Prescott falls to Wildcats in title game
LITTLE ROCK — Prescott saw its early lead vanish as Harding Academy outscored the Curley Wolves, 44-13, in the second half and won its third consecutive Class 3A football state title with a 47-25 victory on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
“We played well in the first half,” Prescott head coach Brian Glass said. “It was very physical. We had several guys get hurt toward the end of the second quarter. At the start of the third quarter we were without three of our starting skill-position guys. There was a little bit of confusion. We some had offensive linemen who continued to play, but they were beat up. They stayed out there but weren’t themselves.
“Defensively we got a little tired. We were without one of our best defensive ends and our best cornerback. They found mismatches. Their strength and size wore us down a little bit. We just kinda ran out of bodies in the end.”
Harding Academy (13-2) scored 16 points off three turnovers in the third quarter. The Prescott turnovers came on a fumble and two interceptions. The Wildcats outscored the Curley
Wolves, 23-0, in the third to take a 26-12 lead into the fourth period.
“We are proud of the team to go to the state championship and to be runner-up,” Glass said. “We had an outstanding season. Our seniors have been an incredible asset in our program. They went undefeated in seventh, eighth and ninth grade. They only lost 5 games in their high school career. They’ve had incredible success.”
Jacaylon Zachery scored a 10-yard rushing touchdown for Prescott (14-1) to help bridge the gap, 26-18, with 11:14 left in the fourth. Zachery led all rushers with 170 yards on 10 carries.
Harding Academy put up 21 unanswered points to grab a 47-18 advantage with 6:08 to go in the game. After
a Curley Wolf punt, the Wildcats milked the clock. Prescott got the ball back with 2:19 left.
Zachery broke free around the right side and sped 60 yards to paydirt with 1:37 to go in the fourth. The kick was good and Harding Academy led, 47-25. The Wildcats took several knees to end the game.
Harding Academy finished with 391 total yards and the Curley Wolves had 366. The Wildcats threw for 113 and rushed for 278, while Prescott had 153 through the air and 213 on the ground.
Prescott went into the locker room with a 12-3 lead at the half. Eric Grigsby caught an 11-yard pass from Carston Poole with 8 seconds to go in the second to give the Curley Wolves
a 12-3 edge. Poole took the ball, rolled to his right and
threw across the field to his left as Grigsby made a sensational
diving catch.
Grigsby’s score was set up by Poole’s 46-yard throw to Omarion Dickens. Poole finished with 153 yards on 11-of-20 passing with two TDs and two picks.
Zachery broke loose and sprinted down the right sideline on a 64-yard TD run for Prescott’s first score of the game with 11:47 to go in the second quarter. The Curley Wolves took a 6-3 lead.
Kyle Ferrie connected on a 27-yard field goal with 7:10 in the first quarter as the Wildcats grabbed an early 3-0 advantage.
Prescott outgained Harding Academy in yards, 192-118, in the first half. The Curley Wolves threw for 117 yards and rushed for 75, while the Wildcats had 90 yards rushing and 28 passing. Prescott was 3 for 3 on 4th-down conversions in the first half.