McAlister escapes Wolves, 17-13

MCALISTER, OK – Prescott drops to 1-1 on the season with a 17-13 loss to the McAlister Buffaloes Friday night.

The Wolves, though, showed they could play with larger teams with no problems. However, for the second week in a row, Prescott was its own worst enemy because of major penalties. There were 15 penalties in the game overall, with the bulk being called against the Wolves.

From the outset, it appeared as though the Buffs would dominate the Wolves as the hosts basically maintained possession most of the first half. McAlister showed the Buffaloes could run against the Prescott defense, but shot itself in the foot when it went to the passing game. Prescott, on the other hand, spent most of the first half with the offense’s back against its own goal.

Prescott won the opening toss and deferred, giving McAlister the ball. The Buffs started at the 35 after a pooch kick and drove to the Wolves’ six on 14 plays. Initially, the Buffs chewed up huge chunks of turf with the running game, until getting to the Prescott 10, at which time the home team went to the air, missing four straight passes and giving the Wolves the ball with 6:07 left in the first.

The Wolves got off to a good start, but saw the drive end with a personal foul call that put the ball back to the eight. Three plays later the Wolves punted to the Buff 40 with the kick returned to the 49.

McAlister drove to the Prescott seven as time expired in the first. An incomplete pass on third down started the second quarter with the Buffaloes settling for a 25-yard field goal with 11:51 left in the half.

It was three and out for the Wolves as the offense couldn’t get anything going. McAlister took the punt at the Prescott 49 and drove to the five before turning it over on downs with 6:26 left.

Once again, it was three and out for Prescott with the punt going to the Buffalo 48. McAlister made it to the Prescott 35 and saw a pass dropped in the end zone as halftime arrived with the score still 3-0.

The first half was quick, lasting less than an hour. This changed in the second half as Prescott took the opening kick at its 25 and drove 75 yards in 10 plays with the Wolves digging deep into their bag of tricks for the score. Pierce Yates pitched the ball to K.J. Page who rolled right and found a wide open Dwayne White for a 32-yard touchdown pass.  The point after made it 7-3 with 8:38 to go in the third.

An onside kick attempt was recovered by the Buffaloes at the McAlister 45. Four plays later, the Buffaloes led again on a two-yard run. The PAT made it 10-7 with 7:07 showing.

Prescott called for a fair catch at its 30 and drove to the McAlister 25 before turning the ball over no downs with 4:33 on the clock.

The Buffaloes returned to the ground game, driving to the 47 as the third came to an end. The final 12 minutes saw the Buffaloes with a fourth and three on the Prescott 47. The Buffs broke free to the 16 and scored two plays later. The PAT made it 17-7 with 10:42 to go.

Prescott started at its 45 and began going backwards. The drive ended when Yates connected with Jaylen Johnson, who fumbled with McAlister recovering at the 39. A personal foul call against Prescott moved the ball to the 24 with 9:26 left.

A rare penalty against the Buffs started the drive which saw McAlister turn the ball over on downs at the Prescott 33 four plays later.

Ja’Noah Harris gained one on first down. Yates hit P.J. Gulley on the next play for a 66-yard touchdown. The PAT was wide, leaving the sore 17-13 with 7:21 showing.

McAlister set up shop for the final time at its 26 and drove to the Prescott 44, primarily with the running game to run the clock. However, the Buffaloes had to punt with the boot winding up in the end zone.

With slightly less than two minutes left in the game, Prescott was 80-yards away from the Promised Land. The Wolves still had three time outs and could use the middle of the field if necessary. As expected, Prescott went to the air, driving to the Buffalo eight with two ticks left. However, there would be no miracles as Yates was incomplete in the end zone as the game ended.

Prescott will be home for the first time this season when the Wolves host the Fordyce Redbugs next Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.