By T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Prep football team hasn’t shied away from playing high-level competition this season, and the Panthers will be back at it tonight as they hit the road to take on undefeated Class 2A Ouachita Christian.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Eagles Nest in Monroe.
Lincoln Prep is coming off a district-opening homecoming win over Arcadia and stands at 3-3, while OCS enters the contest at 6-0.
But the Panthers should be accustomed to facing high-level competition after already taking on Class 4A Booker T. Washington and Class 3A Bastrop earlier this season.
“We’ve got a big hill to climb, a really big hill to climb,” Davison said. “Coach (Steven) Fitzhugh always has a really good team over there — one of the best teams in the state. I’m just excited to see how our team handles playing against one of the best teams in the state.
“This kind of game will let our kids see who they truly are. They can measure themselves and answer questions like, ‘Am I a good player?’ and ‘Can I really do this?’ That’s one of the biggest things about playing a team like OCS — you get to find out if you can really play this game. Compete against that kind of competition.”
Davison said it’s the longtime tradition of being one of the top high school teams in the state, going back to the days when Fitzhugh was a longtime assistant under former Eagles head coach Micah Harper, that makes OCS such a good team year after year.
“It’s just a disciplined, well-coached team,” Davison said. “I think they work hard and work to achieve their goals, and every year, they’re there. We want to be that kind of team every season. We’re just trying to play some football. Playing a team like OCS, which has been historically good, is the kind of competition that makes you a better team.
“And that’s why we try to make our schedule against those kinds of teams like OCS, even though this one is a district game. We try to sharpen ourselves against solid non-district competition, too. We’re trying our best to get there.”
“All four of these last regular-season games will be very important,” Davison said. “We want to go out and compete. And if we can get three out of the four, that will leave us in good position and feeling pretty good about the playoffs. We have OCS, Haynesville, Glenbrook and Cedar Creek left. And those are all pretty good teams. Glenbrook can put up some points. These last four are all going to be tough.”
Lincoln Prep has been on fall break this week, meaning the Panthers’ practice schedule has changed.
“We went out on Sunday evening at 6 p.m., and then on the weekdays, we went from 8-10:30 (a.m.),” Davison said. “It’s been a pretty good week of practice. The biggest thing has been trying to get all the players out here because their parents are still having to work.
“And I get that. So, we’ve just been trying to get the kids out here to work — to practice. But I get that parents still have to work.”
Davison said another challenge for his Panthers is that they will have to finish the season without the return of standout running back Jakaylon Armstrong, who has been nursing a high ankle injury for weeks now.
“Armstrong won’t be back until next year sometime,” Davison said. “He’s going to have to have surgery, so we’ll have to rely on the other guys that carry the ball.”
But Lincoln Prep has seen some fairly strong play out of those “other guys” in recent weeks — players like Aiden Ferguson, who has shifted from his starting role in the defensive secondary to become the primary running back for the Panthers.
“(Receiver) Josiah (Spann) and (quarterback) Jabari (Levingston) are staples in our offense,” Davison said. “But Karmelo Goins has been doing really well for (us) at receiver. Aiden Ferguson has stepped up and is running the ball pretty hard. I applaud him for taking on that role because we needed it. We had to back off him some on defense just to keep him fresh because that’s a big role and he’s taken the assignment and run with it. And we’re proud of him for that.
“We also have guys like our eighth-grader, Kylon Miller, and sophomore Howard Kirkpatrick Jr. Those guys there, they love contact and love running the ball, so we’re just excited to give it to them and see what they can do.”
