Lion football has fallen to 2-4 with four consecutive losses, but there is reason for hope. Last week versus a Little Cypress-Mauriceville squad expected to fight for the district title again, they were able to display a balanced offense, with 191 rushing yards and 198 through the air.
With Tyler Soza and Jose Olivares out last week at Little Cypress-Mauriceville, the Lions had to dig into the depth chart. Yet, the offense found young athletes that not only filled in, but excelled against the defending district champions.
Tailback Zyleer King had 88 yards on a dozen attempts, and scored three touchdowns in the first half. Jax Ruiz, a freshman quarterback called up to varsity, had the other Lion score.
“Zyleer has done some really good things at running back previously, he has just been such an integral part of the defense that we felt like we were deep enough at running back and didn’t need to use him as much,” Livingston coach Tucker Carter said. “Obviously, getting him in there was awesome. He is really good at making one cut and getting vertical. He scored three times and had two called back (from penalties), so that is something to build off of. Hunter Carr had a good carry and Taylor Haynes ran pretty well. We had some other guys that kind of contributed.
“I think the biggest thing for Jax Ruiz is just getting him a snap of varsity football. He didn’t look too big-eyed and wasn’t scared to stick it in there. He got him a touchdown, so he was fired up. It was good to evaluate some of that and to see what both of those guys will look like in those situations in a real game. Right now, he is the backup quarterback, and he has taken a ton of reps at quarterback. He’ll get some reps in some other areas this week too, just based on necessity and what we have going on. He’s a good football player and hopefully, we can get him on the field a little bit more.”
Roper Wood looked much more comfortable in his second start. He completed 23-of-27 passes. Many were short throws and screens, but they kept the offense moving, and opened opportunities for longer tosses and in the ground game.
“Some of the things that we had in the game plan was more suited to him being a little bit more of a pocket passer,” Carter said. “I thought he did a good job from an operations standpoint. He was taking the easy stuff until we couldn’t take it. He did a really good job of that and made some good pre-snap decisions and post-snap decisions in the (run-pass option) game. The game is slowing down for him with every rep. With any young quarterback, the first time you get in there and take live reps, stuff is moving really fast. We kind of saw him slow his mind down and do what he was coached to do. That was encouraging.”
The coach said the biggest confidence boost for the entire offense ha been the play of the offensive line, which has improved each week. The holes opened and the time they have given quarterbacks has allowed the skill positions to thrive.
Special teams haven’t been as special the past few weeks. What was once a strength and helped win a few games is now a problem.
“There was bad coverage on one of the deep kickoffs, which we have been really consistent at. We kicked the ball out of bounds three times. On our punt stuff, we were trying not to punt it right to their returner. I don’t know how much more clear to make that, but we will make that adjustment and try not to line drive it to the best player on the field.”
The defense surrendered several chunk plays, making one- or two-play drives far too common. Carter said players not carrying out their assignment led to breakdowns Friday.
“With some of the stuff that has taken place and having to move kids around position-wise, we’ve got to do a great job of being simple enough to where they can play confident. At the end of the day, they have to do what they are coached to do, even when they are tired. We are going to move some pieces around again, because it is an ever-evolving puzzle, and try to put the best 11 out there to give us some success. There are some flashes of really good stuff, and there were obviously some flashes of really bad, undisciplined run fits.”
Bridge City is undefeated on the season and likely the toughest defense the Lions will face. The Cardinals have allowed less than 15 points per game. Carter feels that can be attributed to talent and scheme.
“Defensively, they are extremely well-coached. They are physical and violent, and they do not give you anything easy. Everything has to be earned. They are coached up to where they give you a ton of different looks, and probably more than anyone we have played. They are talented and play really hard. You mix those things in together and it is a recipe for a really good defense. It is probably the best group we have played since Nacogdoches, so that is what we have compared them to.
“In the secondary, they are going to mix up man looks, zone looks, and combo coverages. In their front, they have a linebacker with several power four (college scholarship) offers and they kind of build it around him. They are in a bear front, an odd front, an even front, a stack, and do a lot of stuff. They are going to make you spend practice time blocking all their stuff to have a chance.”
The Cardinals have averaged nearly 36 points in games, scoring 40 or more in half of their contests.
“You can tell that they are a physical, defensive-minded football team, but they are good on offense. The quarterback has made some really good throws and they’ve got the running back returning (from injury) last week or the week before. He is a big kid that runs really hard. They have a receiver that is dynamic and is as good of a playmaker as there is in the district. They find any and every way to get him touches and he has had a ton of explosive plays, both at receiver and in the return game on special teams. He is a guy that you have to account for everywhere he is.
“They are going to make no bones about it and hand it off and be extremely physical. The quarterback is a running threat and does some good stuff off their play action game. They are a pretty complete team. There is a reason they are 6-0, so we have to have a good plan and execute, and get them into some panic situations they haven’t been in.”
