Most teams would dwell on dropping the first game of the season, but for Lumberton, the Panthers saw more valuable positives than negatives.
Although Lumberton dropped its season-opener to Purvis 33-28, the Panthers rallied from a 20-point deficit in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. For Lumberton coach Jonathan Ladner, the key takeaway was the signs of maturity that his predominantly young team showed.
“We still have some things we need to clean up,” Ladner said. “But I think our guys saw that when we do what we’re supposed to do, play with great effort, do our job and execute that we got a chance to be a dangerous team this year, especially being young, we’re going to get better every week.
“I think we started growing up some. It’s about learning how to finish. I think we developed a fighter’s mentality on Friday.”
At the same time, Ladner’s biggest critique of his team was its tackling and blocking.
“We didn’t tackle very well,” Ladner said. “Not saying Purvis didn’t execute well and didn’t scheme as well. We just missed too many tackles, and it kind of put us in a bind. It’s early in the season, and reps are key. That’s going to be a big focus this week. For us, it is really two things (to focus on) which are sustain our blocks on offense and be better tacklers.”
Sophomore quarterback Chase Toney finished the game 10-for-13 and threw for 167 yards and a touchdown and ran for another touchdown. Da’Byron Conerly also ran for 102 yards and two scores, while sophomore wide receiver Kalyjah Willis hauled in three catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Looking ahead, the Panthers will face Lawrence County this week. The Cougars, who finished last season 6-5, come off a 21-16 win over Brookhaven.
Leading the Cougars on both sides of the ball is running back Ahmad Hardy, who is also one of the team’s starting linebackers. Hardy put up 177 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown.
“Offensively, they run a Wing-T,” Ladner said. “They have a really good running back. Hardy is a really good ball player. When it gets to be tough times, you know he is going to get the ball. He’s kind of their leader on defense and flies around and gets people lined up. He is a guy that then, offensively, we got to know where he’s learned. Defensively we got to know where he’s lined up as well to make sure we have him accounted for because he’s a really good player.
“Their quarterback is a threat this year. They are going to add a dimension that we’re going to have to work on defensively.”
Lawrence County’s quarterback Kannon Cato compiled 153 all-purpose yards and was responsible for two touchdowns, and is also the team’s starting defensive back.
“Defensively, they are kind of similar to us,” Ladner said. “They are going to be in a 3-3 or 3-4 (scheme). They are going to bring pressure. They are gap sound on defense. They are always in the right spots.”
Lumberton will face Lawrence County on the road Friday with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
“I think there are some things we need to polish up on,” Ladner said. “I really feel that the biggest thing for our team this week going forward is we need to try and match the intensity (we had last week) every week.
“We need to start the ball game better. We started slow on offense and defense. We have just got to learn how to come and start the game with that intensity rather than waiting for it to kick in as the game goes on.”
