There was no Monday Night Football magic at Alba-Golden High School this week. The Celeste Blue Devils came to town and registered a 31-6 win over the Panthers. 

The Panthers had a chance early to set the tempo for the game. Celeste’s first possession produced negative yardage, and a short punt gave the Panthers the ball at midfield. 

Alba-Golden came up short on a fourth down at the Blue Devil 24-yard line and turned the ball over on downs.

Celeste leveraged two long pass completions to take a 7-0 lead just before the turn of the quarter.

The pattern was set. Alba-Golden turned the ball over on downs on each of the next two possessions, and Celeste followed with scoring drives – a 53-yard drive for a touchdown and a 78-yard drive for a field goal. 

At the half the score was 17-0 Celeste.

The Panthers had their moments and their opportunities in the first half but could not consistently perform. Celeste used a varied offense with an outside running game, screen passes and deep balls to keep the Panthers at bay.

As everyone in attendance expected, the Panthers came out in the second half totally focused. Behind a long run by Ryan Jackson around the left end, the home side marched 70 yards to score. The touchdown came on a 12-yard jump pass from Boedy Baker to Jack Patton. The score stood 17-6 Celeste. 

After exchanging punts, Celeste went up 24-6 late in the third quarter. They also added a touchdown late in the fourth to conclude all scoring. 

It was the Celeste defense which ended the game in the second half. It held Alba-Golden to only two first downs after the Panthers’ long scoring drive which opened the second half. 

The Alba-Golden 2020 campaign will conclude Saturday, Nov. 7 at Cooper. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.