Wolves drop Panthers, 54-14

By John Miller, 10/6/23 9:57 PM

FOUKE – Prescott went to 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in 5AAA play with a 54-14 win over Fouke Friday night.

However, the final score wasn’t indicative of how the game went. In fact, the Panthers led at the end of the first period, and there were no major penalties in the first half. There were four penalties in the first two quarters, all for either false starts or offside as it was a clean game. This changed in the second half when flags flew on a regular basis, pretty much all for major penalties. Midway in the third quarter, the Wolves had driven to the Fouke nine, but a holding penalty, coupled with a personal foul moved the ball back to the 37, resulting, eventually, in Prescott turning it over on downs – and getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Panthers, in the first half, showed the ability to move the ball on Prescott’s defense. Fouke surprised the Wolves by coming out throwing the ball instead of following the team’s normal pattern of being run heavy. Fouke had returned the opening kick to the Panther 42 on a wet field and drove to Prescott’s 22 in 11 plays before turning the ball over on downs with 6:59 left in the opening frame.

Prescott needed five plays to cover 78 yards with Ja’Noah Harris finding a hole in the middle of Fouke’s defense and racing 47-yards for the touchdown. The point after was wide left, leaving the score 6-0 with 5:34 in the first.

Fouke wasted little time in taking the lead, returning the kick to the 41 and driving 59 yards in six plays. The score came on a 50-yard strike to a wide open receiver who’d gotten behind the Prescott defense. The extra point gave the Panthers a 7-6 lead with 2:02 showing.

Dwayne White fielded the kick at the 18, returning it the 31 where the Wolves set up shop. Prescott drove to the Panther 30 as the first quarter came to an end. Six plays into the second quarter, Harris scored his second touchdown of the night. The try for two was no good, but the Wolves were up 12-7 and never looked back.

Fouke started at its 37 and moved almost effortlessly downfield to the Wolf 19. On fourth down a Panther pass to the end zone was picked off by Lavonte Gleason ending the drive.

It took seven plays for Prescott to march 80 yards, primarily through the air. Pierce Yates completed five passes on the drive, the last to Jaylen Johnson on a 10-yard touchdown. The PAT made it 19-7 with 4:20 left in the half.

The kick was returned to the 36. Fouke made it to the 49 and surprised the Wolves with a 51-yard run up the middle for the home team’s final score of the game. The PAT made it 19-14 with 1:19 left.

This was a mistake on Fouke’s part. Starting at the Prescott 30, the Wolves went to the air. Yates cut the Panther defense to shreds, again completing five passes, with the final one to Johnson for a 29-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful this time and Prescott now led 27-14.

The second half got off to a bit of a strange start. Prescott received, with the onside attempt going out of bounds at midfield. The Wolves needed but five plays to score, with Harris going in from the four. The PAT gave the Wolves a 34-14 lead.

John Rabadan’s squib kick slithered through the Fouke players and was recovered by Prescott at the Panther 30. Yates hit White for a quick score. The PAT upped Prescott’s lead to 41-14. Prescott had scored twice before Fouke’s offense took the field in the third quarter.

Rabadan’s squib kick, this time, was fielded at the 35 and returned to the 42. It didn’t matter as Fouke’s offense was unable to move the ball and turned it over on down four plays later at the Panther 45.

Prescott’s next possession would be the only time the Wolves offense failed to score in the game (until the final possession during the mercy rule). Prescott drove to the Panther nine. Tiquan Box lost three on first down, but Prescott was flagged for holding. After the play was dead, Prescott was penalized again, this time for a personal foul. The end result was a 25-yard penalty moving the ball back to the 37. The Wolves managed to get to the Panther 18 before turning it over on downs. An unsportsmanlike conduct call at the end of the drive, gave Fouke the ball at its 31.

Again, it didn’t matter as the Panther offense turned it over on downs at the Fouke 38 with 4:00 remaining in the third.

Four plays later K.J. Page went in from the 12 to make it 47-14, the PAT was no good.

The squib kick was recovered at the Fouke 20 by the Panthers. A bad snap on second down moved the hosts back to the eight. Two plays later Fouke punted to its 38 with 45 ticks left.

Prescott managed to run four plays in 45 seconds, getting to the Panther six, all on carries by Damian Corletto. Corletto carried twice to start the fourth quarter, scoring on a one-yard plunge. The PAT made it 54-14 and the mercy rule was invoked, meaning the clock didn’t stop the rest of the game.

At this point, Prescott subbed out its entire defense. Fouke drove from its 48 to the Prescott one before fumbling with Prescott recovering at the three. The Wolves ran three plays to end the game.

The Wolves will be at home Friday night, for the third time this season, as Prescott hosts the Pelicans of Homer, LA. Last year these two teams played what could have been the best high school game of the year in either state, with Prescott managing a 9-0 win at Homer. The Pelicans will be looking for some payback this season. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Before the game, though, the Prescott Kiwanis Club will be hosting its annual pancake supper at the Prescott Junior High cafeteria from 4-7 p.m. Tickets are $8 each and can be bought from any member of the club.