Little Cypress-Mauriceville gashed the Livingston defense for several explosive plays, defeating the Lions 48-28 Friday near the Louisiana border.
Livingston was able to keep pace with the Bears for three quarters, but ran out of gas late in the competition.
“The district is highly competitive, and anybody can beat anybody, so all the games are tight,” Livingston coach Tucker Carter said. “We talked about how we have to find a way late. Being in it late is not good enough, and we have to find a way, no matter who is dressed out. We talked about the next man up and guys stepping up.”
The first half belonged to the offenses, with just one drive – a Livingston fumble – not finishing in the end zone. Neither team threw an incompletion in the opening two quarters and each averaged over seven yards per rushing attempt.
Livingston opened the game by handing the Bears a possession on a kickoff they did not recover. Yet, when the Lions kept possession, the offense was formidable.
Of the three scoring drives in the first half, two of them combined for 21 plays and 12:35 of clock. Zyleer King finished each, enjoying touchdown runs of eight, eight and 17 yards. The sophomore had 69 yards in the first half and would end the game with 88.
Down 28-21 at halftime, the Livingston defense held the Bears to a three-and-out to start the third, getting the ball back in less than two minutes. The offense responded by going on another time-consuming journey of 12 plays and 64 yards for a touchdown. Freshman quarterback Jax Ruiz got his first look in varsity action and made the most of it with a three-yard rushing touchdown. That tied it at 28-28 with 3:35 to play in the third.
“They are getting better up front and we were able to run the football a lot better,” Carter said of his offense. “We rolled quite a few running backs in that haven't gotten a whole lot of carries. We moved some receivers around throughout the week, but our execution level on offense was enough to win the football game. We've got to get better in some other areas, obviously. It wasn't perfect on offense; we didn't score enough in the second half, but we have to be of the mindset to score on every drive. I thought (quarterback) Roper Wood did a good job stepping in and showing poise and command of the offense. I was proud of him for that.”
The Livingston defense would struggle from there, repeatedly giving up chunk plays. In their next five snaps, Little Cypress-Mauriceville scored three touchdowns, providing the difference and putting the contest out of reach.
An offense that was missing its starting quarterback and starting tailback was able to move the ball consistently for three quarters, keeping pace with the defending district champions.
King ran well with excellent vision, quarterback Wood was 23-27 for 185 yards, and the offensive line had its best showing of the season. Wideout Ziekus Garner hauled in 15 passes for 110 yards.
LC-M rushed for 254 yards, with senior J’lynn Morris collecting 177 of those on 13 carries with three touchdowns. Quarterback Jackson Struwe threw for scores of 66, 22 and 72 yards.
Lion special teams had problems with deep snapping, kickoffs, fielding kicks and coverage. The defense could not set the edge, losing containment on runs over and over again.
“We can't turn the ball over and give people possessions,” Carter said. “We gave them a possession on the opening kickoff, which was extremely disappointing. We tried to emphasize ball security.
“Defensively, we have to see formations, get lined up, and do our job. We have some pieces freelancing, and when you play explosive offenses, it can be a long play for a touchdown pretty quick. We've got to be better on the edge, and we feel like our size and speed is adequate. We've got to do our job. I know that will be a point of emphasis moving forward.”
Other than one goal line play, the team stuck with one quarterback, ditching the rotation of last week.
“The plan was that Roper is the man, and I think he owned that opportunity tonight with his command. From an operation standpoint, he looked pretty sharp at times.”
Carter was especially proud of the offensive line.
“Our (offensive coordinator) has been coaching the crap out of them and that is an ever-evolving position. We are starting to play five guys as a unit, which is good to see. We did some good things up front and I'm proud of that.”
