By T. Scott Boatright
It was a split decision in a spring scrimmage hosted by Lincoln Preparatory School as, in the timed portion of the three-team workout, the Panthers fell 6-0 in a one-quarter contest against Winnfield before dropping an 8-0 decision in another 15-minute game against Green Oaks.
But overall, Panthers coach Chaunce Davison came away feeling like his team turned in a solid and even winning effort.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Davison said. “We’ve been working hard the past few weeks and I’m glad they put together a great presentation. It showed we can be a pretty good team next season.
“We’ve got some things to work on, so it was good to just get some work in against teams other than ourselves.”
Part of that winning feeling came in news after the game that Panthers quarterback Josh Kelly was released from the hospital after injuring a knee in the early, untimed portion of the scrimmage.
“Josh is all right,” Davison said. “He didn’t break or tear anything. He’ll be sore for a few days, but the doctors are taking care of him and I know Mama’s going to spoil him a little bit. But he’ll be all right.”
Kelly’s injury forced Davison to look to dual-sport, 2025 All-State honorable mention running back Jabari Levingston for time at quarterback along with Jamel Williams, an eighth-grader who had been playing receiver before recently getting a chance under center.
Levingston shined in the controlled portion of the scrimmage, scoring on a 52-yard run shortly after Kelly’s injury as he juked right before breaking left down the sideline for the score against Green Oaks before adding a 22-yard scoring scamper against the Giants shortly later.
Williams added a 20-yard touchdown pass against Green Oaks a few plays later.
“It was good that both those younger guys got some work at quarterback because you never know,” Davison said. “Jamel did really good. We started working him a little bit at quarterback last week. He’s kinda an ice-cold guy. They call him ‘Clutch.’ That’s his nickname. He’s one of those kids who doesn’t get rattled easily.
“So I think it’s a good thing he got his hands wet a little bit. The position is built for him and he’s built for it, even though we’ll still use him at receiver some, too.
“We play 1-A ball with guys going both ways, so we need three options at that position like we have in Kelly, Levingston and Williams. And Jabari showed how rare an athlete he is today.”
Sophomore Howard Kirkpatrick also turned in a solid day for the Panthers both running the ball and playing linebacker.
“He’s 160 pounds, but he plays big and runs with power — he’s tough,” Davison said of Kirkpatrick. “Eighth-grader Keilon Miller also ran the ball well and did a great job at linebacker.”
Davison admitted that while Lincoln Prep’s defense did blow some assignments, it also did a solid job of swarming to the ball and making tackles.
“We just have to work on a few things, a few assignments, and make sure we’re lined up right,” Davison said. “But we’re going to be all right.”
Davison said he wasn’t concerned with the outcome of the timed quarters that ended the scrimmage.
“We just wanted to get some good work in,” Davison said. “Get some plays in and get some film where we can teach kids things like where they’re supposed to line up and how they’re supposed to attack things. That was the biggest thing today — actually put them out there and let them hit somebody else other than their own teammates.”
Davison said the other big takeaway from the day was knowing that Kelly will be all right.
“We need all of our guys,” Davison said. “I don’t want Josh to lose any practice days and it looks like he’ll be fine. I want him to be able to play all the way through the season.”
Davison pointed out another Lincoln Prep sophomore — Carmello Goins — as a Panther who turned in a solid scrimmage.
“He caught that touchdown pass from Williams and also made a couple of big plays on defense. But another big thing today was that it showed the kids how important the weight room and conditioning are. This was probably the hottest day all spring and once you get out playing in the heat, that little extra protection you get in the weight room can make a difference.
“So, I’m hoping we can take this and hit the summer workout very hard. It was a good day. Now we just need to keep building on it.”
