The Alba-Golden Panthers used a solid ground game and a stout defense to subdue the Honey Grove Warriors 20-6 to go 2-0 on the year. Alba-Golden’s defense continues to grow stronger and held the Warriors throughout the contest.

Panther quarterback Zane Smith had a good outing on defense intercepting two passes and returning one for a score. He added a pair of long punt returns and after Honey Grove scored their lone touchdown, he took the kick-off back to the one yard line. The Panthers also got a score on a 45 yard run by Boedie Baker and got a two point conversion from Jon Michael Chadwick.

It was the defense that made Head Coach Derek Smith smile. “I was really pleased with our defensive effort. Our kids continue to get better on the defensive side and it showed against Honey Grove,” Smith said. “We held them to 157 yards total offense. They used a couple of trick plays to score and we held them other than that.” Dylan Arenas also had a blocked punt in the second quarter and Smith scored on a quarterback keeper for the Panthers.

The Panther offense moved the ball well getting to the Honey Grove twice and deep in their territory on three other possessions, but came away empty handed. “We need to do a better job when we get into the red zone,” Smith said. “We need to turn those possessions into points. I’m pleased the kids played hard. There was a light rain but it didn’t bother us. Our kids played hard and that’s all you can ask.”

The Panthers will have a bye this week and begin district 10 3A DII play Sept. 28 at district favorite Harmony.

Harmony will be coming into the game with a 2-1 record after falling to West Rusk 28-24 last Friday night. All of the district teams have a bye this week before heading into district play with seven consecutive weeks of competition.