Lions win catfight over Cougars

Lovelady defenders swarm a Leon ball carrier in last week's 50-7 road win.  Photo by Lawanna Monk

By Lawanna Monk

JEWETT – The Lovelady Lions wrapped up their non-district schedule with a 50-7 win over Leon Friday night.

Dayvian Skinner booted a deep opening kick and Alan Baskin immediately hit the return man at the 20. Leon was forced to punt and a highkick went out of bounds at the Leon 34.

After a 10-yard penalty, quarterback Shaun Easterling rolled out and hit Brandon Fry on a pass to the 19. Easterling capped the drive on a 19-yard run with 9:13 left. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Lions with a 6-0 lead.

Taking over at their own 28 after a punt, the Lions put together an 8-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Runs by Easterling and Jordan Blackmon moved the ball across midfield. On the first play of the second quarter, Blake Patrick took a handoff and was hit as he went through the line. Bouncing off defenders, Patrick kept his feet moving for 44 yards before being forced out of bounds at the Leon 5. Easterling then hit Jayton Crawford on a 5-yard TD toss and Skinner ran up the middle for the conversion to put the Lions up 14-0 at the 11:22 mark.

Leon scored after returning the kickoff to its 30 before Landen LeBlanc made the stop. The Cougars completed a quick pass over the top and the receiver reached the Lion 2 before Skylar Pipkin ran him down. After LeBlanc shut down the next play, the Cougars scored on a 3-yard pass and kicked the extra point to make it 14-7 with 10:11 left in the half.

Lovelady dominated the rest of the game and opened up a 28-7 halftime lead.

After Leon's kickoff, the Lions drove 58 yards on six plays and scored on a 29-yard pass to Oscar Sutton. Blackmon ran the conversion for a 22-7 lead with 7:19 on the clock.

Taking over at their own 34 on another punt, the Lions drove the field on the running of Blackmon, Easterling, Whitaker and Skinner. Easterling threw to Fry for 24-yards to the 2 yard line and then capped the drive on the next play with :30 left in the half. The conversion failed.

The Lions struck for three touchdowns in the third quarter before the scoreless final period.

After Pipkin fielded the second-half kickoff at the Lion 42, Blackmon reeled off a 28-yarder as he strong-armed defenders along the way.

Blackmon carried three more times, Skinner had three carries and Easterling had four carries, including a 2 -yard TD run. Blackmon ran the conversion, putting the Lions in control 36-7 at 7:01 mark.

Lovelady's next scoring drive covered 61 yards on three plays. After Cortavies Whitaker carried twice for 14 and 11 yards, Skinner finished it off with a strong run from the Cougar 36. Skinner ran the conversion and the Lions went up 43-7 with 3:28 in the third.

The Lions cashed in a Leon fumble after Patrick scooped up a loose ball around the 40 and returned it to the Cougar 21. Whitaker carried for six, Baskin followed with a five-yarder and Whitaker scored from 10 yards out. Skinner tacked on the final point to make it 50-7 with 1:33 left in the third.

Troy Shupak kept pressure on the quarterback all night and set the Cougars for a loss more than once.