Frustration continues for Livingston football, as a three-point game in the fourth quarter slipped away late. An incredible effort of over 300 rushing yards from Falcon running back Drayden Bacon paced a 52-35 Hargrave win Friday in Huffman.
The Lions (2-6, 0-5) were down 24-14 at the half. Hargrave received the second half kick, and threw an interception to Ziekus Garner on the first play from scrimmage.
Livingston drove 18 yards in five plays, then quarterback Tyler Soza found T.J. Garner for 42 yards and a touchdown, cutting the lead to 24-21. It would remain there through the third, as the Lion defense forced a punt and two three-and-outs.
Hargrave (6-2, 4-1) would score in every possession of the fourth until they ran out the clock. The final three touchdowns would occur on the opening play of the drive. Two of those capped an incredible night for Bacon, who ran 24 times for 326 yards and four touchdowns. He had scoring runs of 2, 56, 67 and 55.
“I just told the kids that complementary football is tough,” Lion coach Tucker Carter said. “When the defense was real hot, we went three-and-out three times in a row. When the offense gets hot, we gave up a couple of one-play scores. The score may not be indicative, but we are that close, and that is what's so frustrating. It is in our grasp every week and we have to figure out a way to win the tough ones.
“It is frustrating that we couldn't cash in on some opportunities where we created turnovers. We took some chances in the kicking game and tried to steal a few possessions and weren't able to capitalize when it really counted.”
Soza (22-45, 328, 3 TDs) added fourth-quarter passing strikes to T.J. Garner (6-102, 2 TDs) for 19 yards and Jaykwon Farr for 35 yards that crossed the goal line.
“T.J. is a great kid and regardless of what sport he's in, he just competes and has fun. He is fun to coach and he is fun to be around. I am happy for him that he kind of got loose a little bit. We've seen some glimpses of what he can bring to the table. He and Ziekus are competitors and they want to be pushed. They have a future beyond football and basketball this year.
“Tyler coming back (from injury) after that many weeks, it's hard to replicate live reps,” Carter said of his quarterback. “There's going to be some throws on film that he wants back, but I thought overall, he gave us a chance to win.”
Bad snaps plagued the Lion offense all night. Soza lost precious seconds picking a ball up off the turf or catching a high snap, having to take his eyes off receivers and defenders. Still, the offense moved the ball 468 total yards. The offensive line again performed well, and Ziekus Garner had 11 grabs for 165 yards.
Jose Olivares (15-105, TD) got the scoring started four plays into the game. It was the senior’s third run, and he cut back into open field, racing for 35 yards to put the Lions up 7-0.
The Falcons went up 17-7 before Livingston answered again, when Hunter Carr took a handoff and went 29 yards for the end zone. Bacon scored his second touchdown for the final points of the first half.
