By T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Preparatory School football team gets maybe their biggest test of the season in a District 1-1A contest that kicks off at 7 p.m. today as the Panthers play host to Glenbrook on Panthers field.
Glenbrook stands at 4-1 and 3-0 in district play while Lincoln Prep is 4-2 and 2-1, making this battle for the No. 2 spot behind Haynesville, the defending Class 1A state runner-up.
Lincoln Prep coach Glen Hall knows what the game means heading in.
“They’re 5-1,” Hall said. “That says enough for me. They’re a sound team and run a sound offense. And they run to the ball on defense. They’re playing pretty good ball. They’re going to be tough.”
Hall also knows what it will take to earn Lincoln Prep’s first win over Glenbrook ever. The teams have only met once before, with the Apaches winning 48-24 at home in 2020.
“We have to execute on offense,” Hall said. “That’s one thing we’ve been failing at in big games — our execution on offense. We have to find a way to get the ball to our receivers’ hands. We’ve been working with (starting quarterback Jordan Brown) and some other guys, you know, just to try to get the ball out there.
“The thing is, we need to get our receivers a chance to go one-on-one. It’s hard to play our receivers one-on-one because of their athletic talent. It’s just up to us to find a way to get them the ball so they can take advantage of that talent.”
Hall also knows what this game means to his Tigers, who currently stand at 18th in Louisiana High School Athletic Association Power Rankings while Glenbrook stands 22nd.
“This is the most important we will have played so far,” Hall said. “This is more important than Haynesville, which we knew how good they were and they were playing on their home field. The reason is, in this (upcoming) game, you’re talking about two teams that are playing pretty good ball. This late in the season, when you’re playing inside your district, you don’t know if you’re going to get a chance to jump a lot (in power ratings).
“But whoever wins this game will probably go up a couple of spaces because both teams already have five wins. The team that wins this — that will be big because it might determine who can finish in the top 10 to 12.”
Hall also hopes the Panthers’ “12th men” show up the way they did for last week’s jam-packed Homecoming win over Ringgold.
“Playing at home, the crowd is everything,” Hall said. “The kids feel that and know that people are behind them, they give more effort. It’s just knowing those people are there gives the players something to defend.
“I told the team, we’re at the point now where we have to defend home plate. We’re not the team that was looking for kids anymore. We have kids who can play, and we’ve got to take advantage of that. We’ve got to go out there and play as hard as we can. We’re just as good as anybody as long as we play Lincoln Prep football. We can make it happen. It’s just up to us.”
For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.
