Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Three Teams Thrust Into Tough 7AA Conference

Prescott football fans will see three new opponents for the Curley Wolves this year, as the 7AA Conference has been changed.

The three new faces are Bismarck, Fountain Lake and Fouke.

Bismarck has been a Class A school for the past several years, but growth around Lake DeGray has caused school attendance to surge upward, and the Lions will now get to play with the big boys.

Fountain Lake has been a Class AA school, but in a different conference. Arkansas Activities Association shifted them to the 7AA Conference to divide the districts more evenly.

Fouke has also been a Class A school, but its growth has now moved the head count high enough to become Class AA.

Bismarck will be Prescott's first conference foe this year, on September 27. The Wolves will travel to Bismarck to play in the small Lions stadium. The home side has as many seats as Gurdon's visitors' side, so the Prescott crowd may be found without seating.

The Wolves will travel to Fountain Lake on October 18, and they will host Fouke on November 1.

But football action begins this week for the Class AA state champions Curley Wolves.

Prescott will kick off Friday night against Class AAA Ashdown. The game will be played at Ashdown at 7:30.

Next week the Curley Wolves will host the Class AAA Hope Bobcats, the only blemish on the Wolves' 1995 trek to the championship. The game last year ended in a 12-12 tie.

September 20 the Curley Wolves will host their long-time foe and neighbor, the Gurdon Go-Devils.

Although Gurdon is one of the schools that dropped out of the 7AA Conference (along with Stamps and Junction City), the school wanted to keep the tradition going. Coach Eddie Jackson was happy to oblige.

Opening conference play on September 27 will be Bismarck, formerly of the 5A West Conference.

The Wolves will travel to Nashville October 4 for their second conference game. Prescott defeated the Scrappers twice last year -- once in regular season play and in the championship game in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Last year was the first time that two teams from the same conference ever made it to the finals. Predictions are that it could be a repeat this year.

However, Nashville will be seeking revenge for the two losses, and will be after the hides of all the Wolves. Neither team lost many starters from last year's roster. And it must be remembered that Prescott's players from the bench got to see a lot of action due to a lot of scoring. So the matchup should be an outstanding game this year.

Prescott will host another tough team on October 11. The De Queen Leopards are always ready for the Wolves. This year should be no exception.

October 18 will have the Curley Wolves traveling to Fountain Lake, a school just out of the 5AA Conference.

Junction City is still on Prescott's schedule, and the Dragons will host the Wolves on October 25. Junction City is another school that wanted to continue meeting the Curley Wolves, although they dropped out of the 7AA Conference.

Fouke will visit Prescott on November 1. Fouke moves up from the 7A South Conference.

The last game on the regular schedule this year is Fordyce. The Redbugs, much like Prescott, like to deer hunt, so the game will be played on Thursday night before deer season begins on Saturday.

Fordyce will be another tough hurdle for the Wolves. However, the game will be played in Prescott, so that should help.

One of the biggest things Prescott has going for it year after year, is its support from the fans. Make plans this year to attend all the games. Go this week to Ashdown.