By T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Preparatory School football team will put a five-game win streak over Ringgold on the line as the Panthers celebrate Homecoming by playing host to the Indians in a contest kicking off at 7 p.m. at Panthers Field.
Since becoming Lincoln Preparatory School in 2016 after a court-mandated consent decree (desegregation order) dating back to the 1970s, the Panthers have defeated Ringgold five times, outscoring the Indians 234-54 (an average score of 46.8 – 10.8) in the process.
But the Indians have actually lost to a Grambling-based high school in eight consecutive games.
The last time Ringgold defeated a Lincoln Parish high school on the gridiron was when the Indians defeated Grambling Laboratory High School 31-14 in 2010.
Lincoln Prep stands at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in District 1-1A. Ringgold, also a member of District 1-1A, brings a record of 2-3 into the contest but in the midst of district-realignment in the offseason elected to not compete for a league title in 2024 and 2025 and will also sit out the LHSAA playoffs for both seasons should the Indians qualify.
That decision was made because the schedule was created before the current coach, Desmond Lenard, arrived. Ringgold Principal, Marchello Gates said that decision was a result of what he termed a numbers issue.
Lincoln Prep coach Glen Hall said he feels good about his team’s chances as long as the Panthers don’t allow Homecoming distractions to beat themselves.
“I’m always concerned in these situations,” Hall said. “I told the team today that I’m more scared of this game than I was last week against Haynesville (the defending state runner-up). You know, I came up under (legendary Grambling State) Coach Eddie Robinson and I have his kind of mentality.
“Prairie View wasn’t a very good team in those days but we always practiced harder for them than we did for Jackson State, which had a great team in those days.”
Hall said he does feel his Panthers have “practiced hard” this week.
“We look pretty focused,” Hall said. “They want to win every game, but especially this one because it’s Homecoming. But I’ve told them they have to have the will to win to make that happen.”
Hall said Ringgold goes more to the air than it runs the ball. Indians quarterback Keonce Moore, a sophomore, has thrown for 930 yards this season while Antravion Kinsey, also a sophomore, averages 82.3 receiving yards per game and is ranked 20th with 330 yards on catches.
The Indians lost 54-6 at Block last week. Moore went 13-for-23 passing for 88 yards in that contest while Kinsey led the Indians with five receptions for 60 yards.
“They throw much more than they run,” Hall said. “It’s hard to get what they’re doing. They’ll do something out of a formation and then do something totally different out of the same formation.
“It looks discombobulated. I don’t know if it’s on purpose, but that makes it hard if not impossible to figure out what they’re going to do. So we have just focused in practice this week on what we do best and haven’t worried about game-planning for what we might see from (Ringgold).”
Lincoln Prep has fared well against the pass this season, with Verlanski Glosson tied for second in the state in interceptions with four while Cenario Wilson has added three.
When the Indians do run, they are led by junior running back Caden Allums, who leads Ringgold with 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only 23 carries.
Allums is averaging 7.2 yards per carry but only 33.0 rushing yards per game.
“We have a good pass rush and a good pass defense with a few guys who are playmakers because they’re ballhawks who intercept passes,” Hall said. “So I like to see a team try to pass on us.”
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