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NL puts up fight in tough loss
By Brent Wilburn
The Paris News
Published August 30, 2009
TEXARKANA — North Lamar head coach Tommy Felty’s worst case scenario became a reality Friday night in the Panthers’ game against Liberty-Eylau.
The Panther offense had been the weak link throughout the team’s pre-season scrimmages, but Felty hoped the kinks would be worked out in time for the game against the Leopards.
Instead, turnovers and inconsistency doomed North Lamar early in the game, and the Leopard offense used its elusive speed to break free for big runs en route to a 28-0 victory over North Lamar.
“Mistakes were a major difference in the game,” Felty said. “We missed too many assignments. ... It’s like I’ve said from the beginning. There were a lot of kids out there for the first time on a Friday night and had never been there before in a varsity game.
“It’s totally different. It takes them time to adjust to what’s happening.”
Liberty-Eylau (1-0) rushed for 225 yards and four touchdowns in the game, including a 45-yard keeper by quarterback Trey Norman to cap off the game’s scoring in the third quarter.
The Panthers (0-1) ended the game with 108 rushing yards of their own, most of which came in the second half. The Panthers ended the game with 137 total yards of offense, while the Leopards had 255.
The offensive discrepancy is obviously a noticeable difference, but it wasn’t one that would be a stand-alone statistic to tell the difference in the game.
It was North Lamar’s four first-half turnovers that contributed to Liberty-Eylau’s 21-point outburst in the two opening quarters and caused Felty to reminisce about those growing pains.
The first was a fumble by quarterback Ryan White; the second was a botched catch on a punt return by David Bozarth; the third was another fumble by White due to miscommunication on a play; and the fourth was an interception by Liberty-Eylau senior Marquez Clark.
Clark, the player who scored three touchdowns in the game against North Lamar a season ago, had the interception and one catch for 15 yards in the game.
The containment of Clark was one of the bright spots for the North Lamar defense, which held its own in the contest before becoming visibly winded on the field as the game progressed.
The only two major mistakes made by the Panther defense were a 69-yard scamper by tailback Tra Carson and the 45-yard touchdown run by Norman.
Barring those two lapses, they turned in a decent performance in a disappointing season-opening setback.
Defensive end Will Harrington stood out for his play, as he notched two sacks in the first quarter. Tanner Goff also contributed with a fumble recovery. T.J. Shirley led the North Lamar team with 12 tackles in the game.
The Panthers began the game by allowing Liberty-Eylau to score its first touchdown of the game on an eight-play drive, which lasted slightly under five minutes. The scoring drive was capped off by a 13-yard run by Hollis Webster.
They had a pair of impressive stands after two turnovers in the first quarter, including a stand on a fourth-and-long play, before surrendering the second score of the contest on a four-yard jaunt by Carson.
North Lamar’s offense took possession of the ball after that stand, but White threw his interception to Clark on fourth down after the team had marched down to the Liberty-Eylau 34-yard line.
Clark returned it to North Lamar’s 40-yard line, and the Leopards ended that drive with an eight-yard run by Webster.
An offensive bright spot during the second half was the play of Keathan Morris. Morris had 12 rushes for 62 yards, all of which came in the second half.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Panthers had their best opportunity to find the end zone as they found themselves on the Liberty-Eylau 27-yard line. However, the drive ended on fourth down when White zinged a lateral pass to Walston, who tried to find Shirley but was instead intercepted in the end zone by Norman.
“L-E has a good football team,” Felty said. “It’s the best I’ve seen there in a long time. We just have to take some positives out of it and learn from our mistakes, continue to improve and move forward to next week.”
The Panthers will attempt to turn things around at 7:30 p.m. Friday at R.L. Maddox Stadium when they host Class 4A Terrell.
NORTH LAMAR 0, LIBERTY-EYLAU 28
North Lamar 0 0 0 0 — 0
Liberty-Eylau 7 14 7 0 — 28
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Liberty-Eylau – Hollis Webster 13 run, 7:27 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
Second Quarter
Liberty-Eylau – Tra Carson 4 run, 11:24 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
Liberty-Eylau – Hollis Webster 8 run, 0:36 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
Third Quarter
Liberty-Eylau – Trey Norman 45 run, 5:15 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
NORTH LAMAR LIBERTY-EYLAU
FIRST DOWNS 10, 15
By rush 7, 11
By pass 2, 2
By penalty 1, 2
Rushes – Yards 34-108 32-225
Passing 29 30
C-A-I 4-11-2 2-4-0
Total Yards 137 255
Punts – avg. 3-38 2-39
Fumbles – Lost 4-3 2-1
Penalties – Yards 4-36 7-55
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: North Lamar — Bobby King 16-43, Keathan Morris 12-62, Ryan White 5-0, Dominic Corpus 1-3. Liberty-Eylau — Tra Carson 12-118, Alex Watson 6-15, Josh Webster 6-13, Terran Cooper 3-9, Hollis Webster 2-21, Cantrell McKinley 2-4, Trey Norman 1-45.
PASSING: North Lamar — Ryan White 4-10-1, 29. Tyler Walston 0-1-1, 0. Liberty-Eylau — Trey Norman 2-4-0, 30.
RECEIVING: North Lamar — David Bozarth 2-13, Canyon Conley 1-13, Sam Harrington 1-3. Liberty-Eylau — Marquez Clark 1-15, Kendrick Ray 1-15.
RECORDS – North Lamar 0-1. Liberty-Eylau 1-0.
team with 12 tackles in the game.
The Panthers began the game by allowing Liberty-Eylau to score its first touchdown of the game on an eight-play drive, which lasted slightly under five minutes. The scoring drive was capped off by a 13-yard run by Hollis Webster.
They had a pair of impressive stands after two turnovers in the first quarter, including a stand on a fourth-and-long play, before surrendering the second score of the contest on a four-yard jaunt by Carson.
North Lamar’s offense took possession of the ball after that stand, but White threw his interception to Clark on fourth down after the team had marched down to the Liberty-Eylau 34-yard line.
Clark returned it to North Lamar’s 40-yard line, and the Leopards ended that drive with an eight-yard run by Webster.
An offensive bright spot during the second half was the play of Keathan Morris. Morris had 12 rushes for 62 yards, all of which came in the second half.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Panthers had their best opportunity to find the end zone as they found themselves on the Liberty-Eylau 27-yard line. However, the drive ended on fourth down when White zinged a lateral pass to Walston, who tried to find Shirley but was instead intercepted in the end zone by Norman.
“L-E has a good football team,” Felty said. “It’s the best I’ve seen there in a long time. We just have to take some positives out of it and learn from our mistakes, continue to improve and move forward to next week.”
The Panthers will attempt to turn things around at 7:30 p.m. Friday at R.L. Maddox Stadium when they host Class 4A Terrell.
LIBERTY-EYLAU 28, NORTH LAMAR 0
North Lamar 0 0 0 0 — 0
Liberty-Eylau 7 14 7 0 — 28
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Liberty-Eylau – Hollis Webster 13 run, 7:27 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
Second Quarter
Liberty-Eylau – Tra Carson 4 run, 11:24 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
Liberty-Eylau – Hollis Webster 8 run, 0:36 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
Third Quarter
Liberty-Eylau – Trey Norman 45 run, 5:15 (Andrew Morsmen kick)
NORTH LAMAR, LIBERTY-EYLAU
FIRST DOWNS 10, 15
By rush 7, 11
By pass 2, 2
By penalty 1, 2
Rushes — Yards 34-108 32-225
Passing — 29 30
C-A-I — 4-11-2 2-4-0
Total Yards — 137 255
Punts - avg. — 3-38 2-39
Fumbles - Lost — 4-3 2-1
Penalties - Yards — 4-36 7-55
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: North Lamar — Bobby King 16-43, Keathan Morris 12-62, Ryan White 5-0, Dominic Corpus 1-3. Liberty-Eylau — Tra Carson 12-118, Alex Watson 6-15, Josh Webster 6-13, Terran Cooper 3-9, Hollis Webster 2-21, Cantrell McKinley 2-4, Trey Norman 1-45.
PASSING: North Lamar — Ryan White 4-10-1, 29. Tyler Walston 0-1-1, 0. Liberty-Eylau — Trey Norman 2-4-0, 30.
RECEIVING: North Lamar — David Bozarth 2-13, Canyon Conley 1-13, Sam Harrington 1-3. Liberty-Eylau — Marquez Clark 1-15, Kendrick Ray 1-15.
RECORDS – North Lamar 0-1. Liberty-Eylau 1-0.
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