By T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Prep football team made it 2-0 to start the season as the Panthers steamrolled Block 46-8 Thursday in their home opener at Panthers Field.
And that left Panthers coach Chaunce Davison in a positive mood when the final seconds of a running clock that started midway through the third quarter ticked off the scoreboard.
“It’s a win that we’ve been working for,” Davison said. “I’ll feel even better if we get one next week (at Bastrop). I’m happy about this one and the way we played, but I’m eager to see what we can do next week.”
Davison hopes a combined 98 points while giving up only 20 in Lincoln Prep’s first two games of the season might give his team enough momentum to compete with the Class 3A Rams next week.
“I just want to see us play some football against a team from a higher classification and see what we can do,” Davison said. “I’m eager to get to practice and see if we can dial up another good week heading into that game.”
It all came down to something Davison reminds his team time and time again that he wants to see — effort.
“We executed,” Davison said. “We’re not going to be perfect. But the kids played hard. I’ve said before, as long as the effort is there, I’m OK. Even if you’re making a mistake, just make sure you’re running 100 miles an hour. Let’s be wrong while going 100 miles per hour.”
The Panthers scored on the second play of their first possession. After a 1-yard run by Jakaylon Armstrong, junior quarterback Jabari Levingston hit senior Josiah Spann on a 28-yard scoring strike that put the Panthers on top 6-0 only 2:38 into the game.
Spann finished with three receptions for 60 yards.
“Jo is one of those guys that, if you throw it to him, he’s going to make the catch,” Davison said. “He’s going to make it happen. My hat goes off to him. I’m glad he’s on our team and I’m going to hate it next year when we won’t have a Spann playing on the team. We might have to get their little sister to come play.”
Lincoln Prep stretched its lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter on a 7-yard scoring scamper by Armstrong followed by a 2-point conversion pass from Levingston to Spann.
Levingston got into the scoring action 9:31 into the second quarter as he took a quarterback keeper to the left and raced 46 yards to the end zone to put the Panthers on top 20-0. He made it a daily double with a 7-yard scoring run with 44 seconds remaining in the half that gave Lincoln Prep a 26-0 advantage at intermission.
That second touchdown by Levingston was set up by five straight runs by 5-foot-9, 170-pound sophomore Howard Kirkpatrick Jr.
Levingston completed all five of his passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns while rushing seven times for 88 yards and two more scores.
The Panthers pushed their advantage to 34-0 with 8:16 left in the third quarter as Kirkpatrick powered his way through the Bears’ defense on a 10-yard scoring scamper.
A Block turnover on the ensuing kickoff soon allowed Kirkpatrick to showcase his receiving skills. Following six straight Armstrong runs, Levingston hit Kirkpatrick on a 9-yard touchdown pass that put Lincoln Prep up 40-0.
“Activate Howard, baby,” Davison said of Kirkpatrick, who finished with six carries for 55 yards and added a touchdown reception, five tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and a fumble recovery. “Howard, he’s a bowling ball. Once he finds the A-gap, we just roll.”
The Panthers’ top offensive weapon of the night was Armstrong, who rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
“We missed some assignments, some blocks, early on or he would have gotten off to an even better start and would have had even a better game,” Davison said of his 5-foot-4, 160-pound junior running back. “We didn’t do what we needed to at first to help him. The O-line eventually settled down and started taking care of business, but we didn’t help Jakaylon enough early on.”
Armstrong ran hard — bigger than his actual size — all game long.
“He’s been like that since he was in eighth grade,” Davison said. “He left us (and went to Ruston High School), and I’m glad he came back. He’s been running hard for a long time. He likes contact and running his way into the gaps and trying to power his way through them.”
Davison also credited the Lincoln Prep defense for playing a big role in the win.
“Defensively, we’re locked in,” Davison said. “If the first team would have been in there, Block probably wouldn’t have scored. We were locked in on defense.”
Sheldon Holmes led the Panthers with six tackles and a pair of sacks, while Baylon Lyons added four tackles and a sack.
Dextin Washington chipped in with three tackles and a sack, while Randell Payne totaled three tackles along with a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
The Panthers will play next at Bastrop, which opened the season with a 22-14 win at Rayville. The Rams will play at Capt. Shreve at 7 p.m. Friday.
