Driving north out of Greenville on Hwy. 34, the flat expanse of prairie continues. Just before crossing the South Sulphur River, a small escarpment drops into a thick cedar forest. It is unexpected and somewhat eerie. Where that forest trails off sits Wolfe City school. 

Heading up Hwy. 34 to take on the Wolves, this season, one passes into the land of big plays. It was big plays which dealt the Alba-Golden Panthers a 54-26 loss last Friday.

The Panthers came out and figuratively punched the Wolves right in the mouth. A 12-play, 69-yard drive ended with a game-opening score. The Panther offense had the Wolves reeling. It was a punishing drive. 

Wolfe City answered the score on their initial drive, and at the end of one quarter the score stood 6-6.

Panic ran through the Wolfe City sideline, as the voracity of Alba-Golden’s play had the home side worried and confused. 

The Panthers forced two turnovers on Wolfe City’s next two possessions: an interception and a turnover-on-downs. 

With Alba-Golden driving through midfield, Ryan Jackson took a handoff and busted through the left side for a big gain. Three Wolves stood him up in the secondary and a fourth succeeded in stripping the ball. The play could have been ruled down, but the fumble stood.

Four plays later the home side took the lead 12-6, with only 33 seconds remaining in the half.  

With 10 seconds on the clock before the half, Panther quarterback Blake Weissert was sacked and lost the ball. Wolfe City recovered. With no time remaining they scored on a long throw down the right sideline to make the halftime score 20-6.

That was the game. 

Wolfe City outscored Alba-Golden 34-20 in the second half. The half featured big plays by each team on the offensive side of the ball. 

For Alba-Golden, Jackson and Boedy Baker each scored on long, highlight-reel runs (Baker around the right end from 45 yards and Jackson through the left side for 55 yards). 

The Wolves rattled off five consecutive touchdowns. Each of those drives was fueled by long-gainers. 

It was too much for the Panthers. In order to beat the district-favorite Wolfe City team, Alba-Golden had to play a near-perfect game. For 23 of the first 24 minutes they were doing just that.

Alba-Golden fans should take heart in a sequence which unfolded in the fourth quarter when the Panthers could have simply decided that they had had enough. They didn’t. They kept fighting.

Alba-Golden scored on a 9-play, 63-yard drive. Baker fought his way over the left side on a fourth-and-8 with an incredible effort. The drive and the score said much about the heart of this team.