Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Curley Wolves Prepare For Season - A Look At 1997 Foes

There are nothing but questions about the Curley Wolves for 1997 on the gridiron.

Prescott lost Coach Eddie Jackson, who takes over the head coaching and athletic director's jobs at Hampton this year. Jackson led the Wolves for 28 seasons.

So, the Wolves will have first-year coach David Bennett at the helm when they take to the field of combat for 1997. Bennett, though, was the defensive coordinator for Murfreesboro the past couple of seasons, building one of the most awesome defenses in the 7A conference.

The Rattlers went 14-1 for 1996, losing only in the finals of the 7A state playoffs to Bauxite.

Along with losing Jackson, the Wolves must replace all everything C.D. Flemons who graduated. Flemons ended his prep grid career as the top defensive player in the All Star game recently.

On the other hand, the Wolves have the services of Al Johnston back under center. Johnston showed his mettle during the '96 campaign on and off the field as he boasts a 4.0 grade point average.

Carlos Vanhook will accompany Johnston in the backfield. Vanhook was an offensive force last season and should be again.

Prescott also has Heath Duke and Jared Yates to spend time in the backfield with Vanhook and Johnston. Duke helped the Wolves win the state title in 1995 with a touchdown run against Nashville in the AA finals, while Yates will be a load to bring down at fullback.

The Wolves will also have experience on the line to make sure holes are opened for the backs and Johnston has all the time he needs to get rid of the ball on passing plays.

However, his receiving corps will have to learn fast as they are all young.

Defensively, the Wolves will see Vanhook at weakside linebacker, while Justin Jernigan and Gary Stovall will anchor the tackle positions.

Seniors Ben Jones and Jeremy Morrow will lead the secondary and create nightmares for opposing receivers.

And, as is usual in the 7AA, there will be no pushovers on the schedule. This year's schedule reads like a who's who in high school football in Southwest Arkansas.

The Wolves open hosting Ashdown on Sept. 5. Kickoff for all games is set for 7:30 p.m.

In 1996, the Wolves had to forfeit their win over the Panthers because of an ineligible player. The Panthers went on to finish 3-7 in the AAA Southwest, tying for seventh in the league. This is where they are tabbed to end the season again.

Other than senior quarterback John Harless, who also is a 4.0 student, the Panthers have little to brag about.

Ashdown will again utilize the wing T offense while playing an Even defense.

Dan Henderson could compete with Harless for the QB slot, and the team should have good linebackers with Ken Jetton leading the way.

The Panthers have plenty of holes to fill on the defensive line and a young secondary.

Week two will see Prescott make the short trip to Hope. Last season, the Bobcats were thrashed by the Wolves and ended up with a 5-6 season, good enough for a tie for second in the league. The 'Cats are tabbed for third this season.

Records mean nothing when these two teams meet. Neither squad has any secrets from the other.

The 'Cats will again operate from an I offense while running a 5-2 defense.

Hope lost Chris Conway at quarterback and is expected to be replaced by Courtney Cole who has 4.6 speed and a good arm.

The backfield will also feature Cory Muldrew who is considered a college prospect and scored 18 on his ACT test.

Defensively, though, the 'Cats will be young and inexperienced, even though the front line has the potential to be good.

From a date with the 'Cats, the Wolves travel to another arch-rival city for week three as they head to Gurdon and a Sept. 19 date with the Go-Devils.

The Devils had a ton of internal problems in 1996 as Coach Randy Kizer suffered a stroke before the season began and head Coach John Pace had to spend a lot of time with his terminally ill father.

This led to a 3-6 season and fifth place finish in the 7A west. This season, the Devils are tabbed to end the year in fourth place.

This is another team the Wolves are quite familiar with. Gurdon will run a multiple I offense and a multiple 50 defense again this season.

The Devils will also bring back a lot of experience in eight returning starters from the offense and seven on the other side of the pigskin.

Jared Toland and Eric Allen have been battling it out for the quarterback spot, while Mario Charles, who graduated, has been replaced at running back by Chauncey Charles.

The Devils also bring Kaleph Williams back in the backfield, while Patrick Lomack and Antonio Gatlin will be on the ends as receivers.

The front line is expected to be solid if the Devils can avoid the injury bug.

On the defensive side, the Wolves will contend with another of the Hughes clan as Kenny Hughes will be the starting noseguard. Hughes, 5-8, 165, is nothing but strong as he benches 320 pounds.

Josh Griffin improved exponentially with each passing game in '96.

Still, the Devils will have some problems as the numbers aren't great and the kicking game is a big question mark.

Prescott's final date in September will also be the Wolves' first conference game as they host the Bismarck Lions.

Last season was the first for Bismarck to be in the 7AA. The Lions were able to post a respectable 4-5 mark, good for fifth in this tough league.

This season, though, Bismarck is picked to end its campaign in sixth place because of its lack of speed and depth.

The multiple offense and 5-2 defense will see solid line play as long as the Lions can avoid the injury bug.

John Brawley is expected to lead the Lions at quarterback, with his brother, Marcus, his backup.

But the 7AA is unforgiving and a lack of depth can prove fatal.

Nashville will be Prescott's first game in October on the third. This year the Pumpkinheads make the trip to Wolfdom.

This is another game where records mean nothing and the two squads will be battling it out tooth, fang and claw for bragging rights.

The Scrappers went 15-0 in '96 winning the AA state title by pounding Osceola.

But, Nasvhille has been picked to finish second after losing the quarterback-receiver combine of Jared McBride and Greg Washington to graduation.

The Pro-multiple offense will be ran in '97 by Blake Young, who backed McBride up last year and saw quite a bit of action.

Washington's position on the end will be filled by Derek Reed who has 4.7 speed.

The Scrappers will have a solid backfield in Robert Witherspoon at fullback. Last season he rushed for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns.

While the 4-4 defense is expected to be good in the linebacking corps, the front line will have holes to fill.

It is almost guaranteed to rain on Oct. 10 when Prescott makes the long road trip to DeQueen for their date with the Leopards.

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