The Sulphur Springs Wildcats won their fifth consecutive game Friday following a 28-10 victory against the Mabank Panthers. Despite a slow start, the Wildcats would turn up the heat in the second half, coming away with a homecoming victory. The Wildcats would win the coin toss, and elected to receive. However, the Panthers got the ball to begin the game after successfully executing an onside kick. The Panthers would then mount a solid drive, gaining three first downs. Though they got close to the end zone, the Wildcats’ defense managed to hold the Panthers to a 26-yard field goal, as Mabank settled for a 3-0 lead. The Wildcats’ first drive would begin with a 10-yard catch by Wyatt Watson. After a sack, the Wildcats weren’t able to get all the yards back, and they were forced to punt. The Panthers’ next drive would result in a three and out, forcing them to punt. Though the Wildcats appeared to get good field position following a great punt return by Skyler Lewis, an illegal block in the back penalty drove them backwards. After the Wildcats ran one more play, the first quarter ended, with Mabank leading 3-0. The second quarter began with two short runs. After a 10-yard run from Cameron Jefferson, the Wildcats got on the board when Brady Driver connected with Lewis for a 31yard touchdown pass. Eric Rodriguez would then add the extra point, giving the Wildcats a 7-3 lead. The Panthers’ ensuing drive featured a heavy dose of the run game, including three first downs. Eventually, they capped off a 13-play drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass. A successful extra point would put the Panthers back in the lead at 10-7. The Wildcats’ following drive started with two big catches from Watson. After a pair of incompletions, catches from Lewis and Watson put the Wildcats in the red zone. Following a short run from Dee Rose-Luke, Driver scored on a one-yard touchdown run. Rodriguez added the extra point, as the Wildcats pulled ahead 14-10. After the ensuing kickoff, the Panthers opted to kneel the ball to end the first half, as the Wildcats led 14-10 going into halftime. The Panthers would receive the ball to begin the third quarter. Their drive resulted in a three and out, forcing them to punt. The Wildcats appeared to score on a 49-yard touchdown run from Driver. However, it was negated by a holding penalty. After this, a pair of decent runs followed. Following an incomplete pass, good runs from Rose-Luke, Driver, and Malachi Roland put the Wildcats inside the five-yard line. The drive was capped off by a four-yard touchdown run from Driver. Rodriguez added the extra point, increasing the Wildcats’ lead to 21-10. The Panthers would then begin another long drive. Eventually, the third quarter ended, with Sulphur Springs on top 21-- 10. The fourth quarter would begin with the Panthers’ drive stalling out, as they turned the ball over on downs. The Wildcats would then go on a long drive, highlighted by a 20-yard run from Jefferson. After good runs by Rose-Luke put them at the one-yard line, the Wildcats would lose the ball when Rose-Luke fumbled and Mabank recovered. The Panthers’ following drive resulted in a turnover on downs, giving the ball back to the Panthers. The Wildcats’ next drive started with two good runs from Jefferson. Following a negative run and a no gain, the Wildcats would put the game away when Driver connected with Grayson Reams for a 12-yard touchdown run. Rodriguez added the extra point, increasing the Wildcats’ lead to 28-10. After the kickoff, the Panthers ran three more plays before the clock ran out, as the Wildcats polished off a 28-10 victory. Driver completed nine of 12 passes for 122 yards, throwing two touchdowns. He also rushed 13 times for 46 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground. Jefferson was the leading rusher, gaining 66 yards on nine carries. Rose-Luke tallied 43 yards on five carries, and Roland rushed for eight yards on his only carry. Watson was the leading receiver, catching four passes for 60 yards. Lewis caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Reams hauled in one pass for a 12-yard touchdown. Jaxson Haire caught one pass, but lost two yards. Defensively, Grayson Hardy was the Wildcats’ leading tackler with 13 tackles. Right behind him was Alex McCormick with 12. Also recording double- digit tackles were Larren Vaughn with 11 and Ty Bybee with 10. Other tacklers include Truth Holmes with nine, Austin Chaney and Bo Loggins with eight each, Giovanni Solis and Braxton Wall with seven each, Nathan Andrews with five, DaeDae Hall with four, Daimone Gotcher with two, and Zac Thomas with one. Wall would also come up with one pass deflection. With the win, the Wildcats improved to 2-0 in district and 6-1 overall. Their next game is set for Friday, when they travel to Paris to face off against the Paris Wildcats.