By T. Scott Boatright
A pair of Lincoln Parish District 1-1A teams looking to rebound from losses last week will meet at 7 p.m. tonight as Cedar Creek plays host to Lincoln Prep at Cougar Stadium in the regular-season finale for both.
The Cougars stand at 8-1 overall and 2-1 in district play after falling 29-20 at Haynesville last week, while the Panthers enter the contest at 3-6 overall and 1-2 in District 1-1A play after falling 50-24 at home to Glenbrook.
Lincoln Prep coach Chaunce Davison knows this one will be won and lost in the trenches.
“We’re going to have to attack that line, which is a very good line,” Davison said of the Cougars. “We’re going to need to hold our ground and take care of our gap assignments and play cleanly but physically and try to not only do that but make some plays defensively — not only stop them, but create some losses and not let that offense control the line of scrimmage and control the clock.
“They’ll try to do that — try to wear down our defense. We need to tackle. We need to create turnovers. We need to limit their number and time of possessions. We need to not give up big plays on the ground. We need to play our best game of the season because we need a win. We need a win badly.”
That won’t come easily. The Panthers have lost three straight and are on the bubble in the Division IV Select power rankings heading into the contest, standing at No. 22 with only 24 teams in the playoff bracket.
“We can’t worry about playoffs at this point,” Davison said. “We can only worry about the next game — the next play. We need to go out and win the next play. That’s all we can do — focus on ourselves, not make the kinds of mistakes that have cost us recently, and win the next play and the game against Cedar Creek.”
Davison knows slowing Cougars running back Payton Harris and quarterback Brett Bell, who have helped their offense gain 2,987 rushing yards — an average of 332 yards per game — will be key, just as Cedar Creek coach Jacob Angevine knows slowing Panthers quarterback Jabari Levingston will be crucial for his team.
Levingston has completed 62% of his passes for 1,020 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 834 rushing yards and 13 more TDs on the ground.
He has also scored on an interception return.
“Levingston is arguably one of the best athletes in this part of the state, if not the whole state,” Angevine said. “He’s a heckuva player and the engine running the train that they are on. I think that if we can stop him, we’ll have a really good shot at winning. But that’s a pretty big if.
“And they’ve got some other pretty good skill guys around him. I know they lost their quarterback before the season started and their top running back early on, but they have enough talent where other guys have stepped up and filled those voids. We’re going to have to be focused and play well for sure.”
Angevine said the game against the Panthers will mean much for the Cougars’ next season — the upcoming postseason.
“We want to get on a run and it starts against Lincoln Prep,” Angevine said. “Coming off a loss like we had last week against a strong Haynesville team, I think it’s going to be good for us. It’s really important to try and finish on a high note heading into Week 11, whether it’s a bye week or facing another team.
“The thing is, we believe we have enough talent on this team right now to make a run to the (quarterfinals), and I think we can still do that. I’ve told the kids all year, the coaches know it, too, if you make a run to the quarters, anything’s possible. Crazy things happen in the quarterfinals. All bets are off, throw records, tendencies or whatever else out of the window.”
Angevine hopes the bad taste of the loss to Haynesville can fuel the fire in his Cougars from here on out.
“I think that they knew they had a chance to win, and I think a lot of them expected to win,” Angevine said. “And you could tell that by their body language after the game. They were disappointed. But I think that the ones that weren’t fully in on the train, I think they kind of said OK, we’ve got a really solid team if we’re competing with the top dog in Division IV Nonselect — the defending state champion.
“So, I’m really excited. I’ve said it all along, I’ve bragged to my kids that I know we’ve got enough talent in the room, it’s just making them believe it. Just from being 1-9 two years ago with basically the same roster to where we are now is big. Kudos to our kids and our staff for buying into the sauce that they’re liking. Next game up and we need a win.”
