2024 LUFKIN PANTHER VARSITY FOOTBALL DISCUSSION TOPIC

[PackAttack]

Panthers 32  Barbers Hill  14

https://lufkindailynews.com/sports/high_school/panthers-run-over-barbers-hill-32-14/article_1be38036-1e10-5071-970f-a5b7f3e1d1c4.html

Lufkin’s defense shut out a high-scoring Barbers Hill team over the final three quarters here Friday night and the offense controlled the second half as the Panthers took a 32-14 win over the Eagles in the District 9-5A DI opener at Abe Martin Stadium.

The Panthers gave up a pair of first-quarter scores and missed some early opportunities themselves, falling behind 14-8.

Lufkin rallied to go ahead 22-14 at halftime, and its offense controlled the ball most of the second half.

In the second half, the Panthers carried the ball 23 times for 107 yards and kept Barbers Hill out of the end zone and slowed down sophomore receiver Kaegan Morgan, who had 134 yards receiving in the first half.

“When you try to simulate the speed of the game, and No. 2 (Morgan) is a really good football player, he can fly,” Lufkin head coach Todd Quick said. “We had to adjust, and I was pleased with our three guys up front and how they stayed on their guys up front to free up our linebackers. We started making plays with our down linemen, which freed up our linebackers. That gave us pressure and helped the secondary.”

Leading 22-14 at halftime, the Panthers scored in just three plays on their first series of the second half.

Running back Gavin Phillips burst through the middle of the Eagles’ defense and went 37 yards for a touchdown. Nolan Hansard’s PAT made it 29-14.

The Panthers defense, which had given up 258 yards in the first half, did not give up big plays in the second and came up with three turnovers.

The first was a forced fumble by Jorden McClendon recovered by Bailey Murphy at the Panthers’ 28.

That series started with 3:48 on the clock in the third and the Panthers held the ball until under 10 minutes in the game.

Hansard capped the drive with a 30-yard field goal that put Lufkin in front 32-14.

The Panthers’ defense got two more turnovers in the fourth with Kenneth Timmons picking off a pair of passes to seal the 32-14 win.

Both teams moved the ball well in the first quarter.

While Barbers Hill got touchdowns on its first two series, the Panthers scored just once on its first three series despite reaching the Eagles’ 20 each time.

The Panthers used nine plays on the opening series to drive inside the Barbers Hill 20. The big play on the series was an 18-yard pass from Quincy Coutee to Jayden Nichols on a third and eight.

A Lufkin fumble ended the series at the 9.

Barbers Hill picked up a first down to the 19, then Zeke Cantu hit Morgan on a screen that Morgan took 75 yards before being brought down at the Panthers’ 5 by Timmons.

The Eagles scored two plays later on a 3-yard run by Gabe Howard. Anthony Castilo’s PAT made it 7-0.

Lufkin answered with a nine-play drive with Coutee connecting with Ke’Vondrick Taylor three times for gains of 9, 9 and 13. Phillips scored from the one and Coutee ran in the two-point try to put the Panthers up 8-7.

The Eagles answered with a 12-play, 73-yard drive to regain the lead. Cantu hit Dale Carter for a gain of 21 and Morgan for 24 on the drive. The Panthers’ defense stopped running back D.J. Jordan on three straight plays inside the 5, but Cantu kept the ball around the left side on fourth and one to get in the end zone. Castillo’s extra point made it 14-8.

The Panthers’ next series made it to the Barbers Hill 20, but ended with a missed 37-yard field goal.

Lufkin regained the lead on its next possession. A 15-yard pass from Javion Johnson to Coutee moved the ball out near midfield. On a third and seven, Johnson hit Taylor on a short pass that Taylor turned into a 58-yard touchdown. Nolan Hansard’s PAT put the Panthers ahead 15-14.

Lufkin got a three-and-out and a 34-yard punt return by Taylor set up another score.

Johnson ran for 8 yards to the 9 with 38 seconds left to set up a first and goal. Johnson was injured on the play and Coutee moved back to QB. Coutee was able to handle a low snap on the next play and ran the ball in from the 9. Hansard’s PAT made it 22-14 at halftime.

Lufkin (4-1, 1-0) will play at Beaumont West Brook on Friday.

Edwin Quarles’ email address is edwin.quarles@lufkindailynews.com.

[timeout!]

Too bad we can't go back and rewatch the game. 

[PackAttack]

This is the way you want to start district.  How long has it been since we were not playing out of a hole of 0-1 or 0-2 to start district play?

	District				Overall
Opponent	W-L	PCT	PF	PA	W-L-T	PCT	PF	PA	Streak
Ball	1-0	1.000	45	0	5-0	1.000	213	50	5W
Port Arthur Memorial	1-0	1.000	34	0	4-1	0.800	205	100	2W
Lufkin	1-0	1.000	32	14	4-1	0.800	187	60	4W
Barbers Hill	0-1	0.000	14	32	3-2	0.600	186	110	1L
Beaumont United	0-1	0.000	0	34	2-3	0.400	54	151	1L
Sterling	0-1	0.000	0	45	3-2	0.600	150	98	1L
West Brook	0-0	0.000	0	0	2-2	0.500	84	77	1L

[PurpleNation]

19 minutes ago, timeout! said:

Too bad we can't go back and rewatch the game. 

It's on Texanlive if you have a subscription. I went back and watched it last night before bed. I'll post my game thoughts later. 

[PackAttack]

Lufkin game Highlights:

https://fan.hudl.com/usa/tx/lufkin/organization/6505/lufkin-isd-high-school/team/16869/boys-varsity-football

[PurpleNation]

19 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

This is the way you want to start district.  How long has it been since we were not playing out of a hole of 0-1 or 0-2 to start district play?

	District				Overall
Opponent	W-L	PCT	PF	PA	W-L-T	PCT	PF	PA	Streak
Ball	1-0	1.000	45	0	5-0	1.000	213	50	5W
Port Arthur Memorial	1-0	1.000	34	0	4-1	0.800	205	100	2W
Lufkin	1-0	1.000	32	14	4-1	0.800	187	60	4W
Barbers Hill	0-1	0.000	14	32	3-2	0.600	186	110	1L
Beaumont United	0-1	0.000	0	34	2-3	0.400	54	151	1L
Sterling	0-1	0.000	0	45	3-2	0.600	150	98	1L
West Brook	0-0	0.000	0	0	2-2	0.500	84	77	1L

PA are you getting in the boat yet? Lol

[timeout!]

1 minute ago, PurpleNation said:

It's on Texanlive if you have a subscription. I went back and watched it last night before bed. I'll post my game thoughts later. 

Thanks for the heads up. My account is inactive right now. I usually sign up around playoff time.

[PurpleNation]

9 minutes ago, timeout! said:

Thanks for the heads up. My account is inactive right now. I usually sign up around playoff time.

I would like to see them leave the Lufkin stream up a little longer like they did earlier in the year. These last two games they have gotten them down really fast. Before I was able to get home and rewatch them in plenty of time before they got pulled. 

[PackAttack]

26 minutes ago, PurpleNation said:

It's on Texanlive if you have a subscription. I went back and watched it last night before bed. I'll post my game thoughts later. 

Watching it now while drinking my coffee.   Put my Captain's hat on too, inspecting the deck. 

[PurpleNation]

1 minute ago, PackAttack said:

Watching it now while drinking my coffee.   Put my Captain's hat on too, inspecting the deck. 

😂 

[timeout!]

4 minutes ago, PurpleNation said:

I would like to see them leave the Lufkin stream up a little longer like they did earlier in the year. These last two games they have gotten them down really fast. Before I was able to get home and rewatch them in plenty of time before they got pulled. 

I honestly don't understand the reasoning. Not sure if it's on the districts end or the company that produces it. They do a great job and I think would benefit from having the stream available on their channel. I can't imagine very many people going back to watch film a year later when it's available. 

[PackAttack]

I would like to see more motion with Taylor and Hooper in the backfield.  Taylor is so good as WR and as a return guy.

[PurpleNation]

13 minutes ago, timeout! said:

I honestly don't understand the reasoning. Not sure if it's on the districts end or the company that produces it. They do a great job and I think would benefit from having the stream available on their channel. I can't imagine very many people going back to watch film a year later when it's available. 

It's at the coaches request I believe. Teams still trade film just on hudl now. If all of your games are out there then why would I send you my film. Still nothing like in person scouting and evaluation.

[PurpleNation]

9 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

I would like to see more motion with Taylor and Hooper in the backfield.  Taylor is so good as WR and as a return guy.

I'm sure glad he is on our team. I've said for years that this kid is as elusive as they come. Only way I can describe it is cat like reflexes and change of direction. He's as good as anyone you will find that's played for Lufkin after the catch in open field. 

[timeout!]

1 minute ago, PurpleNation said:

It's at the coaches request. Teams still trade film just on hudl now. If all of your games are out there then why would I send you my film. Still nothing like in person scouting and evaluation.

I don't know all the logistics behind what is sent or when. I'm sure Lufkin coaches have their preference. Just seems a little odd when so many other schools like Longview have their games immediately available after playing.

[timeout!]

1 minute ago, PurpleNation said:

I'm sure glad he is on our team. I've said for years that this kid is as elusive as they come. Only way I can describe it is cat like reflexes and change of direction. He's as good as anyone you will find that's played for Lufkin after the catch in open field. 

I wish they would get the ball in his hands more. Something good usually happens when he touches the ball.

[PackAttack]

PANTHER OL PLAYERS OF THE GAME!

[PackAttack]

Really concerned for Johnson, hope he can recover and get well.

[timeout!]

28 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

Really concerned for Johnson, hope he can recover and get well.

Same..think the best version of this team is with him at Qb. He has a high upside and I can see the potential with him at QT on the field at the same time.

[PurpleNation]

48 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

PANTHER OL PLAYERS OF THE GAME!

Well deserved. 

[PackAttack]

Young and Waters just did not have the speed to cover Morton. Timmons chased him down on the late 1st quarter play.  Whatever they thought they had planned for him in practice was must faster in person. He should have had a 85 yard TD catch, he just blew by Young, then Young fell down.  That was a huge no catch. A real game changer, cause Lufkin went down and score afterward.

[PurpleNation]

40 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

Really concerned for Johnson, hope he can recover and get well.

At this point I think we can only hope he can return and maybe play in an emergency situation in the playoffs if Coutee was to go down. Not sure you can just stick him out there once the playoffs start but then again the kid is a gamer.

[PurpleNation]

Just now, PackAttack said:

Young and Waters just did not have the speed to cover Morton. Timmons chased him down on the late 1st quarter play.  Whatever they thought they had planned for him in practice was must faster live. He should have had a 85 yard TD catch, he just blew by Young, then Young fell down.  That was a huge no catch. A real game changer.

That's exactly what my son said. He was a lot faster in person than on tape. You can tell the kid has had a ton of training. His release off the line is next level and his double moves down field are legit. His hands are a little questionable but he can work on that. Every time he touched it you felt like he could score but I also feel the same way with our #2 😎

[PackAttack]

It's always nice to win, especially a big game cause we have so much less to say. At full strength this would be an awesome Lufkin team. Even with 2 or 3 out they are still formidable. Really fortunate to have Coutee and the depth this year on the offense and defense. The only thing, the last two weeks has been the secondary giving up big plays, or the possible missed big play like last night. Someone may explain what may be happening there with assignments and reads back there.

By the way the BH fans are silent as mice today.  Just from some of the things I read before the game you could tell they expected a different outcome for this game.  They knew how good Morton is, we had to adjust to him. What they didn't know is we had our own #2 in Taylor to counter. Whoever plays BH the rest of the way need to watch  Morton close, he is a game changer.

[PurpleNation]

I really like what I saw last night from the kids. They have shown the ability to make in game adjustments defensively this year in multiple games. Giving up two TD drives to start the game and then to go and pitch a shutout for 3 quarters is a sign of a good and experienced defense. Offensively I was really impressed. Coach Green was a step ahead of the BH defense all night. Remember earlier in the week I said they're aggressive and react to every little motion. Well on Gavin's long TD run we shifted Waters out of the backfield and into the flat #31 before the snap started moving to contain the motion and we hand it off to Gavin and he runs right where the kid left and through his buddy at MLB. It also looked like Lufkin was getting lined up and reading the defense. The offensive line looked really good last night. Credit Coach Cook. He's found the right combo and it's working. Just impressed all the way around from the coaching from the coaches to the play from the players. Also BH had a state championship winning coach. I'm just saying sometimes it's about the Jimmy's and the Joe's more than the X's and the O's.