Alba-Golden notches victory against neighbor Quitman

By Larry Tucker
editor@wood.cm
Posted 11/7/19

It was an emotional senior night for Quitman players and one of the team’s best defensive games of the year in the 26-0 loss to Alba-Golden. Both teams played tough on defense with eight total …

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Alba-Golden notches victory against neighbor Quitman

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It was an emotional senior night for Quitman players and one of the team’s best defensive games of the year in the 26-0 loss to Alba-Golden. Both teams played tough on defense with eight total turnovers from both teams for the night.

Alba-Golden was able to capitalize on the turnovers they got from Quitman and the Panther defense shot down any Bulldog hopes on offense. It was a tight 10-0 game when Quitman gave Alba-Golden the ball back with just 26 seconds left in the half on the Bulldog 29 yard line. After a pass play moved them to the 13, senior running back John Michael Chadwick ran 13 yards as time expired, increasing the score to 18-0 going into intermission.

The Bulldog offense lost workhorse running back Chris Chabaud with 5:08 left in the first quarter. Chabaud had been a bright spot for the Quitman offense the past few weeks rushing for over 300 yards since he became eligible. Chabaud was a starting tight end for Alba-Golden last year. He went down in obvious pain after a short run.

It was a testament to both teams as they each kneeled in respect for the fallen warrior during a lengthy time out. Chabaud got up and walked off the field and was rushed to the hospital. “It was tough for both teams seeing a brother go down in pain with the injury. It ended up being a dislocated elbow and Chris will be able to compete in other sports this year,” Quitman Head Coach Bryan Oakes said. “Chris is a good kid who gives an all out effort all the time.”

The Panthers’ speedy Austin Hartley was a thorn in the Bulldogs defense all night long. He got the Panther scoring started on a 63-yard run in the first quarter. Hayden Weissert caught the two point conversion pass from Chadwick to make it 8-0. 

Hartley ran for 152 yards on 14 carries. Chadwick had 85 yards on the ground on 12 carries and Trey Berry had 81 yards rushing on 11 carries for Quitman. 

The teams traded defensive stands for most of the rest of the first half. Alba-Golden scored on safety after a snap on fourth down sailed past punter Berry and out of the end zone for a safety making it 10-0. The Panthers then made the score on the last play of the half to go up 18-0.

The Panthers got their final tally on a 14 yard run by Chadwick with 6:32 left in the third quarter making it 26-0. From that point, it was all defense until the final buzzer.

It was a standoff in the second half. The Bulldog defense rose to the occasion three times stopping the Panthers on fourth down plays. “We got some great defensive play from our kids most of the game. Brian Morris and River Chaney did another good job at linebacker and Ben Burroughs did a great job for us in the secondary,” Oakes added. “We were just not able to move the ball on offense. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot every time we got something going.”

Quitman faces Winona on the road for their final game this Friday at 7:30 p.m. Winona is 5-4 on the season and is 3-3 in district play. The Wildcats must beat the Bulldogs to secure the fourth playoff spot in District 10-3A D2. 

Alba-Golden is 2-4 in disgtrict action and 3-6 for the season. The Panthers faces an improved Frankston team who fell to Harmony 54-40 in a wild one Friday night. If Frankston wins and Winona loses to Quitman, the Indians will sneak into the fourth playoff spot. Winona is coming off a 52-0 loss to Troup. Harmony, at 6-0 in district, takes on 5-1 Grand Saline for the district crown Friday night. 

The Bulldog junior varsity raised their junior varsity record to 5-4 on the year with a 64-0 win over Alba-Golden on Thursday night.