The Livingston Lion defense turned in their best performance of the season Friday in Bridge City, but it would not be enough to break into the win column. The Cardinals made their homecoming crowd happy with a 32-20 victory at Larry Ward Stadium.
Livingston began the game on top after one of their more impressive drives of the season. The 13-play march for 86 yards drained nearly eight minutes of clock and ended on Tyler Soza’s four-yard run. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful.
Bridge City answered in a big way, scoring three touchdowns. Two were passes from Hutch Bearden to Abraham Munguia of 10 and 31 yards, while Ashton Sumrall ran one in from 66 yards out about 10 seconds after the Lions took the 6-0 lead.
With just three minutes remaining in the half, Bearden took a first-down snap and fumbled after being hit in the pocket, sending a loose ball into the end zone. Zayden Martin was there to recover it for the score, cutting the deficit to 20-12 at the half.
An eight-play drive for the Cardinals of all runs drove them 54 yards and across the goal line to start the second half. Livingston punted, and the game was trending in the same direction as other district contests, where the third quarter has been a Lion nemesis.
However, another fumble deep in Cardinal territory was picked up – again by Martin – and run in from a few yards out for the defense’s second touchdown.
Livingston was limited to just 96 yards in the second half, after outgaining Bridge City 194-149 in the first two quarters. The Cardinals had just 227 total yards of offense. Yet, Lion yardage has not been converted into points.
“The red zone, it is like a wall and everybody is waiting for somebody else to make the play. There is that self-doubt for some reason,” Livingston coach Finis Vanover said. “It creeps in at the most inopportune times. We compound it by flinching and getting five yards. Instead of fourth-and-one or third-and-one, now it is six.
“We scored twice on defense and what else can you do? We cut our throat again with mistakes on offense. We were playing dominantly in certain situations. We had good drives, but it is hard to describe.”
Lion quarterback Damorian Hill was the team’s leading rusher with 91 yards on 14 carries. Backup quarterback had 49 yards and a score, while tailback Jerren James had 41. Cardinal Ashton Sumrall, the district’s leading rusher, again turned in good numbers with 132 yards and a touchdown on 17 totes.
The final Bridge City touchdown was the result of another Livingston offensive blunder. A fumble was picked up and run in from 27 yards to create the buffer necessary for victory.
“We were killing them on a combination of the different plays, with outside and inside runs. They adjusted and we tried to hit it back inside where there wasn't anybody, and two linemen would miss a block or somebody would fall down or we would jump offsides,” Vanover said. “We had the right plan, and had them off balance for a while, but we couldn’t capitalize on it. I know it is frustrating and it bugs them; I understand that. We made too many offensive mistakes, behind a great defensive performance except for two plays.”
