By T. Scott Boatright
The start of a new football season always brings a sense of freshness while serving as a source of hope in the future.
And the excitement a new season brings is always elevated when a new coach has taken over a program.
That’s the mood surrounding the Lincoln Preparatory School Panthers as they prepare to kick off the 2025 season at 7 p.m. tonight at home against D’Arbonne Woods.
“It just feels like there’s a lot going on — it’s always like that this time of year,” said first-year Lincoln Prep head coach Chance Davison, who served as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator last year. “Just making last-minute preparations and trying to do the best to get the team ready to get things started with a good performance.”
Lincoln Prep is coming off a 7-4 campaign in which the Panthers won their last three regular-season games before falling 14-0 at Central Catholic in the first round of the Division IV Select School playoff at Morgan City Stadium.
The Panthers held their last contact practice of the pregame week on Wednesday before making some final tweaks on Thursday.
“Just a walk-through focusing on assignments and getting ready to play good football,” Davison said. “We knew that when you play D’Arbonne, they’re going to run the ball. So, we’re just going to try to make sure we line up correctly to be able to put a shoulder on a shoulder.”
During last year’s season-opening showdown against D’Arbonne Woods in Farmerville, the Panthers kept things tight until late in the second quarter, when the wheels fell off for Lincoln Prep.
One of numerous bad snaps for Lincoln Prep resulted in a safety that pushed the Timberwolves’ advantage to 8-0 with 2:46 remaining in the second quarter before D’Arbonne Woods stretched its lead to 16-0 on an 8-yard run by followed by a two-point conversion before the Timberwolves added an 80-yard interception return for a score with no time remaining in the first half.
Davison admits that avoiding those kinds of season-opening miscues and seeing his Panthers win their first season-opener since 2021 (44-6 at Beekman-Charter) would be a prime motivator as the season moves on.
“To play D’Arbonne Woods, and give ourselves a chance to win, we’re going to have to make some tackles,” Davison said. “We’re going to have to line up positionally and try to get on their strong side. It’s making sure we line up right and make tackles. That’s what it boils down to. It really is that simple. Tackles and turnovers will be the key.”
“We’re going to be ready to go,” Davison said. “These kids have a lot of pent-up emotions. If we can get this win, it would do a lot for them. That can affect how you practice after doing that, how you walk down the hall during school and all of that.”
One key factor the Panthers hope will play in their favor is a totally new-look offense.
Former Lane College head coach Vyron Brown has returned to his old role as Panthers offensive coordinator while senior Zion Hicks has made the transition from tight end to quarterback and is expected to bring added punch to Lincoln Prep’s passing attack.
That comes after two years of basically being begged to take over the role as Panthers quarterback,
“Zion has cheated us the past couple of years,” Davison joked. “I just wish he could have those two years of experience at quarterback heading into this season. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy he’s here and at quarterback. I just hate that he’s going to be gone after this year.
“But he’s been working hard and getting better every practice. You can see his confidence growing. You can see him turning into the kind of leader we need him to be. We just need to try and put him into a position where he can be the best he can be. And as long as he keeps working like he has been, he’ll get there. We’ll get there.”
While Davison is hoping for an improved passing attack, the Panthers will still rely on its run game that will feature Hicks along senior speedster Jaylin Huntley and a newcomer to Lincoln Prep football — sophomore thumper Jabari Levingston — who is expected to do more of the inside power rushing the team is known for.
And when Hicks does put the ball through the air, senior receiver Tre Spann is expected to be the primary target after turning in a solid season as a junior at wide receiver.
“Tre is one of our main leaders, even though he’s quiet and leads by example, and is our main possession receiver who will receive a lot of targets,” Davison said. “When Jaylin Huntley gets in the open field, it’s over. He’s gone.
“And if we can get Levingston to fill the role of power back like D’Tavion Wright did for us last year, I like this offense. We have Ryan Randolph, another one of our leaders, on both offensive and defensive lines. Now all we need is a good start against D’Arbonne Woods. We need to come out and play strong, disciplined football, because that’s what we’re going to see from D’Arbonne.”
