EL DORADO - Magnolia couldn't get anything going against a stingy El Dorado defense Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
"We played one of the top five teams in the state regardless of classification. You can see the weapons they have on both sides of the ball and they are blessed with a lot of things," said Magnolia head coach John Panter.
His Panthers (1-2) fell 51-28 to the Wildcats (3-0), who are ranked second in Class 6A and seventh overall.
"Defensively, we make couple of stops, but that third play ends up being a touchdown. You can't afford to do that when playing a team like that," said the coach.
El Dorado took the opening possession to the end zone in five plays, capped by Alex Hicks' 46-yard touchdown pass to Shun Levingston. Greysen Hubbard's missed PAT left the score at 6-0 with less than two minutes played.
With seven minutes to play in the opening period, Hicks threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Richard Keese to make it 13-0.
Following a 28-yard kickoff return by Kayden Roach, the Panthers got on the board following a six-play, 52-yard drive.
On third-and-30, quarterback Payton Campbell threw a 45-yard pass to Tayvon Patterson.
Patterson later scored on a 5-7 yard touchdown run. Morgan's PAT made it 13-7 with 3:24 to play in th the first quarter.
The Wildcats then scored 24 unanswered points to take control.
With 34 ticks still remaining in the opening period, Reese crossed the goal line from the 3 to make it 20-7.
Quarterback Darius Holly had a 12-yard run early in the second quarter to make it 27-7.
Following a 35-yard run by Hicks, Holly scored from the 10, making the score 34-7. The Wildcats later kicked a 33-yard field goal and carried a 37-7 lead into the locker room.
Magnolia's Terry Lambert started the second half with a 46-yard kickoff return. Seven plays later, Michael Wyrick scored on a 7-yard run to make it 37-14.
Cade Lindsey recovered a fumble for Magnolia on the next possession, but the Panthers fumbled the ball back.
The Panthers trailed 44-21 early in the final period following a 32-yard touchdown pass from Campbell to Braelyn Beasley.
The Wildcats scored midway through the period to make it 51-21. But Campbell and Beasley hooked up again on a 51-yard play to make it 51-28.
"This game got ugly real fast, but I give our kids a lot of credit for not quitting and playing well in the second half," said Panter. "There are some things we can build on and get ready for our conference season."
Magnolia will play at White Hall in Pine Bluff this week.