Panthers fall to Wadley in semi-final playoff round

WADLEY — The Hackleburg Panthers lost 69-31 to the Wadley Bulldogs on Friday night, Nov. 30, in the semi-final round of the state playoffs.
The Bulldogs scored two long rushing touchdowns in the first quarter, putting up an unanswered 16 points.
The Bulldogs scored two more in the opening minutes of the second quarter to go up to 30-0.
The Panthers were able to answer when Blaise Vickery made a short run over the goal line. With an extra two points, the Panthers put themselves on the board 30-8.
Wadley scored again moments later on a 26-yard rushing touchdown to go up 38-8 with a two-point conversion.
The Panthers scored again when Blaise Vickery connected with Cameron Ingram on a pass to score a 10-yard touchdown. With two more points after that, the Panthers were still behind 38-16.
Jaquan Reeder scored when he caught a 15-yard pass from Vickery to score another touchdown for the Panthers, leaving the score at 38-24 going into halftime.
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room swinging, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter and adding two more points to each one.
The Panthers were down 62-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Wadley scored one more time to round out their score total to 69 points. The Panthers got in one more shot on a touchdown reception by Reeder to narrow the gap to 69-31, but it wouldn’t be enough.
The Panthers ended their season with an overall record of 12-2, with losses to Wadley and Hubbertville. They were 7-0 in region play.
In their final game, Vickery passed for 252 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Reeder rushed for 34 yards and racked up 127 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions.
Davin Dulaney rushed for 20 yards, and Edge Weeks rushed for 15.
Cameron Ingram picked up 93 receiving yards and one touchdown. Daughtry Gober picked up 28 receiving yards.