Everyone wants to win – even if pre-district play. However, there are a lot of positives to be taken away from the Alba-Golden Panthers’ 42-29 loss to the Mount Enterprise Wildcats last Friday. 

Let’s set aside the one overarching aspect of this game which put it in Alba-Golden’s loss column. That would be Mount Enterprise’s junior running back Kaegan Ash. 

Local sports fans well remember Mineola’s Dawson Pendergrass. Ash is a running back cut of the same form as Pendergrass. Strength, vision and speed. Last Friday, Ash was stronger than any single tackler on the field and often stronger than any two.

Take away the impact of a 2A DII running back who is being recruited by major colleges, and what you have is a competitive game which Alba-Golden wins walking away. 

The Panthers answered the first three scores of the visitors with scoring drives of their own. Those drives were of 67, 52 and 62 yards and made the score 22-21 Mount Enterprise midway through the second quarter. 

The Wildcats went on to score on their last possession of the half to take a 30-21 lead at the break. That was a missed opportunity for the Panthers. They had put Mount Enterprise into two tough downs: a third-and-17, and shortly thereafter a fourth-and-2.

The Wildcats came up big in both instances, and their drive continued. Assisted by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the bench, the Wildcats ended up with a first down at the Alba-Golden 5-yard line.  

In the second half, the Panther defense stiffened. In four Wildcat possessions, Alba-Golden forced one punt and one fumble but gave up two long scoring runs (68 and 62 yards).

The Panthers had plenty of opportunities to close the margin and take the game in the second half, but they stalled twice after long drives. A 10-play, 69-yard drive ended with a turnover-on-downs. An 8-play, 70-yard drive likewise played-out at the Mount Enterprise 10-yard line. 

The home side could not benefit from recovering a fumble in Wildcat territory. They gave the ball back three plays later. 

In the best harbinger of things to come, the Panthers embarked on a drive with 4:59 to play and trailing by three scores. They drove 61-yards on a drive which likely shaped part of this year’s team identity.  

Very tough running by Luke Jones, Cameron Lennon and Sam Olson ground out the yardage. Olson hit Boogie Trimble on a wide-receiver screen and connected with Mason Smith on a swing pass out of the backfield for the final score of the game. 

The Panthers head to Ore City Friday to take on the Rebels. Kick-off is at 7 p.m.