By ART LAWLER

MABANK — The season may have ended a week too late for the Panthers.

A once-proud defense, a defense that had worked overtime to keep this team in games all season, was ripped wide open in a 51-8 route by West Mesquite Friday night in Panther Stadium.

On second thought, throw out the first half and Mabank wins, 8-7.

That would be much more in keeping with the way the Panthers played the entire season.

Officially, Mabank won just four of nine games. But the Panthers were in every game, save the first-half of last week’s game the entire season.

What happened to the proud Mabank defense in the first 24 minutes of the first half against the Wranglers last Friday that allowed West Mesquite to put up 44 points ?

Truth be told, the Panthers were missing seven players either to injuries or suspensions.

One of those players was big Spencer Endelman, who has been the heart of the middle of the Panthers tough defensive unit.

He was one of the disciplinary casualties that turned the Panthers into a shell of the team they’d been all season.

The team’s only real deep threat, Michael Tanner, also didn’t play.

Without Endelman to plug up the middle, linebacker Nolan Duncan wasn’t able to stop as many plays at, or near, the line of scrimmage.

At that, he still had 14 tackles.

The talented Wranglers scored on seven of nine first-half possessions, and that’s counting a “stop” for the Panthers when West Mesquite decided to run out the clock in the final minute of the half.

The score was 44-0 at the time.

“Throw out that first 24 minutes and we had a great season,” said Coach Jimmy Cantrell.

“We stood in there against those big, fast 4A teams and stayed in every game all season,” he said. “They should be proud of that, and the people should be proud for them.”

Asked what he said to his team at halftime, Cantrell said, “We just talked about character and how they wanted to remember their last 24 minutes of high school football,” he said.

Still, quarterback Jordan Featherston never stood a chance as the much faster Wranglers blew by Mabank defenders all night long.

The only Panther touchdown was made by the defensive unit when Jonathan Estill fell on a Wrangler fumble in the end zone after a terrific hit on the quarterback.

A high snap on the extra point try, caused Si Frideley to scoop up the loose ball and run it in for two points.

West Mesquite scored on the first play from scrimmage when quarterback Trevone Boykin went through a canyon in the middle of the field and scored untouched from 57 yards away.

A down or two was all the Wranglers needed on most drives, scoring runs of 40, 39, 30 and 35 yards in the first half. Boykin, who displayed a strong, accurate arm, also threw touchdown passes of 40 and and four yards during the first 34 minutes.

Along with Boykin, the Wrangles broke Ladarius Drew on the 39-yard touchdown.

The Wranglers also have an outstanding kicker in Justin Stout.

He had a 26 yard field goal, which was simple for him.

He also put a kickoff through the goal post, and he consistently put the ball eight and nine yards deep in the end zone.

Richard Crockett had a 30 yard run for a score. Drew scored the final touchdown on a 33-yard run.

But the Panthers really did “win” the second half. The Wranglers did, however, empty their bench in the final 12 minutes.

West Mesquite rushed three and played eight back, something Forney showed District 15-4A teams how to do a couple of weeks ago.

The Wranglers were simply way too much for the Panthers, who were a far cry from the team that started the season.

But that doesn’t undo the rest of the season.

The Panthers were victims of a huge number of penalties before losing in overtime on the road against Terrell earlier this season.

They lost a 14-7 decision to playoff-bound Red Oak on a controversial touchdown in the final seconds of the game.

Lancaster beat this team, 7-0, and Forney scored late for a 27-11 win that was more difficult than it sounds.

The Panthers beat all three 3A teams they played this season, with tough wins over Van and Kaufman while ripping playoff-bound Athens, 46-0.

The Panthers overcame a disastrous start against Mesquite Poteet to pull out a 21-17 victory.

The Kemp game, which Mabank would have been favored to win, was cancelled because of lightning, ultimately ruining the Panthers chance at a .500 season.

A Kemp victory, of course, would have meant a 4-6 season for Cantrell’s bunch.

Looking toward next season, Cantrell admitted he and his coaches were going to have to do some re-evaluating.

“We want what we do to reflect the talents and abilities of our kids,” he said.

The Panthers, absent a running game all season, left Featherston to throw against teams with only three down linemen and the rest playing steal the ball.

The Panthers were in such dire straits in the last game that Cory Janicke, the team’s best possession receiver, had to fill in as a running back.

Next season, the Panthers will most likely drop down to Class 3A where they belong, considering their enrollment numbers.

Who would be included in a new 3A district remains to be seen.

Cantrell favors one that would center around the U.S. 175 corridor; teams like Kaufman, Canton, Mabank, Athens and Kemp and Crandall, possibly Brownsboro.

That could make for a very tough district, even without Eustace.

The Dogs are expected to drop down to Class 2A when realignment comes up early next year.

Nothing is for certain, yet. Enrollment numbers could change, as could classification cutoffs.