It was difficult to see the forest from all the green and gold trees at Charles Dickinson Gymnasium Friday night.

The size of the Wolverines caught the eye of every fan during pregame warm-ups, but the Class 5A Central Sub-Regional question was if they could withstand the full court pressure of the Wildcats that has worn down opponents all year. The clear answer is yes.

The Carver-Montgomery Wolverines ran through the traditional full court pressure of the Shelby County Wildcats (21-6) with little resistance and executed a demanding 72-56 road win.

The Wolverine’s passed the eye test early, but their athleticism gave the Wildcats fits all night.

However, it’s the never say quit persona of the Wildcats that held the game in check as the game went through the first quarter only trailing by four.

Yet, it was the offensive rebounds and the high percentage shots that allowed the Wolverines to virtually put the game away at the half with a 39-27 lead. The Cats never could get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

If all good things must come to an end, Coach Charles Dickinson is glad to say it did to a “better team”

“I saw our team playing just the same we have played all year,” Dickinson said. “I thought we played hard, played with a lot of effort and were aggressive tonight.

“The only difference was the team that we were playing. Out of everything we could do, it just wasn’t enough to make a dent against such an athletic, long team like we just played. They could play and they were a lot better than we were … It wasn’t a matter of us not playing well; we just need more to stay up with them.”

It has been a roller coaster of a season for the Wildcats. They’ve had their ups and downs. Yet, they always kept fighting no matter what.

If you would have told Dickinson prior to the season that he would be sitting on a 21 win season and an Area 8 championship, he would have most likely been in disbelief.

On the other hand, if he had expected it, it might not be such a good journey for the veteran coach.

“I don’t feel a letdown with this loss tonight … I really don’t,” he said. “This team set a fire for a lot of people this year … the fans and the community. The loss tonight didn’t put that fire out.

“I’m happy with the way this season went and I told that to the kids. Very rarely will I ever leave a locker room feeling this way after a loss. I’m proud considering where we came from and what we were able to do this year. Most of all, I’m proud that we did many things that seemed unreachable.”

Darion Sutton ended his career as a Wildcat with a team leading 18 points. Kevin McNorton and Jordan Simon assisted with nine points of their own.

Carver (16-8) advances to play Booker T. Washington in Montgomery at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.