Wolves’ season ends at Osceola

By Staff, 11/17/17 10:03 PM

OSCEOLA – There will be no repeat for the Curley Wolves, as Prescott fell 41-20 to Osceola in the second round of the AAA playoffs Friday night.

There were two major problems for the Wolves. First, the Seminoles were a bigger team and were able to run up the middle consistently from start to finish. Second, the Wolves turned the ball over three times, the first being scooped up for a touchdown.

Both teams relied heavily on a ground attack as the wind made passing the ball difficult, often blowing the pigskin off the kicking tee. However, the game started with Prescott receiving the kick and Ka’Darius Pearson breaking loose to the ‘Nole 12, only to see the return nullified for an illegal block. Instead of knocking at the door of Osceola’s goal, the Wolves instead found themselves on their own 11.

Two incomplete passes and a run later, the Wolves punted to the Prescott 34 as the boot was shanked.

The Seminoles needed four plays to score, with the touchdown coming on a one-yard run. The point after was no good, but the home team was up 6-0 and never trailed in the game. In fact, the Wolves found themselves on the short end of a 20-7 score at the half.

The kick was returned to the 26 where Prescott set up shop. The Wolves drove to the Osceola 20 but turned the ball over on downs with 7:33 left in the first.

Osceola, in turn, drove to the Prescott 14 in 10 plays before coughing the ball up, with Trey Rucker falling on it at the Wolf 15.

Thomas Muldrew and MyKal Burns carried the load for Prescott’s running attack, getting to the 49 before going backwards and being forced to punt. The kick went to the Seminole 28 with 22 ticks left in the first.

The Seminoles ran two plays, were flagged twice, once for illegal motion, and the second time for an illegal block which moved the ball back to the Seminole 41 as the first quarter ended. Osceola made it to the Prescott 31 before a sack put the home team at midfield on third down and forced a punt.

The punt was short, only getting to the Prescott 30. The Wolves drove to the Osceola 37 before officials said Muldrew was stripped of the ball while attempting a pass. The ball was scooped up and returned for a touchdown with 5:25 left in the half. The PAT made it 13-0 in favor of Osceola.

The Wolves started at the Prescott 25, went three and out with the punt being returned to the Seminole 48.

Osceola needed eight plays, scoring on a 10-yard pass with 1:04 left in the half. The PAT put the Seminoles up 20-0.

Starting at the 32, the Wolves drove 68-yards in five plays with Muldrew hitting Burns on a screen that went for 38-yards and Prescott’s first touchdown. The PAT cut the lead to 20-7 with 11 seconds left.

Aided by the wind, the ball went through the end zone for a touchback. Osceola took a knee to end the half, knowing they would get the ball to start the final 24 minutes.

Again the ball went into the end zone, giving the Seminoles possession at the 20. Eight plays later Osceola scored on a 25-yard pass play. The PAT made it 27-7 with 8:28 to go in the third.

One of the things Osceola did all night was to run the play clock down as much as possible without getting a delay of game penalty, though there were several times it was close. This chewed time off the clock. This tactic not only kept Prescott’s offense on the sidelines, it prevented the Wolves from establishing a rhythm.

However, the Wolf offense showed up in the second half, managing to score twice, once in the third, and once in the fourth.

After the Osceola score, the Wolves started at the 34 and drove 66-yardds to pay dirt with Muldrew scoring from the one with 3:41 left. The run capped a 14-play drive. The PAT made it a two-score game at 27-14.

Once again, the kick was a touchback putting the ball on the 20. It didn’t matter as basically ran up the gut six times, scoring on a 41-yard run with a minute left. The PAT made it 34-14 and the Wolves again found themselves down three scores.

Pearson returned the kick to midfield and the Wolves were aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty, moving it to the Seminole 35. The Wolves made it to the 22 as the third quarter came to an end. Muldrew opened the final 12 minutes by fighting is way to the 13. However, the drive ended with a high snap recovered by Osceola.

The Seminoles drove to the 46 before being forced to punt. The ball rolled dead at the Wolf 12 with 6:30 left.

The Wolves made it to the Osceola 35 before turning the ball over with another fumble.

The Seminoles iced the game with a seven-play drive, the score coming on a three-yard run. The extra point was meaningless, but made it 41-14 with 2:41 left in Prescott’s season.

Still, the Wolves didn’t quit. Starting at the 30, Prescott drove 70 yards in eight plays, mostly using the ground attack. The score came on a 15-yard pass to Pearson with 41 seconds left. Prescott tried for two, but was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 41-20.

Osceola recovered the squib kick at its 32 and took a knee to end the game.

The Wolves finish the 2017 football season with a 10-2 overall record.