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| The 2014 Livingston Lion offense hinges on quarterback Kurt Wilson. |
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Lions Season Opener...
It Got Ugly, But There's Positives In the New Regime, LIVINGSTON, August 30, 2014 - On Friday night the 2014 Livingston Lions took the field for the all new season, not just an all new season, but almost everything (other than the antiquated stadium) is new. New head coach, new uniforms, new play-by-play loud speaker person, new tunnel to run out of, new offensive philosophy, new district. Of the above mentioned new things, the two crucial ones are the new head coach (Brian Broussard) and his new offensive philosophy. In all honesty, though the Lions lost, there were refreshing things to see. First of all, the offensive philosophy of the Lions appears to be pass more than the previous regime, A LOT MORE. When you compare the previous head coach's predictable run happy and rarely pass offense, to the Broussard offense, it's crystal clear that Broussard takes passing way more seriously than the previous head coach. The passing was impressive to (see the highlight reel below, LOTS of good pass plays). In only his sophomore season, quarterback Kurt Wilson is looking really good. In addition to his passing skills, the youngster can run and he's got some decent offensive weapons as well. We'll get back to that, in the meantime, here's the scoring summary...
First Quarter:
5:33 Wilson qb keeper 1 yd td with pat lions winning 7-0
5:15 Mustangs answer w 68 yd hand off missed pat lions winning 7-6
Second Quarter:
11:26 Mustang 6 yd td pass with pat Mustangs winning 13-7
9:22 Mustang 30 yd td pass missed pat, Mustangs 19-7
7:23 60 yd Lion td pass to Ryan rice with pat Mustangs 19-14
6:59 80 yd Mustang td pass w pat Mustangs 26-14
3;39 12 yd Mustang td run. w pat Mustangs 33-14
Third Quarter:
9:22 10 yard Mustang td run w pat Mustangs 40-14
6:27 40 yd Mustang td run w pat Mustangs 47-13
1:13 10 yd Mustang td run w pat Mustangs 54-14
Fourth Quarter:
11:40 David Caddie td run missed pat Mustangs 54-20
6:24 20 yd td run for Ryan rice missed pat Mustangs 54-26
Last play td pass to Jaquavious Nicks. Final score Mustangs 54 Lions 32
Okay, ignore that ugly scoring summary. Quarterback Kurt Wilson looked impressive in his passing and running abilities. I really believe that these Lions are on to something nice. With everything being completely new, this will take some time, but they're looking good. As I stated a moment ago, Wilson has some nice offensive weapons in running backs Junior, David Caddie and Sophomore Hunter Bland, and tight end Junior Chris Boothe. Caddie showed that he can catch out of the backfield. There's also wide receivers Seniors Ryan Rice and Jaquavious Nicks. On a very bad note, Junior Austin Crossin broke a femur (thigh) bone and was taken off the field on a stretcher and hospitalized.
Defense Needs to Tighten Up...
What doomed the Lions in this game was their defense (I hate to point fingers, but I'm just reporting what I saw). While the offense played a very respectable game, it was the defense that was the Lions' undoing. There were lots of plays where the Mustangs broke for long runs and just ran right through our defense. Way too many. The Lion secondary also got burned multiple times on pass plays. The special teams were adequate.
So there ya go. In addition to a very decent offense, other good news is that this game is basically pre-season and doesn't count for much since it was a non-district game. Next week the Lions have a road game right down the road and will be playing the Cleveland Indians.
A HUGE MASSIVE GIGANTIC THANK YOU TO FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF LIVINGSTON FOR SPONSORING THE PRESS BOX. THEY PROVIDED SOME OF THE BEST REFRESHMENTS I'VE EVER SEEN IN A PRESS BOX (including when we covered NFL games a few years ago). Yes, it was that good.
ALSO: BE IN PRAYERS FOR A DEAR FRIEND OF MINE WHOSE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH LEUKEMIA.
Willie P. Openshaw, Editor
-PS-
The Corrigan Bulldogs rolled 60 to 40 over the Centerville Tigers. Way to go Dawgz!
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