2023 LUFKIN PANTHER FOOTBALL TOPIC DISCUSSIONS

[LufkinPack]

12 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

Overall great,  did not like the brain fart at the end, but whatever. The coach had seen all they wanted, and was evidently more important for Huntsville to win at the end. 

Lufkin is a better team by far than last year, and someone has already mentioned, our 2s got a lot more work tonight than our 1s. 

All good for me.

How much have we closed the gap on the Lobos is what I want to see. They kicked our a$$ all over abe Martin last year. Now we go to Longview. 

[Pack13]

2 minutes ago, timeout! said:

Young looks a little trimmer too. He was already fast, could be a step faster carrying less weight. Imagine that..lol.

TJ also looks a bit slimmer. Guess all the heat and working out has guys dropping pounds. 

Young is playing at 220 this year. Was 210 last year.

[timeout!]

3 minutes ago, Pack13 said:

Young is playing at 220 this year. Was 210 last year.

Thats interesting, cause he looks smaller. Good either way..😃

Gavin sure does bring another element to the offense and team. Seeing him run over opponents really gets the team fired up. Him and Young will be a nice 1-2 punch. I would've liked to have seen more from the passing game. Guess we'll have to wait until next week for that.

Lufkin will be better this year. But so will a lot of other teams. Like LufkinPack said..have we closed the gap and/or separated ourselves enough from the rest of the pack to flip some of those losses from last year and clinch a playoff spot?  

[PackAttack]

Would like to see the Johnson kid play more with the first team.  There is a tremendous upside with him IMO playing behind T.J. and using him in select situations.  After tonight I see nothing but positive with those two guys playing QB.

Thought we got a little sloppy at the end on defense, and the coaches were just trying to run out the clock at the end, but it came back to bite them.  It doesn't matter in the long run.  Kedren got more work than I thought he would, he had a long TD run in the scrimmage portion and caught a long TD catch in the live portion.  I think he proved his point.  The Panther 1st team D is legit and will get better. Thought Menefee did very well at OLB and Amarion Campbell made several nice plays from the safety position.  Everything will just get better the more they play. Zion Williams was dominate in the time he played. Elijah Alexander and Kaleb Preston or Brendon Baker (did not have a roster so I'm just going by the names from announcer) had a good scrimmage at NT.

The starters look great,  then get a good rotation going with those 2s and I think this team has a lot to look forward to achieving.

About the only thing I was disappointed about, was they did not give out ROSTERS for the game, the video board was so dark you could hardly see it and the sound system still has busted speakers. You would think they would be sure to have that stuff fixed long before now, because it's a carry over issue from last season.

[LufkinPack]

12 minutes ago, timeout! said:

Lufkin will be better this year. But so will a lot of other teams. Like LufkinPack said..have we closed the gap and/or separated ourselves enough from the rest of the pack to flip some of those losses from last year and clinch a playoff spot?  

That’s what I’m saying. Say we go 8-2 but lose to Longview and Lancaster both by 3+ TD’s. That would make us good enough to beat good teams but not good enough to be championship contenders. Is that our upside? Or do we beat one or both of those teams. Do we play them close? Were we at? Can’t wait to find out. 

[Pack13]

13 minutes ago, timeout! said:

Thats interesting, cause he looks smaller. Good either way..😃

Gavin sure does bring another element to the offense and team. Seeing him run over opponents really gets the team fired up. Him and Young will be a nice 1-2 punch. I would've liked to have seen more from the passing game. Guess we'll have to wait until next week for that.

Lufkin will be better this year. But so will a lot of other teams. Like LufkinPack said..have we closed the gap and/or separated ourselves enough from the rest of the pack to flip some of those losses from last year and clinch a playoff spot?  

I personally don’t think he looks anything close to his listed weight. Guess that’s why he is a four star 

[PackAttack]

5 minutes ago, LufkinPack said:

That’s what I’m saying. Say we go 8-2 but lose to Longview and Lancaster both by 3+ TD’s. That would make us good enough to beat good teams but not good enough to be championship contenders. Is that our upside? Or do we beat one or both of those teams. Do we play them close? Were we at? Can’t wait to find out. 

I don't know, can't say that right now. These kids have the potential to be very good if they are allowed to play with their instinctive talent to be successful.. This is a very good group of kids and you can see it on the field.

[LufkinPack]

8 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

I don't know, can't say that right now. These kids have the potential to be very good if they are allowed to play with their instinctive talent to be successful.. This is a very good group of kids and you can see it on the field.

I’ll say, defense is crazy aggressive. The offense looked better. I still just have doubts and concerns with the line and QB play.. PTSD I guess LOL 

[PurpleNation]

43 minutes ago, LufkinPack said:

How much have we closed the gap on the Lobos is what I want to see. They kicked our a$$ all over abe Martin last year. Now we go to Longview. 

It should be a good game

[LufkinPack]

Just now, PackAttack said:

There was one thing sure tonight that stood out and hope the district is able to address in the near future.  The stadium lighting is not good, the video board contrast was dark, it was terrible, the speakers when turn up still have a busted sound.  The poor striped turf has faded to a yellowish, light green color, it looks worn and awful at night under those lights.  

 

 

Agreed. 

[LufkinPack]

1 minute ago, PurpleNation said:

It should be a good game

I’ll take your word for it! 

[PackAttack]

9 minutes ago, LufkinPack said:

I’ll say, defense is crazy aggressive. The offense looked better. I still just have doubts and concerns with the line and QB play.. PTSD I guess LOL 

Most of my concerns were solved watching them this evening. I really liked what they did for the most part, especially the 1st team guys, and there are several really good 2nd team guys who will have a positive impact all year. It's all good for me right now. I thought the  Pack 1st team OL did a better than average job against the Huntsville 1st team D-line.

[Pack13]

I’ve been as tough on the line as anyone and I thought the run blocking looked good. Didn’t focus on pass blocking but we are going to live and die by the run. 

[LufkinPack]

2 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

Most of my concerns were solved watching them this evening. I really liked what they did for the most part, especially the 1st team guys, and there are several really good 2nd team guys who will have a positive impact all year. It's all good for me right now. I thought the  Pack 1st team OL did a better than average job against the Huntsville 1st team D-line.

I thought they looked ok last season too until the better and bigger teams came up on the schedule. My biggest concern will be the passing game. May not need much of it with Gavin and Kedren anyways 

[PackAttack]

9 minutes ago, LufkinPack said:

I thought they looked ok last season too until the better and bigger teams came up on the schedule. My biggest concern will be the passing game. May not need much of it with Gavin and Kedren anyways 

Just really good to get this scrimmage out of the way, got some good evaluation done on most of your backup players.  Maybe someone gets a shot to move up in the rotation based on their play tonight.  For the most part the starters were pretty much set before they took the field. There was minimal game planning for this scrimmage, starting next week it's going to be mostly 1s and 2s in the defensive rotation mostly, and to a somewhat lesser extent offensive side. 

Thought the JV and Freshman teams did well overall and had their moments.  There again, your playing lots of folks and trying combinations of players to get a fit.  The JV has a chance to be real good. Wasn't able to watch the Freshmen as closely.

[LufkinPack]

9 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

Wasn't able to watch the Freshmen as closely.

That group I’m concerned about lol I saw them in 8th grade and they weren’t very good at all. Neither were the 7th graders last year. But, a lot changes. We’ll see 

[PackAttack]

First team O in top photo, 1st team D in bottom photo.

[PackAttack]

Good numbers on the Varsity about 70 players suited out.

[PackAttack]

Notre Dame commit Kedren Young looked in midseason form in his short time on the field while Zion Williams looked every bit the part of a big-time recruit as the Lufkin Panthers warmed up for the season with a scrimmage against the Huntsville Hornets Friday night.

The rest of the Panthers seemed ready to make some noise of their own as Lufkin dominated most of the action throughout the two-and-a-half hour warmup.

Huntsville had some late-night fireworks of its own in the final four minutes as the Hornets put up two touchdowns to outscore the Panthers 14-13 in the two quarters of live action on John Outlaw Memorial Field at Abe Martin Stadium.

https://lufkindailynews.com/sports/high_school/lufkin-has-strong-signs-in-scrimmage/article_e0d97c7b-9ea6-51a3-9747-0ca7359a151d.html

With Lufkin freely substituting, Huntsville found the end zone for the only two times of the afternoon in the last 3:30 with Braylon Phelps scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run and Austin Taylor getting behind the defense for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 43 seconds remaining to overcome a 13-0 deficit.

“We were subbing a lot of guys in and out there at the end,” Lufkin head coach Todd Quick said. “No matter what the combination is out there, you have to do your job. That’s going to be a good teaching tool for these guys.”

Despite the finish, there was a lot to like about the Panthers in their only tune-up for the regular season.

The first-team offense moved the ball at will most of the afternoon while Huntsville just to get first downs.

In total, Lufkin outgained Huntsville 409-208.

“I was really pleased with the effort,” Quick said. “The guys were out there flying around. We kind of relaxed at the end, and you have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Young wasn’t on the field long for the Panthers, but when he was, his presence was felt. He ran for a 58-yard touchdown on the fourth play of scrimmage and had a 41-yard catch that helped Lufkin set up a score in the live-action part of the scrimmage.

He ran for 88 yards and a touchdown on six carries and caught two passes for 50 yards.

Young spent the majority of the afternoon watching from the sideline in order to keep his legs fresh for the grind of the season.

“We wanted to get some contact for him,” Quick said. “You know what you’ve got with him. I was really pleased with the way the backs ran tonight. They ran with their shoulder pads down.”

Gavin Phillips was a force for the Panthers, running for 73 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 10 carries.

T.J. Hammond threw for 162 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-17 passing. Nine different receivers caught passes.

“We moved the ball pretty well, but we’ve got a few things to correct with letting guys run free,” Quick said. “We’ll take a look at it (this morning) and see what we need to work on.”

The defense told the story most of the afternoon with an effort that started on the first drive of the controlled portion of the scrimmage.

Williams made a pair of big-time hits on the first drive and the Hornets only recorded one first down in 50 plays of live action.

Half of Huntsville’s yards came on the final two drives of the scrimmage.

“I thought those guys were rallying to the ball,” Quick said. “They really got after it.”

Lufkin outscored Huntsville by putting up two touchdowns and shutting out the Hornets in the controlled portion of the scrimmage.

After Young’s touchdown, Krisean Preston hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hammond.

The first-team offense scored touchdowns on each of its two sets of 10 plays.

It was more of the same in the first quarter of live action. The Panthers drove the length of the field on their first drive with Young’s 41-yard catch setting up a 19-yard Phillips’ run before he ran into the end zone from a yard out. After a three-and-out, Lufkin put together a methodical drive with Young on the sideline with Phillips once again scoring on a 1-yard run that made it 13-0. Huntsville’s first sign of life came near the end of the second quarter when Payton Pryor’s 34-yard run provided a late spark.

The Panthers will open the regular season at 7:30 Friday when they host Tyler Legacy.

Josh Havard’s email address is josh.havard@lufkindailynews.com.

[PackAttack]

A brief background on Huntsville.  They finished 4-7 last year and lost in the 1st round, 56-0 to Ft Bend Marshall.  The Hornet JV was 8-1 last season, so they are expected to be improved this season.  The 2023 DCTF has picked them to finish 4th in District 10-5A DII behind Montgomery Lake Creek, Brenham and Richmond Randle. Huntsville's top RB Trae’shawn Brown did not play last night against Lufkin.

Huntsville opens their season at home next Friday against A&M Consolidated.

 

 

[PackAttack]

 

[PurpleNation]

12 hours ago, PackAttack said:

Overall great,  did not like the brain fart at the end giving up the TD, but whatever. The coaches had seen all they wanted, and was evidently more important for Huntsville to win at the end. 

Lufkin is a better team by far than last year, and someone has already mentioned, our 2s got a lot more work tonight than our 1s. 

All good for me.

That was against a kid that won't take 1 varsity snap this year and will play JV. I wouldn't look into to much. This was the best I've seen Lufkin look against Huntsville in a scrimmage in a while now.

[PackAttack]

I watch the scrimmage again, even with all the sound issues and incessant talking about how great the new Huntsville stadium will be, reminiscing about former Huntsville radio person graduating from Lufkin in 1987.  He said after Nacogdoches kids burned a NAC on our field they beat them 73-0 that year.  First of all they burned a giant N at the middle of Abe Martin field with gasoline, and which ever year he was speaking about, Lufkin beat Nacogdoches 28-7 in 1986 and 17-10 in 1987.  Lufkin didn't beat anyone 73-0 in the 80s.  Finally turned down the sound and just watch the scrimmage.

Lufkin still have things to work on, and a couple folks pointed it out last night too. The passing game needs some fine tuning, it will come.

Maybe I overlooked some things last evening because there were no glaring weakness that stood out immediately during the contest. To me it's the whole point of a scrimmage, to fix stuff and see how rotations and combinations react together.

Is Lufkin anywhere near the level of Forney, Longview or Lancaster?   I guess you have to play the games. Do I think we have the talented athletes to match up? Yes I do, without a doubt. It's other things, it's the overall mentality of the program that I want to see the change. You realize it was fairly basic last night, but the only real difference, and it's a BIG difference to the Lufkin O than the past was the addition of Gavin Phillips running the ball along side Kendren Young.  It is a big difference, that set up creates so many options for not only Phillips, it also will do the same for Young and Hammond.  Guess we will find out a little more next Friday against Legacy. 

There nothing that stood out to me as a weaknesses to me, everything seemed much better than the past 2 or 3 years, it's going to be how well we match up to our district opponents, all of them.

 

 

[PackAttack]

One note to make, our Defense has a chance to be very very good this year, the starters and the rotations of the 2s into the mix impressed me.  They play a lot of kids, rotate rotate rotate so it's hard to evaluate things sometimes. You need to look at individual #2 kids rotating in, we have some depth at several positions.  Especially at NT behind Zion Williams. 

Impressed with the first looks of Menefee and Campbell playing in their new positions on defense. Campbell comes over from WR to Safety and Menefee from Safety to OLB.  Our pursuit sideline to sideline was impressive.  Our LBs are good in the open field.  Like I said, really liked what the Panthers did on the defensive side of things against Huntsville.

[timeout!]

1 hour ago, PackAttack said:

I watch the scrimmage again, even with all the sound issues and incessant talking about how great the new Huntsville stadium will be, reminiscing about former Huntsville radio person graduating from Lufkin in 1987.  He said after Nacogdoches kids burned a NAC on our field they beat them 73-0 that year.  First of all they burned a giant N at the middle of Abe Martin field with gasoline, and which ever year he was speaking about, Lufkin beat Nacogdoches 28-7 in 1986 and 17-10 in 1987.  Lufkin didn't beat anyone 73-0 in the 80s.  Finally turned down the sound and just watch the scrimmage.

 

 

 

I noticed that too. I'm pretty sure that 73-0 happened after he graduated. lol