For a quarter, it looked like Southside might at least be able to hang with No. 1 ranked UMS- Wright. 

The Panthers trailed the Bulldogs only 7-0 after the first quarter, but couldn’t hang around much long as UMS-Wright showed why it’s the top ranked team in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s high school rankings.

The Bulldogs (7-0) scored 22 second quarter points and pulled away for a dominant 56-0 victory over Southside (2-5).

It was the third straight shutout for UMS Wright, who has now outscored its last three opponents 138-0.

“I think we played with a lot of heart,” said Southside head coach Daniel Flowers. “Our guys, we got tired. We played hard. Our kids didn’t give up. It’s just they were the better team.”

Southside only turned the ball over one time the entire game, Flowers said, but in the second half the Panthers ran out of gas.

Flowers said quarterback Khamari Gibbs and receiver DeQuan Johnson had some great plays throughout the game, but the offense was unable to break through against the stout Bulldogs’ defense.

“We moved the ball some,” Flowers said. “We just didn’t score.”

The loss basically ends any hopes Southside had of ending a playoff drought dating back to 2005.

Even if the Panthers were to defeat Clarke County and W.S. Neal in their final two region games, it’s unlikely that two region wins would be enough to get the team into the postseason.

Southside is in the midst of a seven week span without playing a home game, including last week’s bye. The Panthers play at Clarke County next week.

“I told them to keep fighting,” Flowers said.