By T. Scott Boatright
Evening it up — as in their record — is the focus for the Lincoln Preparatory School Panthers as they hit the field at 7 p.m. tonight to take on the Magnolia School of Excellence in Shreveport.
The Mariners fell 64-6 last week at Glenbrook while the Panthers also fell, 37-24, in their season opener at home against D’Arbonne Woods.
Last season Lincoln Prep defeated a winless MSE 49-0 in Grambling.
Panthers coach Chaunce Davison said his biggest fear — the thing keeping him from sleeping at night — is for his team to overlook the Mariners.
“I’m concerned every week,” Davison said. “Playing a team like this is concerning because you never know when they might put it all together and break out. Like I said, they do have some good athletes.
“But we don’t have to focus on that. We shouldn’t worry about them. We need to worry about us. We need to make sure we don’t make the kind of silly mistakes that can cost you a game. If we do that, I don’t think we’ll have anything to worry about. The team that worries me is us. We can mess up against anybody. It’s my job to get our guys focused. But it’s their job to listen to me and trust in the process. That’s all we have to focus on — executing and doing what we’re supposed to do.”
Davison said if his Panthers don’t do that, things might get tougher than expected.
“They’re fast and have some good athletes,” Davison said of the Mariners. “They don’t have a lot of numbers, but they do have some good athletes. It looked like they were an inch away more than once last week from making good plays.
“We’re going to have to be on point and not let them catch us off guard. The only thing we have to focus on is us and executing. If we do that, then I think we’ll be OK.”
The Panthers went through a light practice on Wednesday, but not as light as the one the day before last week’s season opener on Friday.
“We did a longer walk-through because it’s a shorter week (with a Thursday game),” Davison said. “We stayed a little bit longer today than we did the day before the game last week. And we’ll probably be doing the same thing the next three weeks because those are all Thursday games.”
Davison said his Panthers came out of last week’s game in good shape.
“Healthwise, we’re all right,” Davison said. “Everybody is up and going. That’s not a problem. We just have to grab their attention mentally. These young kids, their minds speed up and go from one play to the next play before the first play is over. Sometimes they don’t think about focusing on what they need to be focused on — the next play.
“And that’s all — the next play. Football is one play at a time.”
In the first game for senior quarterback Zion Hicks last week after his move from the tight end role he played offensively last year, he completed 11-of-20 passes for 228 yards with a touchdown and an interception
Davison is hoping that was only the start for the two-sport standout who is also a start for Lincoln Prep’s basketball team.
“The sky’s the limit,” Davison said of what he hopes to see from his quarterback. If he stays locked in, he can play his way into doing whatever he wants in life. I think he’s found his thing. His actual best sport.
“He’s been playing with me since elementary (school) and I think this is his best sport. This is his game. He’s good enough to go play both sports at the right place. But I think this one out here (football) is the one that can take him anywhere he wants to go.”
Davison is also hoping his young running back duo of Brysen Slate and Jabari Levingston can turn things up another notch this week.
Last week Slate rushed for 51 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown on 12 carries while Levingston ran the ball three times for 21 yards.
“They’re young and still learning,” Davison said about his young running back duo. “I really think Slate could have had an even better game last week. He’s coming along, and does a lot for us, too. He’s our punter. I’m proud of him. I just need him to keep growing. Keep playing and keep learning. He’s working hard.”
Davison said he doesn’t care if it’s Lincoln Prep’s passing game or rushing game that propels the Panthers as long as they keep moving forward.
“I want us to be balanced,” Davison said of the Panthers’ offense. “I want us to be able to run it and to be able to throw it. The main thing is moving the ball. As long as it gets into the end zone, I’m good.”
He also hopes his young defense takes a step forward with a full game’s experience behind them.
“We have some young guys on defense, so we just need to keep growing, keep learning. If we keep practicing hard every day, and learning, and doing what the coaches say, then we’ve got a chance for success every week.
“The focus after last week is getting the win last week. We let one get away last week. That was a learning experience. But it makes this one big just to even up our record. We need this and we want this win. We want it bad. We need to be 1-1 heading into Game 3.”
