Tale of two halves
Harding Academy speeds by Prescott
Harding Academy didn’t play in many close football games this season.
So when the Wildcats were facing a 12-3 deficit at halftime of Saturday’s Class 3A state championship game against Prescott, there was a level of shock to it. But Neil Evans’ message to his team was clear: It was, by no means, time to panic.
“When you don’t play in tight ball games often, and then you end up in one, you begin to think something’s very wrong,” Evans said. “And the only thing wrong is we’re playing a really good opponent.”
Evans’ Wildcats didn’t hit the panic button after intermission. Instead, they put together a strong third-quarter performance that led to a 4725 comeback victory over the Curley Wolves.
“[A] tale of two halves for us,” Evans said. “Just a tremendous job by our players for not panicking. I think a lot of times, when you get in those situations, you try to abandon what your game plan was, and you start what we call pressing, and I felt like we didn’t do that.”
Harding Academy (13-2) outgained the Curley Wolves 391-366, averaging 7.1 yards per play. Quarterback Kade Smith generated 235 total yards, throwing for 113 and rushing for another 122. He also scored all six of Harding Academy’s touchdowns. Andrew Miller led the Wildcats’ rushing attack with 157 yards on 20 carries.
The Wildcats’ six scores didn’t come easy, though, as they had a dormant first half. They generated 118 yards and couldn’t find the end zone. At that point, Harding Academy had 90 rushing yards, and Smith was 4-of-8 passing for 28 yards.
“We just had to start executing, get the nerves out of the way,” Smith said. “And we started firing on all cylinders, scored like 40 points in 15 minutes. We came into the locker room, we didn’t get our heads down. We just kept playing.”
Harding Academy outscored Prescott 44-13 after halftime, but its third quarter was its most explosive. The Wildcats generated 167 yards in the quarter, outscoring the Curley Wolves 23-0. In that time, Smith was 4-of-6 passing for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Miller generated 61 of his yards on 8 carries.
A big part of the quarter was Harding Academy’s defense, as it forced three takeaways. Eli Wallis and Sikan Akpanudo both intercepted Prescott quarterback Carston Poole in the third quarter, and Kennedy Rush forced a Poole fumble, which Cooper Welch recovered.
“We’ve known all year Prescott was going to be our hardest game defensively,” Welch said. “And we knew if we could just keep wearing them down, over time, our offense would get it together and start putting up points, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Welch, who recovered two fumbles and was credited with a quarterback hurry on Poole’s first interception, finished the year with a team-high 10 fumble recoveries.
“It’s just one of those crazy things,” Welch said. “It’s one of those ongoing jokes, and it keeps happening. I find a way to get to it.”
While the Wildcats ended the game with a three-score lead, it was Prescott’s game to lose at halftime, as the Curley Wolves hit a lot of the right breaks before intermission.
Prescott (14-1) generated 110 of its 192 first-half yards on two plays, and converted three fourth-down conversions.
The Curley Wolves finished with 366 yards, with Jacaylon Zachery leading the way. He had 170 rush yards for two touchdowns. Poole was 11 of 20 passing for 153 yards, with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He was also sacked six times.
“We just got beat up and pretty much ran out of bodies, honestly,” Prescott Coach Brian Glass said.
Prescott came in without Jaylen Hopson, its leading rusher, and soon lost another key player in Caleb Harris in the first quarter. Harris had 442 receiving yards coming into Saturday, and had a teamhigh 61 receiving yards against the Wildcats.
Omarion Dickens, who had one catch for 46 yards in the second quarter, also left with an injury. The Curley Wolves’ second-leading receiver, Dicks didn’t return after his lone reception.