After three games in 2025, the Livingston Lions are 2-1 with wins over a Class 6A school in Fort Bend Austin and a consistent playoff program at Needville. Dropping a one-score game to Class 5A Nacogdoches in their most recent action, the team is ready for district competition following a bye week.
“For the kids and coaches, it is kind of a mental refresh,” Livingston head coach Tucker Carter said. “I gave them Thursday and Friday afternoon off, so hopefully, we are hungry and ready to roll. We kind of changed it up early in the week last week and went good on good (first team offense versus first team defense) stuff. I told them that the depth chart is empty, so if you want a spot, take it. I thought we had some good practices during the period and then we went about an hour after school and straight out without any meeting time. It was, get in, get some good work in, and get out.”
Carter said the bye was a head start on the upcoming opponent, yet the main focus was improving themselves. The idea was to master the system. That upcoming opponent will be Hardin-Jefferson, which comes to Polk County with a 2-1 record. Wins have come over Beaumont Kelly Catholic and Buna, while the Hawks suffered a two-point loss to East Chambers. This will be their first action versus a Class 4A opponent this season.
“We definitely feel like we need to overwhelm them with effort,” Carter said. “That has been a big focus – just playing fast and playing hard and making mistakes full speed, trying to mask our mistakes with great effort and flying around. I feel good about the fact that we have played some bigger schools with some size and speed. I don’t think that we’re just unprepared. I feel like we are going into a situation that we know what is coming.”
The Hawks have put up 110 points through three games. They will line up under center, in the pistol, and in shotgun, all under a variety of formations.
“They’ve played really well early, to be honest. They’ve got some really good skill kids and a couple of offensive lineman that are bigger kids that get after it. They are very multiple on offense and give you a bunch of looks, so we have to do a great job of lining up defensively and know where we are supposed to be, based on what they give us.
“That was the nice thing about having the open week, was to look at the multiplicity of formations for them offensively. They try to get in a lot of formations and do what any good offense does – make it simple for your kids and run the same concepts, but make it look different for the defense. They do a good job of that.”
Junior punt returner D’Corian Warren has taken a few back for touchdowns versus Buna. He will also line up at receiver and defensive back.
“He is a playmaker. Really, the quarterback’s mobility scares you a little bit, and they have multiple backs that are similar and just quick guys that hit it downhill with one cut and are pretty aggressive up the field. Our focus is that we feel like we have to win the line of scrimmage and try to contain that.”
The defense has allowed just 33 total points, with 21 of those in the loss to East Chambers.
“Defensively, it is kind of the same deal. There is a lot of speed on the field, and they give you some different looks. If you are in a bad down-and-distance, they will definitely change it up on you. It is pretty multiple. They will run a 3-3 stack, or they will be in a 4-2 look. They will mix it up a little bit.
“Kind of what we have built on the offensive line, it is rule-based, and those rules should carry us from front to front, instead of having to reinvent the wheel every time someone changes something up on us.
“In the secondary, I feel like they are pretty aggressive as far as jumping routes and making you be selective with where you are going with the ball. If we stay in front of the chains, we can take calculated shots and not have to force throws into tight windows. We are putting an all-time emphasis on physicality and trying to run it.”
As always, the coach emphasized staying in front of the chains and creating good down-and-distance situations for the offense. A key in that is getting their ground game in motion. Quarterback Tyler Soza has been the leading rusher in a few contests. There have been big plays on the ground, but the coach would like to see consistency, getting his running backs more yardage.
“Hopefully, we can kind of put it together in the run game this week. One of our goals week to week is we feel like if we can win the rushing battle, we have a great chance to win the game. From a standpoint of staying in good down-and-distances, controlling possessions, and taking calculated shots down the field.”
There are seven consecutive weeks of district games that begin Friday, and the coaches are hopeful the bye week not only served as a breather, but increased depth as well.
“It was kind of an opportunity for some of our guys that haven’t gotten the reps. We’ve been in tight ball games and some of our guys who are not starters haven’t gotten a ton, so that was a great chance for them to get in there and mix it up a little bit. The intensity was high, and I felt like we got some good work in just evaluating some more guys on if we can spell our top guys for a couple of snaps and get them some rest and have them play fast the whole game. Some guys kind of caught our eye a little bit, so we’re optimistic about rolling some bodies in there moving forward.”
