Curley Wolves take on titan
BOONEVILLE, Ark.—Prescott is one game from a chance to play for Class 3A supremacy.
The Curley Wolves (12-1) travel to Booneville (15-0) for a Class 3A semifinal showdown at Doug Scheel Field at Bearcat Stadium, beginning at 7 p.m.
“Well, our guys have traveled before, so we just have to go out and play,” Prescott’s head coach Tommy Poole said. “It’s that time of year when every team is good. You have to be ready to play.
“There’s no time for mess ups or mybads, because that could cost you a season.”
The Wolves are spearheaded by sophomore tailback Alex George. George has amassed 1,072 yards on 119 totes for 21 touchdowns this season.
Junior Derriun Thompson is another complementary back for the Wolves, who is also another big-play threat. Thompson has rushed 107 times for 920 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“We think both of our tailbacks are very capable of getting the job done,” Poole said. “They compliment each other because if one gets tired, we can feed the other one. It’s nice to be able to keep fresh legs in your backfield.
“Our offensive line has done a great job opening up holes for those guys to run through all season long. Last week, they were opening the holes early.”
The Wolves also plan to attack the Bearcats with their defensive front.
Senior Kobe Gillard and sophomore Justin Wilson are both anchors on Prescott’s defensive front, which have only given up 33 points the last four games.
“Our defense has been playing well the past few weeks,” Poole said. “Kobe has been starting for us since his sophomore year. He’s played a lot of football games for us. If you can run and block him all night, you’re going to beat us, but if you can’t, we like our chances. He’s our stopper and he’s doing what he’s supposed to do.”
Thompson and senior Ryan Johnson will anchor Prescott’s defense backfield, while guarding the Bearcats skill players during this semifinal contest.
“Derriun is a really good athlete,” Poole said. “A lot of our defensive schemes are situational. Game situations dictate what we do with our secondary. Down and distance, who we’re playing, their strengths and weaknesses all play a factor, and that varies week to week.
“We had some costly penalties last week, that we cleaned up this week during practice. They didn’t hurt us last week but at this point in the season, penalties will cost you at any time. You can’t shoot yourself in the foot offensively. You can’t do those things in big ball games and win.”
The winner advances to the Class 3A finals to face either Rison or Osceola next week.