Wolves fall, 21-20
PRESCOTT – There will be no undefeated season for the Wolves.
Smackover handed Prescott its first loss of the season, 21-20, Friday night. However, it wasn’t so much Smackover winning as it was Prescott being its own worst enemy. The Wolves had fits holding on to the ball, but put it on the ground with alarming regularity, including a fumble in the last minutes of the fourth quarter that gave the Buckaroos the ball on a touchback.
Prescott moved the ball on the ground, grinding out yardage, almost at will early on. What was surprising, though, was the Wolves didn’t go to the air much in the game, which allowed the Smackover defense to stack the line. Prescott is now 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.
The Buckaroos won the opening toss and deferred. The kick went out of bounds giving Prescott the ball on the 35.
The Wolves drove 65 yards in nine plays, all on the ground with Ryan Johnson scoring on a 16-yard run. The point after made it 7-0 with 9:35 left in the first.
A squib kick was returned to the Wolf 44 where the visitors set up shop, but turned the ball over on downs six plays later at the 33.
It took the Wolves three plays to go 67 yards, with Alex George scoring on a 40-yard run. The PAT put Prescott up 14-0 with 6:17 showing. At this juncture, the Wolves seemed to be in control.
An onside kick attempt was recovered at the Buckaroo 47, and fumblitis set in. Smackover put the ball on the ground, only to have the officials call it down at the 48. Two incomplete passes later the visitors lined up to punt with the ball rolling dead at the Wolf 16.
Prescott began moving only to cough the ball up when Johnson fumbled at the 31 with Smackover recovering.
The Bucks scored two plays later on a 12-yard run. The extra point cut Prescott’s lead in half at 14-7.
The kick was returned to the 36, but Prescott’s offense sputtered and had to punt three plays later. The ball was fielded at the Buck three and returned to the 19.
The Wolves had a golden opportunity on the next play when Smackover fumbled with Prescott recovering at the 20. The Wolves moved to the four yard line and instead of going for a field goal attempt, saw a fourth down pass go incomplete and give the Bucks the ball back. This basically ended the first period.
The Bucks were unable to move the ball to start the second and punted to the Smackover 47.
This time the Wolves took advantage of good field position and scored nine plays later, recovering a fumble in the process. The score came on a 13-yard run by Johnson with 8:06 left in the half. The PAT was no good, making it 20-7.
Unfortunately, the Wolves were unable to score in the second half, while Smackover put 14 on the board.
Neither team did much for the remainder of the second quarter. In its final possession of the half, the Wolves started at the Prescott 30 and drove to the Smackover 34, putting the ball on the ground three times and ended up turning the ball over on downs with eight seconds left.
Smackover covered an onside kick attempt at midfield and scored four plays later on a 36-yard pass. The PAT made it 20-14 with 10:28 to go in the third.
Prescott returned the kick to the 38 and drove to the Buck six where a fourth down attempt wasn’t successful and Smackover again took over on downs.
The Bucks used the rest of the quarter to drove to the Prescott 11 and opened the fourth quarter poised to take the lead until Trey Rucker picked off a Smackover pass and returned it to the Wolf 20.
The Wolves began moving downfield, getting to the 38 before Jacobi Nolen’s pass was picked off and returned to the 45 with 8:57 left in the game.
Prescott’s defense stiffened, forcing the Bucks to punt and caught a break when the ball was downed at the Wolf 27.
Once again, the Wolves began marching down the field, using a punishing ground game. Prescott moved to the five yard line before George, fighting to get in the end zone, lost the ball, with Smackover recovering for a touchback with 4:06 to go.
The Bucks needed four plays to go 80 yards and scored on a 28-yard run. The extra point proved to be the difference in the game as it made the score 21-20.
The Wolves started on the Prescott 42 with 2:56 remaining and drove to the Buck 40 running the ball. Facing a fourth and four, the Wolves went to the air only to see Johnson’s pass hit the turf, giving the ball to Smackover on downs with less than a minute left.
The Bucks went into victory formation, basically kneeling on three straight plays to run out the clock
Prescott will be at home Friday night hosting the Genoa Central Dragons. This will be homecoming for the Wolves so fans need to show up early for the homecoming festivities. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.