By T. Scott Boatright
In a game on a David vs. Goliath type of level, Lincoln Prep didn’t have enough rocks in its bag of ammunition.
After putting up a fight early on, the Class 1A Panthers were simply overwhelmed late in the second quarter as Class 4A Booker T. Washington of Shreveport powered its way to a 54-6 road win Friday night at Panthers Field.
Lincoln Prep had its chances early on. The Lions roared out of the gates, scoring on a 48-yard touchdown pass only 1:08 into the contest to move out to a quick 6-0 advantage.
But the Panthers struck right back, marching 75 yards on 14 plays to tie the game at 6-6 when quarterback Jabari Levingston ran wide left for a 2-yard score with 6:01 left in the opening stanza.
Booker T. Washington countered with a long drive, starting at its own 35-yard line and driving down to the Lincoln Prep 7-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
But the Panthers could get nothing going, and on third-and-12 from their 5-yard line, Levingston was sacked in the end zone for a BTW safety that put the Lions up 8-6 with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
Adding insult to injury, BTW then marched 60 yards on the ensuing drive, with a 26-yard scoring strike from quarterback Devion Stewart to wideout Tramell Howard-Choyce pushing the BTW lead to 16-6 18 seconds into the second quarter.
The Lions then held the Panthers to a three-and-out possession, taking the ball over at their own 41-yard line.
Seven plays later, Stewart was picked off by Lincoln Prep’s Karmelo Goins, who returned it to the Lincoln Prep 41.
But the Panthers fumbled the ball away two plays later before the Lions soon scored on a fourth-down slant pass over the middle that, after a BTW 2-point conversion, put the Panthers in a 24-6 hole with 4:07 remaining in the first half.
“We’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities we had,” Davison said. “We’ve got to be more disciplined. That was a good offensive football team and we stopped them some early. I was proud of that. We’ve just got to keep going.
“When we came in, we knew they were bigger with more skills and stuff like that. I just wanted to see us fight and keep on playing.”
After forcing a Lincoln Prep punt, BTW took over at its own 19 before completing seven straight short passes, culminating with a 14-yard scoring strike from Stewart to Kendrell Johnson that pushed the Lions’ lead to 30-6 with seven seconds left on the second-quarter clock.
“That was just us being undisciplined and not holding our assignment,” Davison said. “We’re supposed to read it and stop them from getting the first down. But we didn’t do it.”
But Davison still tried to keep things light heading into the third quarter despite knowing his Panthers were headed for a third consecutive loss.
“I try to keep it positive,” Davison said. “I try to keep it positive all through the game. We’re disappointed, but we’re not mad. All I want to see is for them to keep working and compete. We’re going to make our mistakes. That’s from coaches all the way down to the waterboy. Just keep trying and trying to do it better. That’s it.”
Lincoln Prep made one first down on the first drive of the second half, with freshman Jamel Williams taking over at quarterback for the Panthers before punting.
At that point, Davison made the decision to OK a running clock the rest of the way.
Booker T. Washington took over at its own 27-yard line and drove 73 yards for a score, with Stewart hitting Elton Hood on a 40-yard slant pass to push the Lions’ lead to 38-6 with 1:56 left in the quickly evaporating third quarter.
“Maybe health, but I just wanted to keep my team’s morale up,” Davison said of the decision to start the early running clock. “Just get them out of there and let them lick their wounds.”
Adding even more insult to injury, BTW scored off a fumble return on the ensuing kickoff to make it 46-6 in the Lions’ favor.
Lightning would strike again on the next play as the Panthers took over at their own 15-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, a shotgun snap sailed over Williams’ head before being pounced on by the Lions to push their advantage to 54-6.
Davison said the decision to put Williams in at quarterback was simply an attempt to change things up.
“We would love for him to be the man so we could throw to Jabari,” Davison said of Williams’ snaps at quarterback. “It was just one of those things where we were just trying to see. He’s a young guy. His number was called and he stepped up and came in and played. He played corner for us, too.”
Next up for the 2-3 Panthers will be their District 1-1A opener at home against Arcadia on Friday.
