ARLINGTON — Coming into Thursday’s Class 2A Division II state title game, the Mart football team was averaging 48.5 points per game, having been held below 30 points only once on its way to a 15-0 record.

But during that run to AT&T Stadium, the Panthers hadn’t faced a defense quite like Albany’s.

On Thursday, Mart learned that lesson the hard way, managing just 200 yards of total offense and a single touchdown in a 28-10 loss. In the process, the Panthers were forced to accept and acknowledge the same truth each of the Lions’ previous 15 opponents were: The 2023 Albany defense is every bit as good as advertised.