After an impressive start to the season, the Livingston Lions have lost two straight and will look to avoid a longer slide Friday in their first district road competition.
Coach Tucker Carter said conversations over the weekend included the team’s approach to games.
“We talked about our ability to overcome adversity, because none of these games are going to be easy,” he said. “We are capable of beating anyone or losing to anyone, based on how we handle stuff. It is our decision to make, and the only way to get past it is to get back on the horse and move on to the next one. We are going to make some changes as a staff to put kids in a position to be good and if someone goes down, we have to have the ‘next man up’ mentality and keep rolling.”
The next man up may be a reality this week at quarterback, where starter Tyler Soza went down with an injury in the second quarter versus Hardin-Jefferson. He viewed the remainder of that game from the sidelines, while leaning on crutches.
Carter said all the small details that were critical in building toward the season will be revisited this week.
“It goes back to kind of refocusing our day-to-day operations,” the coach said. “We are talking about everything matters – how we approach the weight room, how we approach meetings, how we approach after-school practice. If we can do those things and handle those things, we have a chance to win every time we go out there. If we don’t and just go through the motions, we will not have a chance to win. We met with the kids (Monday morning) and everything has to matter. No one is just going to roll over and let us win a game. We have got to fight at all times. I think we will come out and, hopefully, display that better this Friday.”
Liberty is that opponent for Friday and has experienced some struggles early in the season. They hold a 1-3 record, with a 30-26 win over Coldspring in the season opener. They dropped non-district contests to East Chambers (30-10) and Splendora (30-29). To start distrct last week, Huffman Hargrave took a 42-0 shutout.
“They have done a really good job as a staff and they have been in every game, except the Huffman game,” Carter said. “We know that Huffman is probably the pick to win it right now, so that was a tough opening district game for them. They are kind of in the same boat as us – when they play well, they are in every game and have had a chance to win. We’re not taking anybody lightly and we have got to come out and play. We haven’t had one game where we just go out there and dominate, so it’s not like our mindset should even shift that way.
“The focus for us is about us. We have got to control what we can control, and that’s been the area where I felt like Friday got out of hand. We look at the scoreboard and we’re worried about things besides the next snap or the next series. We cut it to three points and then they scored, and then we act like it is over. We were still in a two-score game, so that is frustrating. We’ve got to be able to weather some storms in this district, because the games get crazy. You can go up 10 or get down 10 and it really doesn’t matter until it is done.”
The Panthers put up plenty of offense in the first two weeks, but have found the end zone just once over the last two contests.
“They do a good job on offense. The quarterback is running tough, and they have a pretty good back and tight end. They do some things formationally to make you have to line up and be sound or else they will pop some runs. Their kicker is a big-time weapon. He is probably the best one we have faced, as far as his kickoffs and being able to make field goals from pretty deep.
“They are doing a good job and have been in just about every game. We’ve got to be able to get lined up and get favorable down-and-distances. They are mostly spread on offense and will throw it to the tight end some. They mix up the looks quite a bit.”
The Lions should be able to put scoring drives together, as the Liberty defense has allowed an average of 32 points per game.
“Defensively, it is mostly a four down (linemen front) and they play a little softer coverage to make you drive the entire field. They have done a good job of that and haven’t given up a ton of big plays, except for their last game.”
Liberty has played a lot of zone defense, but the coach said his team is preparing for multiple looks Friday.
“We have played good against both schemes at times. The other night, we were in 3rd-and-five and then it was 3rd-and-25. That’s the whole key; it’s the self-inflicted and self-destructive things. When we have stayed in front of the chains, we have played pretty well on offense. We have got to start fast offensively and not wait to settle into the game.”
The coach talked about his offense collecting first downs to give the defense as much rest as possible. Playing complementary football and limiting Liberty’s time of possession will be keys to success. A factor toward that goal could be the developing run game, where Jose Olivares rushed for 88 yards behind his offensive line versus Hardin-Jefferson. The staff has also worked to give players a breather, especially on special teams.
“One of the things we talked about is regardless of how many snaps you are on or off, you have to push through. You are going to be tired. This is a varsity football game. I think we’ve done a good job managing it and the kids understand what it’s going to take to win. You’re always going to be exhausted on a Friday night if you’re playing the right way. We also talked to our non-starters about preparing like a starter. You don’t know how many snaps you are going to play. It could be five, 10, 20 or 30, but you have to be effective in all of them. I told the kids that I know what we have in this room. We can compete with anybody.”
