Lions Drop Panthers Even District Mark Clint Davis
BEAUMONT, October 3, 2009 - The Livingston Lions defense turned in a stellar first half effort holding the Panthers without a first down for most of the first half on the way to an impressive 43-29 victory.
With the Lion defense smothering the Panther offense ,the Lions used a ball control attack to take an early 7-0 lead.
The Lions had the ball and the lead when disaster struck in the form of a botched pitch out attempt that was scooped up and returned for a Panther score to tie the game.
As the game moved into the second quarter the Lion defense led by Devonte Ryans and Ryan McClain continued to hound the Panther quarterback into submission.
With Quinton Jackson and Ke Ke Johnson breaking off big runs the Lions built a 21-7 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the first half.
Panther quarterback Charles Durio then put on an impressive show evading Lion defenders time and time again to lead his team the length of the field for the score cutting the lead to 7.
The first half ended with the count at 21-14 and the two teams headed to the locker room locked in another 20-4A dogfight.
The second half turned into a back and forth slugfest with neither side willing to give an inch.
With the Lion o-line opening huge holes for Jackson and Johnson the Lions built a two touchdown advantage only to see the Panthers answer them score for score.
Just as it seemed the Lions had finally put the Panthers away following a touchdown and two point conversion that made the score 36-21.
The Panthers used a big kickoff return followed by a short touchdown pass and two point conversion of their own to cut the lead to 36-29 with just over eight minutes left to play.
Once again the Lions saddled up Quinton Jackson and KeKe Johnson and rode them on a vintage Lion touchdown drive to provide the final margin of victory 43-29.
Quinton Jackson carried the rock 30 times for a 131 yards and 4 TD's giving him over 900 yards rushing for the year.
KeKe Johnson the Galloway Exxon player of the game led all rushers with 16 carries for 179 yards.
The Lions will host the PN-G Indians next Friday night at the jungle in Livingston in a contest that will go a long way in determining who gets a playoff birth.
The party will start early with a BBQ and Jody Booth concert beginning at 5:00pm to fire up the Lion fans before this HUGE 20-4A battle.
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