By T. Scott Boatright
Lincoln Preparatory School football coach Chaunce Davison got exactly what he hoped for Friday night as his Panthers picked up a pair of single-quarter jamboree wins by the score of 6-0 each over Arcadia and General Trass.
Madison (Parish) High School had been scheduled to join in on the preseason warm-up but called Davison earlier Friday and said it wasn’t going to participate.
“They called today and said they weren’t coming, so we had to adjust,” Davison said. “Arcadia and General Trass were good with the adjustments, so it all worked out.”
Earlier this week, Davison had expressed his desire to see a clean game from his team, and after the Panthers’ second jamboree “game” against Arcadia, Davison said he was more than satisfied with what he saw from his team.
“I was just happy about us lining up and doing things right,” Davison said. “That was one of my big things — lining up right on defense. And I think that worked out for us — helped us. When we’re lined up right, we just play better. That’s just part of the game.”
The Panthers roared out of the gate in their opening game against General Trass, with Jakaylon Armstrong taking a handoff for 20 yards on their first snap of the game.
Lincoln Prep quarterback Jabari Levingston then connected with Karmelo Goins on a 30-yard pass to set up a 10-yard scoring scamper by Armstrong on the next play that gave the Panthers a 6-0 advantage only 1:07 into the quarter, with the point-after pass attempt falling incomplete.
“Armstrong is a big-time player,” Davison said. “He just doesn’t know it yet. But if he just keeps working. Those yards he makes after contact — he’s just so low to the ground (5-6 in stature) and to his credit, he uses that natural leverage he has. He runs strong. He gets after it. I love to see him run.”
On its ensuing drive, General Trass drove as deep as the Lincoln Prep 24-yard line before Goins picked off a Hornets pass to give the ball back to Lincoln Prep.
“Melo caught that thing and went to work,” Davison said. “I love him. I love my players. When they come out and give good energy, I want that.”
It looked like Lincoln Prep would get off to another fast start in its second “game” of the night against Arcadia when, after an 11-yard run by Howard Kirkpatrick, Levingston broke loose while scrambling and took it 59 yards for what looked like a score only 27 seconds into the game.
But a block-in-the-back penalty brought the ball back, and three plays later, the Panthers turned it over on a bad shotgun snap that rolled well wide of the quarterback.
Arcadia drove to within scoring position on the ensuing drive, but a fourth-and-nine completed pass from the Panthers’ 25-yard line failed to gain any yardage, turning the ball back over to Lincoln Prep.
A pair of personal foul calls against the Panthers helped that Arcadia drive into potential scoring territory.
“One of those flags was on me,” Davison said. “We can’t make those foolish penalties. But I made one tonight. I’m going to have to get some running in on Monday to make up for that.”
Armstrong then gained 33 yards on three straight runs, with Levingston running wide right for a 17-yard gain to the Arcadia 26-yard line.
Then, on a fourth-and-nine from the Hornets’ 25, Levingston hit receiver Jaylon Lyons on a crossing route, with Lyons turning on the jets to race in for the score with 4:10 remaining.
On Arcadia’s next drive, Levingston picked off a pass and returned it to the Arcadia 24-yard line before the Hornets returned the favor by picking off a Levingston pass on the next play.
Davison credited the play of Lincoln Prep’s offensive line for what he felt was a strong night for his Panthers.
“We had some missed assignments on the O-line,” Davison said. “We need to know how to and do exactly what we’re supposed to be doing. But it’s early. The regular season hasn’t started yet, so I’m still proud of them.”
Davison said he also saw some things his Panthers need to work on before next week’s season opener at Delhi.
“We’ve got a lot of things to clean up,” Davison said. “We need to wrap up on tackles — just make sure that we gang-tackle with everybody flying to the football. We want that all the time.”
