The Class 3A State Championship game is set to kickoff at noon Saturday as Prescott takes on Booneville (12-2). Prescott has made their way through the playoffs with a 42-0 win over Palestine-Wheatley, a tough 7-6 victory over Fordyce, a 42-13 win over Bismarck, and last week in the Semi-Finals they took care of business against a tough Mansfield team 28-7.
“We’re feeling good. We gave ourselves a chance to win a state title Saturday by taking care of business these past four weeks. We have to go out and play great football for all four quarters Saturday,” Coach Brian Glass said Tuesday morning.
Booneville’s road to the championship saw them defeat Drew Central 56-14, Osceola 52-20, Harmony Grove 44-16, and they beat Glen Rose last week 34-25 to claim a spot in the state title game.
Offensively, the Curley Wolves have seen their offensive line have great games the last couple of weeks. They have done a great job blocking for Pierce and giving Jah’Noah Harris and the running game some running lanes. “Our last two weeks have been our best games of the year up front,” Coach Glass said. The line will look to dictate the flow of the game and try to set the tone early on.
A balanced look is what the Curley Wolves like to provide, as they can win games and put up a lot of points in multiple ways. Look for the speed of the Curley Wolves to be a difference maker and give the back end of the Booneville defense fits this Saturday.
PJ Gulley, Jaylen Johnson, D’Wayne White, Spencer Hubbard, and DeCari Prater have all proven to be reliable receivers this season, with big play capabilities. “Expect the offense to come out and move the ball running and through the air. We’re going to come out with a lot of intensity Saturday,” White said on Thursday. Quarterback Pierce Yates has done an excellent job taking care of the football and not putting the defense in bad situations all postseason. Every coach I have spoken with said it has been a great week of practice and the players are excited for the opportunity Saturday.
The Prescott defense has been stifling this season and throughout the playoffs as well. When asked to describe the defense in one-word Coach Jason Patrick chose, “Tenacious. The tenacity [of] this group comes out week in and week out. They just fly to the football and get after it.”
Booneville runs the same offense that Mansfield runs, so the Curley Wolves will have back-to-back weeks of preparing for a flex-bone style offense. This past Friday the defense did a great job against Mansfield and will look to keep it going Saturday against Booneville. “Expect the defense to come out and play strong and physical like we have all year, and be relentless,” linebacker Talan Smith said as Thursday.
The front-four of Jamarion Burton, Rocco Patrick, Rasheed Muhammed, and Marshawn Rafter have been a nightmare for opposing coordinators all season. This very special group will look to dominate at War Memorial on Saturday. Talan Smith, KJ Page, Tayshawn Smith, and Jayden Purtle will look to make play after play in the middle of the Wolves defense.
The secondary of Prescott has been great all year, and one of the many things that separates this group from other secondaries in the state is that they love contact and look forward to coming up and making tackles. DeCari Prater, Richard Benton, Lavonte Gleason, Jaquan Dickerson, and JK Jones will hold down the back end of the defense on Saturday. “This has been a special group and we definitely want to finish what we started,” Coach Jason Patrick said of this group of dedicated players.
Kickoff is set for noon at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. GO WOLVES!!!
