By T. Scott Boatright
DELHI — It would seem that shutting down a Delta Charter offense that averaged 41.6 points per game last season would be a winning effort.
And it was for the Lincoln Preparatory School defense.
But unfortunately, the Panthers offense fared no better than the Storm’s as the teams played to a scoreless tie Friday at the Delhi Jamboree.
Making things more frustrating for Lincoln Prep coach Glen Hall was that it was not that his Panthers did not have scoring opportunities.
“We moved the ball and got into the red zone four times,” Hall said. “We were on the one-yard line with a chance to win it at the end. We were on the six-yard line.
“But every time we moved down there, we had some kind of snafu.”
Hall said mental miscues resulting in penalties were costly for his offense.
“We got down to the one-yard line, and my offensive backfield got confused, and before it was over they got a delay of game penalty,” Hall said. “That pushed me back to the six.
“Then we threw a lead route to the wide receiver, and he drops it. We are in the red zone and drop back trying to throw a little short pass and my quarterback does a blind scramble and loses 20. It was mishap after mishap. We would move the ball and get down there inside the 20. But once we got down there, we just could not score it.”
As expected, senior running D’Tarion Wright was the workhorse for the Panthers’ offense.
“He ran the ball hard and broke three for 20 or more,” Hall said. “He did a heckuva job running the ball. My linemen did not play as well as they normally play, but D’Tavion still moved the ball.”
Defensively, Hall said his Panthers dominated, allowing the Storm no deeper than the Lincoln Prep 25-yard line.
“Jacobi Jones, our tackle, really dominated both offensively and defensively,” Hall said. “He played well tonight and came into his own. He shut down their running backs and dominated their defensive line with his blocking.”
Hall said his offensive would be getting a heavy dose of red zone work in upcoming practices.
“I thought I had been doing that,” Hall said. “Maybe I have not done enough, so that is on me. I just have to do a better job of helping them get to the red zone and then put the ball in the end zone.”
Hall said there is one big takeaway the Panthers have from the jamboree heading into next Friday’s season opener at D’Arbonne Woods.
“They run the same offense that Delta Charter runs,” Hall said. “But that also means D’Arbonne Woods is going to see the things that worked on us, and they are going to try and take advantage of that.
“So, we’re going to see a lot of wing, a lot of speed sweeps and little counters on the inside.”
