By T. Scott Boatright
The scoreboard wasn’t on, and points weren’t officially tallied.
Both teams wore white jerseys for that matter.
But it still felt like a winning effort for the Lincoln Preparatory School football team Thursday night as the Panthers hosted Shreveport’s Booker T. Washington in a preseason scrimmage held at Panthers Field.
The Class 1A Panthers knew they were for a challenge as they faced off against the Class 4A Lions.
That’s just what Lincoln Prep coach Glen Hall wanted for his team — a challenge.
And in the end, he liked what he saw from his Panthers.
“I think we faced adversity,” Hall said. “And we hit it in the mouth. We came out flat, nervous, but once we got through those first 10 plays and we were able to understand the game and settled down, we started making plays. And that’s all I try to get them to do.
“You don’t have to make big plays, you just have to make a little play, and all of those little plays will add up to a big play.”
Lincoln Prep opened the game with a three-and-out series with a pair of bad snaps costing the Panthers 20 yards in losses. Their next two series weren’t much better, with D’Tavion Wright’s 6-yard catch and 13-run yard being the two biggest gains on the next six plays.
”But once we got past that fatigue factor, after the second 10 plays while they (Lincoln Prep’s linemen) were also playing 10 plays on defense, it got better. I’ve just got to do a better job of getting them into shape.”
When the Lions’ offense got its first three series, the Panthers gave up 34 yards before interceptions by Verlanski Glosson and freshman JaQuan Qualls gave Lincoln Prep some much needed confidence.
“(Booker T. Washington) is a big school, but I’ve always said we’re a big team, too,” Hall said. “We work out in the weight room, too. We’ve been working them all summer, but they’re just now learning to believe. They didn’t believe in themselves the first series.
“(The Lions) had guys 350-360 pounds, but we’ve got guys 300, 350 pounds. So when they found out that they’re just as big and just as strong, they fought back. They started picking up blitzes and talking more on the lines. I’m proud of them.”
Lincoln Prep’s biggest play was a 57-yard scoring strike from quarterback Jordan Brown to Wright, who used his deceptive speed to turn what looked to be a short reception into a touchdown.
That sparked big plays from Trey Spann, who recorded a 17-yard catch and an interception, running back Jaylin Hunter, who turned in a couple of big rushes, Cenario Wilson, who hauled in a 27-yard catch and Glosson, who added a 32-reception on a pass from backup quarterback Michael Lewis.
“Everybody bought in, and once everybody bought in — that’s what a team is about,” Hall said. “You’ve got to be proud of them, but we’ve just got to keep working. We’ve got to work harder than we did yesterday.”
Next up for the Panthers will be facing Delta Charter at the Delhi Jamboree on Aug. 30.
“I want to see fewer mistakes,” Hall said about what he wants to see in that jamboree game. “I want to see us tackle better, I want to see us not miss the blitzes and let the other team get to our quarterbacks. I want to see our quarterback become more of a leader. He still struggles to be a leader.
“And when we tell him to throw the ball, he hesitates. We could have scored the ball a couple more times if he had released the ball. You’ve got to release the ball on point. It’s simple things. We’ve just got to keep drilling that into his head, take the game out of his hands and coach everybody else through it and let him be a manager and not the playmaker.”
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