With a showdown with The Woodlands Highlanders ahead of them, the Lufkin Panthers' offense came out firing on all cylinders against the College Park Cavaliers Saturday afternoon.
By the end of the day, Lufkin QB Deauntre "Bush" Smiley had his best day as a Panther and Lufkin looked ready to challenge the No. 3 team in the state in a game that will decide the district title after easing past College Park, 51-20.
Andy Adams/The Lufkin Daily News |
Lufkin's Carrington jumps to make an interception in the end zone during Saturday's game between the Panthers and College Park Cavaliers at Woodforest Bank Stadium in The Woodlands.
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Earlier in the week, Lufkin head coach John Outlaw had referred to the contest with College Park as "a big game to set up another big game." Lufkin was up to the challenge for the first part of that test.
Smiley completed all 19 of his passes as he threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries.
"In 31 years of coaching, I've had some players that have had some unbelievable performances," Outlaw said. "But I've never had someone go 100 percent when he throws that much. It wasn't just him though.
"Our offensive line gave him time to throw, and he had people there to catch it. We didn't drop a single pass."
It was Lufkin's best performance since a 28-14 win over the Longview Lobos earlier this season.
Now Lufkin will need to put together a similar performance against an even better team as the Highlanders visit Abe Martin Stadium. The Highlanders enter Friday's game with an 8-0 record and a No. 3 state ranking and a No. 10 national ranking by USA Today.
However, Lufkin is 5-0 against the Highlanders since the teams joined the same district in 2004.
Here is a look back at Saturday's win.
Offense — Saturday's performance was easily the best by the Panthers' offense this year. College Park came in allowing 17 points per game but gave up 24 points before the half.
Lufkin did much of its damage through the air with Smiley being the main threat running the ball.
In Smiley's 19-for-19 day, he spread the ball around to five different receivers, including Arthur Tinz, who had one of his better games of the season with five receptions for 57 yards.
Quinn Trimble led Lufkin with six receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns, Tra Horace added 38 yards on four catches and Earon Johnson hauled in a 23-yard touchdown reception.
Glenn Hunt added a 12-yard touchdown run, his first offensive touchdown of the year.
Defense — Lufkin gave up its most yardage since its loss to John Tyler earlier this year. But the Panthers managed to hold College Park to just 13 points before the Cavs tacked on a touchdown on the final play of the game.
After College Park drove for a touchdown on its opening drive, the Cavaliers had little trouble moving the ball as it had 430 yards. But the Panthers had the answers when the Cavs got in scoring position, including two recovered fumbles and an interception.
Carrington Byndom led Lufkin's defense with nine tackles and an interception in the end zone. Desron Williams also had nine tackles, including one for a loss, and a forced fumble.
The team's leading tackler, James Duirden, added seven tackles, and Tomme Mark had seven tackles, including three for losses, and a forced fumble.
Special teams — The Panthers allowed a big kickoff return on the opening kickoff but were solid throughout the rest of the game.
The highlight came when Hunt returned the second-half kickoff for 70 yards for a touchdown. That made it a 24-point game and really took away any chances of a College Park comeback.
Luis Garcia connected on a 33-yard field goal that gave Lufkin the lead for good and was also good on each of his five extra point tries.
Punter Will Fenley had a quiet day with Lufkin's offense moving the ball but did connect on a 40-yard punt on his only attempt.
Lufkin will take on The Woodlands Friday night at 7:30.
