By T. Scott Boatright
SIBLEY — Twenty yards. Two seconds. Victory was that close for Lincoln Preparatory School on Friday night against Lakeside High School at Warriors Stadium.
But in a game that became a defensive slugfest in the second half, Lakeside won it at the end with an interception with two seconds remaining that gave the Warriors a 34-28 win over the Panthers.
Lakeside used some special trickery to build an early advantage, scoring on its first possession and then converting an onside kick into a touchdown to go up 12-0.
Then momentum swung back in the Panthers’ direction thanks to the combination of quarterback Bralyn Mayfield and receiver Brandon Heard, who hauled in a screen passes and took it 40 yards to paydirt before Chauncy Harper’s touchdown run put Lincoln Prep on top 14-12.
After the Warriors battled back in front 20-14, Lincoln Prep regained the lead in the second quarter as Harper moved to quarterback and directed another scoring drive that put the Panthers on top 22-20 at halftime.
Lakeside opened the second half with another onsides kick recovery.
“They did it again,” said Panthers coach Glen Hall. “We knew it might be coming. We had practiced for it. But we bobbled it again and they recovered it. They went down and scored on that first drive of the second half to go up 26-22.”
The Warriors pushed that lead to 34-22 with around three minutes remaining.
“We were gambling because time was running out, so we went for it on a fourth-and-long in our territory,” Hall said. “They stopped us and scored to go up by 12.
“So we get the ball back and I put Chauncy in at quarterback,” Hall said. “Harper threw a 45-yard touchdown to Heard to make it 34-28.”
Lakeside fumbled the ball away on its own 45-yard line on the ensuing possession, setting up a chance for a late comeback win for the Panthers.
“We got down as far as their 15 but then lost a few and ended up on the 20-yard line,” Hall said. “Chauncy got hurt at quarterback and I had to put Bralyn back in. He throws what should have been a touchdown but it was totally dropped. The with two seconds left, he threw a pick and Lakeside returned it just enough to run out the clock.”
Hall said that final play sums up the Panthers’ season midway through.
“I’m frustrated about the turnovers we’ve been making,” Hall said. “The last three weeks we’ve had a plethora of turnovers and those have cost us the game. Every week.
“We’ve got to eliminate turnovers. Just simple onsides kicks that we practiced for all week and we’re booting it and not hustling to the ball. It’s just killing us. We should have won the last two ballgames.
“Last week we had a punt blocked against Jonesboro. Then the onsides kicks killed us tonight. Those just can’t happen. Without those, we win both of those ballgames.”
The Panthers (2-3) return to action next week as they play at Richwood, which stands at 3-2 after falling to Sterlington 36-20 Friday night.
