted a gutsy two-point conversion play that failed, leaving the score as it was. He was going for a win, not a tie.

Some fans think he should have gone for a tie to force a sudden death overtime. That would have given each team an opportunity to score against each other from the 10-yard line. The nagging question now is, "Could Prescott have scored?" and, "Could the Wolves have kept De Queen from scoring?"

Of course no one will ever know now. The decision was made, and the attempt failed. Had the team succeeded, Bennett would have been the hero of the whole town. There is not need to look at hindsight. The play cannot be taken back.

And then, maybe Prescott got a raw deal out of it. Jason Morrow, quarterback Al Johnston's intended receiver for a pass on the play, was knocked down by a defender in the end zone before the pass came, but the officials missed it.

So much for that. In the minds of Prescott fans, the Wolves got a raw deal.

Prescott's biggest enemy was not officials, but turnovers. De Queen took two of them and turned them into scores. Of course, the a turnover works the other way too. Calvin Flemons took a fumbled kickoff from De Queen and scored.

The scoring all began on De Queen's first possession. The Leopards made six first downs on 13 plays with Tommy Stevens taking it in from the four for the TD.

Prescott came fighting back, but not right away. On the Wolves' first possession, they had to punt. Then came a couple of turnovers.

Stevens fumbled on De Queen's second play with Brett Wickers getting the recovery for the Wolves. Then on Prescott's second play, a pitchback from Johnston to Terry Woodley hit Woodley in the face mask. De Queen recovered the fumble on their own 35-yard line. On third and 12, Leopards' quarterback Eric Pierce attempted to go for broke, but Mike Fountain intercepted his pass at the Prescott 39.

Prescott, on this series of plays, finally got its first first down of the game, but the Wolves finally had to punt with De Queen taking over on their 17.

On second down, the Leopards fumbled again with Heath Duke getting the ball at the De Queen 17.

On first down, Johnston hit Morrow for another first down at the nine- yard line. Another Prescott fumble was recovered by the Wolves, and a De Queen penalty moved the ball to the three, where Carlos Van Hook took it in for the TD. The point after try by Fountain was good to make the scored 7-7 with 11:14 left in the half.

Fountain had the pleasure of kicking off because Justin Jernigan, Prescott's usual kicker, was injured on the second play of the game. Fountain's kick was not extra long, but the Leopards tried a reverse on the Wolves which was mis-handled and fumbled. Flemons picked up the ball and took it approximately 18 yards for another touchdown. Only five seconds had elapsed.

Prescott's lead was short-lived, though, as the Leopards made another successful drive from their 34-yard line. Pierce got the honors, rolling out for the TD from the six. Along the way they made four first downs in eight plays. The PAT was missed for the score to remain 13-13.

A good return by Flemons and the Wolves were set at their own 43-yard line. On first down, however, Lindsey tipped Johnston's pass and caught it himself for the turnover.

Another Prescott turnover came as the half was coming to an end. The curley Wolves were backed up to their own 13-yard line and had to punt on fourth and a mile. The punt, however, was mis-handled by Fountain. De Queen recovered the fumble at the Prescott one.

Justin Powell scored the third De Queen touchdown from the one on the first play. A two-point attempt failed for the first half score to remain 19-13.

The Wolves' first half was pitiful as far as offensive yardage was concerned. In the first quarter they rushed for a minus six yards. The second period they netted five yards on the ground.

The only gain was through the air. Johnston had one complete pass for 21 yards. During the half he through four incomplete passes and one interception.

Prescott only made four first downs during the half while De Queen made 12.

De Queen's backs rushed 15 times the first quarter for 83 yards, and 16 times the second period for 97 yards, a total of 180 yards during the half. Pierce attempted three passes, throwing two incomplete and having one intercepted.

The last half belonged to the Wolves as far as scoring was concerned. Most of their yardage was achieved during the second half, too, rushing for 88 yards and passing for 70. Though it is not much offensive yardage, it's still more than the Leopards could muster during the last half.

Once more Prescott got good field advantage, this time on the opening kickoff to begin the half, thanks to a runback by Flemons to his 42. The Wolves would be successful on this drive, proving they can move the ball.

Woodley was stopped for no gain on the first play, then a screen pass to Morrow was good for eight yards. Van Hook picked up a first down at the De Queen 48.

Prescott lost five yards on a penalty, making it first and 15 from their own 47. Van Hook, however, gained seven yards to move the ball to the De Queen 46.

Johnston attempted a pass to Morrow that was missed after the ball was tipped. On third and three Johnston connected with Fountain for a first down at the De Queen 20-yard line.

Duke took a pitchback on the next play, but was tackled for a two- yard loss. A pass intended for Fountain in the end zone fell incomplete on the next play, then Johnston missed Morrow with a pass near the 10, setting up a field goal attempt for the Wolves. Fountain's kick was good, but a penalty against the Curley Wolves nullified the kick and set them back five yards to boot.

However, Bennett and his crew were not giving up. Going for the big one on fourth and 17, Johnston this time hit Fountain in the end zone for the touchdown. Too many men on the field moved the point after try further away from the goal and it was missed for the score to become tied once more, 19-19.

De Queen had to punt on its next possession with Jeremy Morros taking the short punt and returning it to mid-field. The Curley Wolves made one first down, but gave the ball over when they failed to convert on fourth and 11 from the De Queen 37.

The Leopards controlled the ball the remainder of the quarter, but punted early in the fourth period. On third and 14, Johnston threw another interception, setting up another score by the Leopards.

Lance Marti