By ART LAWLER

After dropping their third district game in four tries, Mabank Coach Jimmy Cantrell knows his team must win out to have any chance at becoming the fourth playoff team in District 15-4A.

 He also knows his Panthers may have been beaten by the best team in the league last Friday night.

Forney laid a 27-11 whipping on the Panthers, leaving Mabank with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-3 mark in district.

The Panthers travel to Lancaster Friday night, and Cantrell likes the matchup overall.

Mabank has stayed in every game most of the night this season by relying on a much-put-upon defense.

If the Panthers can do it one more time, Mabank coaches hope to invent a running game this week.

It’s been AWOL all season, making the Panthers a one-dimensional team.

Opponents with faster defensive backs and linebackers and down linemen have made life tough on quarterback Jordan Featherston.

“The kids are still playing hard,” Cantrell said. “But it’s hard to move the ball on a consistent basis.

“It kind of reminds me of those seven-on-seven games. When you snap the ball, everybody drops into the passing lanes.

“The linemen gear up rushing the passer. Somehow we’ve got to slow them down by making them respect our running game.”

Easier said than done, but Cantrell still thinks his team can get a playoff spot.

“If we win both of these games, I feel like there’s a chance.”

Somebody has to beat Terrell, which beat Mabank earlier.

“If we beat Lancaster, then it’ll be between us an Lancaster.

Then we have to beat West Mesquite.

Is that realistic?

“Yea, we can beat them, if we can shut down their quarterback. I think we’ve already seen the best quarterback in the district.”

That would be Blake Branton of Forney.

“It all boils down to putting together some kind of running games to take the pressure off of our passing game.

“We haven’t been able to do that.”

That doesn’t mean they’re going to stop trying.

 “We don’t have to have a blistering running game, just something to where we can get five or six yards on first down, and stay away from third and 21.

“Our quarterback is our leading rusher, and that’s not a good thing. He’s (Featherston) taking a pounding doing it.

Cantrell said the Panthers are working on a package he hopes will finally get the running game going.

“The teams we’re playing the last few weeks are a lot faster than us. It’s hard to move the ball on a consistent basis.

“That’s putting us into some bad spots,” he said.

The Panthers need to find a way to get Si Frideley and Darius Robertson into the open spaces.

Both are outstanding defensive backs, so they can only be used part-time on offense.

In an open field, though, both have the ability to go the distance.

The power game depends on a couple of other defensive standouts in Dustin Schultz and Cam Cantrell, who has been nursing a shoulder injury.

The Panthers have, in effect, four part-time backs but no full-time go-to guy they can depend on for consistent yardage.

One of those four might be able to fill that road if he played offense only.

But then you’re messing with the team’s strength — it’s defense.

All four are major factors in a defense that has kept the Panthers in games all season.

“We throw a massive amount of blitz packages on defense, and every now and then, they’ll pop one on you,” Cantrell said. “.But we’ve had our share of big plays, and that enables us to have a better chance to upset somebody.

It goes without saying, this week is a must win week for the Panthers.

He looks for Lancaster to jam the Mabank receivers at the line of scrimmage

But the Lions secondary isn’t what it was a year ago.

“They have four guys this year playing Division A1 football,” said Cantrell. “I don’t mean they’re up there sitting some where watching. They’re playing.”

Lancaster, like the Panthers, has one district win. Both are 4-3 for the season and 1-3 in district.

If the Panthers beat Lancaster and then follow up on the last week of the regular season with a victory over West Mesquite, the Panthers would finish 3-3 in District.

If the Panthers did that, it could throw the race into a big, wild mess on the final week.