By T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Preparatory School football team will face its first true test of the 2024 season as they play host to Shreveport’s Booker T. Washington at 6:30 p.m. on Panthers Field.
Following Wednesday’s practice, Panthers head coach Glen Hall said that while there’s still more work to do before the regular season kicks off, he feels good about his team going into the scrimmage.
“I think we’re going to have to take a few learning pains, but I’m not dissatisfied,” Hall said. “We still must mature. We must do a lot more running and understanding assignments as far as the offense and the secondary are concerned. Once we understand our assignments, we will be in good shape.”
Hall said he has seen his Panthers progress since beginning preseason practice.
“We’ve come a long way,” Hall said. “One thing is that we are more conditioned now, so we are making fewer mistakes because we are in better condition. Now we still need to be in even better condition — that makes all the difference in the world. But we are moving forward and getting better, and that is all I can ask at this point.
“I still say we have some of the better skill guys in the area. We can throw the ball, and we can run the ball. Now it is about putting it all in place and coming together as a team.”
Hall said Jordan Brown will return as the starting quarterback but that he is not afraid of playing Michael Lewis or running back D’Tavion Wright behind center.
“Jordan’s the quarterback, but if he gets to a point where he’s making too many mistakes, I’m going to put Michael Lewis in there,” Hall said. “And when we’re in the middle of the field, I’m going to put D’Tavion Wright in there and we’re going to run the Wildcat.”
Hall said Wright will be one of the crucial keys for the Panthers offense, but not the only one.
“He is going to be a big part, but then we have Tyler Wimberly, who is playing fullback for me and can catch the ball out of the backfield. Tyler can even run the ball from the halfback position, and we are going to let him run the ball from the wingback position. He has a feel for the game that we are going to utilize.”
Lincoln Prep will host Shreveport’s Booker T. Washington in a scrimmage starting at 6:30 p.m. today at Panthers Field but will be working a little shorthanded.
“We have a few guys out right now with the flu and this COVID outbreak that has come back, so we are going to be short three or four guys. And that is a lot considering the numbers of players we have — that is six to eight positions we will be short at.”
“But we’re still excited about the scrimmage and being shorthanded will just give this team a chance to see how they can best handle that.”
Hall said he feels the scrimmage is something his team needs at this point of the preseason.
“I think it’s really important because we don’t have enough men on the same playing level to really get the best picture of where we are and where we need to be,” Hall said. “We have to hold back a lot of times because we don’t want to — can’t afford to — get anybody hurt.
“But in a scrimmage playing against somebody else, it gives you a chance to get a better look to see where we stand.”
Hall said playing a 4A school like BTW will also pose a challenge he feels will be good for his Panthers.
“They have a big tackle that’s being heavily recruited and have some talented players — they’re not bad at all,” Hall said. “It’s scrimmage, and we’re going to go in there and fight and battle and try better so then when it gets time to play for real against teams on our own level, hopefully that will have helped us.”
After tonight’s scrimmage against the Lions, next up for the Panthers will be facing Delta Charter at the Delhi Jamboree on Aug. 30.
“There’s like six small schools that are going to be at that jamboree,” Hall said. “It is a two-day event. We are going to be the last game of Day One that Friday night.”
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