Panthers on to the playoffs

Posted 11/11/21

It was late in the game. Alba-Golden led a defensive-dominated contest 7-0 and had the ball just shy of the Como-Pickton goal line. They had been turned back by the Eagle defense on three attempts to score from the doorstep. Coach Webster whistled a time-out. One message was clear as the whole team huddled around their coach. “Let’s go – lace it up!”

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Panthers on to the playoffs

Posted

It was late in the game. Alba-Golden led a defensive-dominated contest 7-0 and had the ball just shy of the Como-Pickton goal line. They had been turned back by the Eagle defense on three attempts to score from the doorstep. Coach Webster whistled a time-out. One message was clear as the whole team huddled around their coach. “Let’s go – lace it up!”

The Panthers did just that. On the next snap, Shawn Gaskill smashed into the end zone over the right side, giving the Panthers their second score of the night. A Micah Smith PAT concluded all scoring and finalized the 14-0 win for Alba-Golden.

The game indeed featured the defenses of both sides. Alba-Golden almost completely shut-down the Eagles offense – yielding only 73 yards on the night. A stubborn Como-Pickton defense bent some, but never broke. The Panthers managed 242 yards of total offense but could put together only two drives over 50 yards. 

The whole Panther defense stepped up, with great pursuit, solid positioning and form tackling. For the hosts Como-Pickton, middle linebacker Cash Wilton roamed the field and made tackle after tackle.

After a scoreless opening quarter, the Panthers scored with their only long drive of the game. They drove 85 yards in ten plays. Two great runs by Donald McVay highlighted the drive. On the first play of the possession, McVay took an inside trap play for 25-yards. 

Late in the drive, McVay appeared to be completely stacked up at the line of scrimmage when he somehow bounced off the pile of bodies and carried for 18 yards down to the Eagles 4-yard line. 

That initial scoring drive was kept alive by an Alba-Golden fake punt. The toss from punter Blake Weissert went for 14 yards on a fourth-and-4. Glen Hartley scored from five yards out on a nicely-designed counter play.

The Panther defense feasted on the Eagles. Shawn Gaskill, Nick Hallman, Hubbard, Jack Patton, Tyler Perez and Eathan Thorn were especially active, but the whole defensive squad played solidly. Few teams have been able to block Erin Hubbard this season. 

After seven consecutive punts in the second half, the Panthers were able to make good use of a short field for that second score. A grinding 13-yard carry by Gaskill set up the series from inside the 5-yard line.   

The Panthers will be in action Friday in a bidistrict playoff clash against Lindsay at Blue Ridge High School. Kick off is at 7 p.m.

Before leaving the District 6-2A regular season behind, a word of congratulations are warranted to Como-Pickton high school. Not only was the field in excellent shape, but the pre-game festivities were done expeditiously, the game started on time, and the announcing was both accurate and just enough. It was a very well-hosted football game.

For the Panthers, the playoffs mark a huge step forward and a well-deserved step at that. The 2021 campaign has been one that the team had to carve out for themselves, and they are playing with confidence.