The Livingston defense turned in their best performance of the year Friday, but the offense had trouble sustaining drives in a 33-13 loss to Bridge City at Lion Stadium.
Bridge City moved to 7-0 on the season by controlling field position and using their stifling defense to limit the Lions, and even produce points on a turnover.
After a scoreless first quarter, Bridge City was first on the board when quarterback Hudson Hoffman (236 yards passing, 3 TDs) found Abraham Munguia (9 catches, 176 yards, 2 TDs) for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Two plays later, the Cardinals were crossing the goal line again. This time, cornerback Carson Sauceda picked off a Roper Wood pass and returned it 40 yards to make it 14-0.
The Bridge City defense was expected to be the best Livingston would face in 2025, and they didn’t disappoint.
“They are physical, fast and give you a lot of looks,” Livingston coach Tucker Carter said. “I am very disappointed in our lack of execution of our base offense today. That was very glaring. It starts with me; I have to do better.
“They've got eight seniors on defense that have played a lot of ball and been in some battles. They are confident and giving you a ton of looks, and hats off to them, that is a well-coached bunch over there. They make you earn every bit of it, and that is kind of the thing. They are 7-0 for a reason. They've made people drive 80 or 90 yards and that's tough if you're not putting plays together, because they will run you into some negative plays and get you in bad down-and-distances.”
Livingston (2-5, 0-4) answered on the ensuing drive. Three runs set up a Wood pass to Ziekus Garner, where the senior wideout would leap and come down with the 20-yard scoring grab. A missed extra point kick kept the difference at eight.
With just a few minutes to go in the half, a Livingston drive stalled, forcing a punt. Multiple Cardinals flew in to block the kick, setting them up on the Lion 30 with half a minute remaining. Four plays later, Hoffman found tight end Luke Nelson for 18 yards in the corner of the end zone with just a few seconds to go before halftime.
“We've got to get away from the self-inflicted stuff with a pick-six on an open receiver, and a blocked punt. That is the stuff that is killer,” Carter said. “We go into the half down one or in a tie ball game if that doesn't happen. At some point, we will put it together and it won't look like that. I don't know when that's going to be.”
The Lion defense played its best football of the season in the third quarter. They forced three consecutive three-and-outs, and also coerced a punt on a fourth possession.
“(Defensive coordinator) Coach (Destry) Cope had a really good game plan and we executed it well. Obviously, (Munguia) got a ton of yards, so we kind of neutralized that and made them go to other kids. We just can't put (the defense) out there so much and expect them to play 80 or 90 plays and be perfect every play. I am proud of the defense’s effort and we loved them up after the game. That was a tremendous response, after last week, from them.”
Cardinal tailback Ashton Sumrall finally found running room in the fourth quarter, breaking a 27-yard sprint for a score and 27-6 lead. On their next possession, Hoffman again found Munguia, this time for 66 yards to put the game out of reach.
Wood was shaken up in the fourth quarter after a sack, forcing Jax Ruiz into action. The freshman completed his final three passes, the last one, a 27-yard strike to Jaykwon Farr to put seven more in the Lion point column.
The Lions go on the road to Huffman next week, have their final home game versus Lumberton the following Friday, and end the season in Vidor.
“We've got three opportunities left and it is opportunities we should cherish,” Carter said. “I think we have played with everybody and we've let some slip away. I think if we can ever put it all together, we will get back into the win column. The message is that you start something and you finish it, regardless of what the outlook is at the moment.”
