a-Golden’s 32-16 win last Friday at James Bowie High School should answer all possible questions about the value of Alba-Golden’s conditioning program. The Panthers were clearly in a state of superior physical readiness. 

Trailing 16-6 at the start of the second half, the Panthers ground out four scoring drives and held the home team to six yards from scrimmage in the second half.  

The Pirates of James Bowie had logged 143 yards in the first half – they were a capable offense. However, in the second half, Alba-Golden limited the home side to only 14 snaps.

Alba-Golden did make some adjustments along their defensive front at the half. They shored up the edge defense a bit, but the second half dominance fundamentally came down to overpowering their opponents.

The game started out with each team scoring on their opening possession. James Bowie led 8-6 after one quarter. Given that both teams were run-oriented, the clock ran fast with each team getting only three possessions in the first half. 

The Pirates managed a second score and took a 16-6 lead into the break. That score came with 1:04 on the clock before the half. On the ensuing kick-off Panther Cooper Christian returned the kick to mid-field. 

From that kick return until the end of the game, Alba-Golden simply played on a different level than James Bowie. 

There were many notable plays in the second half. On the Panthers first drive, Cason Boyd was literally jumping up and down in the end zone until Sam Olson spotted him and hit him with a 25-yard scoring strike.

Boyd was far from done. He recovered the on-side kick which followed.

Olson was aggressive in his quarterback draws in the second half and had a solid night throwing the ball. On the Panthers’ third scoring drive of the second half, he hit Christian with a critical fourth-down pass to keep the rally going. He scored the last Panther touchdown on a 37-yard draw which he broke through the middle and took up the right sideline.

Hunter Hoffman, Layton Williams and Mason Smith were among many Alba-Golden stand-outs in the comeback win. 

The Panthers may just be peaking at exactly the correct time. They travel to Como-Pickton on Friday to open district play against the Eagles.