By T. Scott Boatright
Things get real for the Lincoln Preparatory School football team as the Panthers hit the road to kick off regular season play at D’Arbonne Woods Academy at 7 p.m. today at Timberwolves Field.
The last time the Panthers took on D’Arbonne Woods came in September of 2018 when Lincoln Prep fell to the Timberwolves 33-26.
Last week Lincoln Prep played Delta Charter to a scoreless tie at the Delhi jamboree while D’Arbonne Woods defeated St. Frederick 7-6 at the Bayou Jamb at ULM’s Malone Stadium.
Lincoln Prep went 2-7 last season while D’Arbonne Woods finished at 8-2.
Panthers coach Glen Hall hopes that a year’s worth of experience will pay off for his Panthers, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“This one isn’t going to be easy — they’re a good team and showed that last season,” Hall said about the Timberwolves. “But we’re hoping gaining experience last year will pay off for us this season.
“The most important thing will be focusing and not beating ourselves with silly penalties and miscues. It was those kinds of mishaps that cost us the jamboree last week. We should have won that game.”
Lincoln Prep moved into the red zone four times during last week’s jamboree game, driving to the Delta Charter one- and six-yard lines while producing no points.
“It was mishap after mishap,” Hall said. “We’d move the ball and get down there inside the 20. But once we got down there, we just couldn’t score it.”
Hall is hoping for better this week, starting with his running back corps.
Senior D’Tavion Wright will be the workhorse for the Panthers’ offense this season.
If Wright is the “Boom” for the Panthers’ running back corps, the “Zoom” is senior speedster Jaylin Huntley.
“The thing is, we have a really good mix of talent and ability at that position,” Hall said. “If Huntley can stay focused, he can be a big part of our offense, too. And I think he’s ready.
“So, If I can get them to combine for 150-200 yards per game, we’re in good shape.”
Having Tyler Wimberly in the mix at fullback will only make the Panthers a stronger rushing team.
“But it’s not only Wright and Huntley,” Hall said. “Wimberly is a hard-nosed runner who powers straight forward and fights his way through the defense. And we have some other guys who can help at that position. I feel good about that group.”
Something Hall will be looking for is to see senior quarterback Jordan Brown protect the football and not give up big sacks that often proved costly last season.
“If Brown plays within this system, he has the ability to be very successful,” Hall said. “And part of that is him stepping up into the kind of leadership role we need from him. He’s got to protect the football, not get sacked and do a good job of game management and let the rest happen around him.”
Hall will not hesitate to move to the Wildcat offense with Wright playing the quarterback role if needed.
“We’re not a deep ball team,” Hall said. “We’re going to run the ball and throw some play-action passes. Think about it, Wright, Huntley and Wimberly all back there together. We’re going to take advantage of having those three guys on offense.”
Hall hopes his Panthers did gain one advantage during last week’s jamboree that could help the Panthers’ against D’Arbonne Woods.
“They run the same offense that Delta Charter ran,” Hall said. “But that also means D’Arbonne Woods will probably try and take advantage of that and use some things that Delta Charter used to move the ball on us some.”
“So, we’re going to see a lot of wing, a lot of speed sweeps and little counters on the inside.”
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