Livingston now has a two-game losing streak in district play after a competitive contest with Bridge City. The defense played well, and after a rough start to the season, has developed.
The coaching staff put an emphasis on that side of the ball, letting the program’s top-end talent shine by stopping the opposition.
“I think it's personnel for sure,” Livingston coach Tucker Carter said of the improvement since last season. “I think a lot of it is being in the system for the second year, being able to adjust better week to week, give people different looks, and not just present the same exact look for people to attack. I was proud watching the film. Our defense is playing some good football. We outgained them on Friday, and that was what was so disappointing about losing the game. The focus has been stopping the run, and for the most part, we did. Certainly, the defensive side of the ball gave us plenty of opportunities to win.
“I think we're playing a lot better in the box. And, Zayden Martin is a game wrecker over there. He's been a consistent force for us. He's a kid that's got his body into shape to be able to play a bunch of snaps on both sides. He's bought into being an impact player on both sides. That's why he'll have an opportunity to go play college football.”
The Lions held the lead late in the fourth quarter and had plenty of opportunities throughout versus the Cardinals. Much of why Livingston lost the game was not caused by Bridge City.
“I made a bullet point list and I shared with the kids today of really 16 – what I would deem self-imploding – errors. Things that are 100% controllable by us that we do every single day allowed them to get back in the game and eventually win the game,” Carter said. “I feel like we've grown a lot and not beaten ourselves. We had some untimely personal fouls, snap errors – things of that nature.
“We had a lot of kids that cared and were very upset on Friday night, which is good, but we’ve got to move on and get some of that cleaned up.”
One area the offense had success was on first downs. The Little Cypress-Mauriceville game showed how critical getting in front of the chains could be. They failed to do so versus the Bears, allowing the offense with little production and gassing a Lion defense that was forced to remain on the field.
“We kind of always have a focus of about six, eight, 10 plays that are what we deem drive-starter calls that put you in good situations and manageable second downs. Anytime we feel like we stay ahead of the chains, we've got a good opportunity to drive and keep people off balance, where they don't know if it's run or pass. That's tough to execute, when someone has a good idea of what you may be presenting and you're trying to do one thing.
Quarterback Jax Ruiz helped the Lions collect yardage, especially in the first half, where he played his best varsity ball. He was 7-of-10 to start the game, hitting receivers in stride and operating a hurry-up offense.
“We had a conversation and I think that for him, he puts a lot of pressure on himself to be successful, because he's a really good competitor. He cares a lot. He is tough. He wants to lead by example. I told him the game does not slow down until you just put game reps together. The game is slowing down every time he's out there.”
This week’s opponent has defeated Livingston five consecutive seasons. Lumberton will be had fun on offense last year, winning 58-34. However, the Raiders have struggled this season to a 2-5 record, winless in three district contests.
“The quarterback is a good player – very, very good arm talent, and makes plays,” the coach said. “Offensively, they're in some bigger personnel groupings and they're running the football. Multiple tight ends, fullbacks, trying to stay on the field. We've got to stop the run, put pressure on the quarterback, and try to create some negative plays for their offense, because they don't want to be behind the chains as well.
“They've got a bunch of kids. I think they are one of the only ones in the district that's got a Freshman B team as well, so they've got a lot of numbers. With that, it always presents some of those type of kids that are what I would deem ‘tweeners’ – your fullbacks, tight ends. They're not linemen, but not skilled kids, but can be very valuable in that type of offense. I think it's just different when kids play against under center teams now, because they don't see that growing up as much; everybody's spread. In a world where kids have defended spread shotguns so much, it's just so much different when the quarterback takes a snap and turns his back to the defense.”
Baytown Lee and Kirbyville have been the Raiders’ two victories, while Bridge City, Vidor and Hargrave were the district losses.
“Defensively, they're pretty similar to us. An odd-front team and very disciplined. They've been in some tight games and kind of found a way to not win them, just kind of like what we've been in the last couple of weeks. They are a physical group, and obviously won a lot of games last year to make the playoffs.
“In this district, every week is a completely different matchup. You've got to adjust your scheme to be able to attack other people, and it's a brand-new game. You never know. It doesn't matter if someone's 10-0 or 0-10, it can be a dogfight to the end.”
