It’s tough to win a football game in one half. That is essentially the circumstance that the Alba-Golden Panthers found themselves in last Friday against the visiting Honey Grove Warriors.

The Panthers had weathered a difficult first half of play. In seven first half possessions, they were forced to punt five times. They managed one drive of 66 yards, which resulted in a score, but netted only 51 yards from scrimmage in the half. It was an inauspicious start and totally out of character for the Panthers. 

Trailing 20-6 as the second half kicked off, the first snap from scrimmage in the half was illustrative of the whole game. The Panthers had Glenn Hartley streaking unattended down the numbers. He was clear of the nearest defender by at least five yards. The pass was just one long step beyond his reach. 

The Warriors went on to a 34-20 win, and Alba-Golden recorded its first loss of the year.

The Panthers were just never in synch the whole first half. In total the home side was flagged 13 times on the night, with each flag coming at seemingly the worst time possible. 

Honey Grove, of course, was responsible for derailing the Panther offense in that first half. They seemed to employ a stunting defense based on the formation in which the Panthers lined up. It destroyed Alba-Golden’s timing. The Warrior defensive ends lived in the Panther backfield through much of the first half.      

That single first-half scoring drive featured three critical plays, each highlighted by great individual effort. Payton Dickinson took a short pass from Easton Campbell, slipped through three converging tacklers and scooted for 40-yards. 

On a fourth-and-2, Campbell connected with Luke Sutton to keep the drive going. Four snaps later Hartley ran through a tackler at the goal line to score. 

Meanwhile, the Warriors scored on drives of 90, 41 and 43 yards. Most of the yardage came through the right side of the Panther defense. 

Alba-Golden did go on to score on that first drive of the second half. Halfback Donald McVay took an out-route toss from Campbell, turned up field and careened his way into the end zone. The score tightened to 20-14.

Honey Grove answered immediately with a 55-yard scoring drive. After forcing a Panther punt, they found the end zone again and the score stood 34-14 at the turn of the quarters.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Alba-Golden mounted their best drive of the night. They moved 50 yards in 11 plays with Jerry Skinner carrying the ball over goal from eight yards out. 

With 6:09 on the clock, the Panthers suddenly had some momentum. Honey Grove drove to the Panthers 8-yard line and faced a fourth-and-goal. An option pitch went awry, and was rolling free back at the 25-yard line. Three Panthers had a chance to pick-up the ball with open field in front of them but only managed to cover the ball. 

The Panthers reached the Warriors 29-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. 

Time ran out.

Notably, in the second half, Alba-Golden generated 194 yards from scrimmage, more in keeping with their averages. They also outgained the Warriors by 30 yards in that second half and forced two turnovers.

Making a district run requires building experiences in all situations. Last Friday will provide two lessons for the young Panthers: it’s hard to play only one half and win; and secondly, regardless of what happened on the previous play the upcoming play can often turn the game. 

No doubt this game will make them stronger. They travel to Wolfe City Friday, and the community can expect that the team will play from the opening whistle like they were shot out of a cannon.