The Livingston Academy Wildcats had to overcome multiple forms of adversity, but ultimately accomplished their goal as the opened Region 3/4A play with a 7-0 win over Cumberland County on Friday night in Crossville.
The Wildcats played their first game without starting quarterback Parker Coleman, who is out for the season with an injury, and the game was held on a saturated and muddy field.
“We had to come out and compete,” said LA head coach Bruce Lamb. “The kids did a great job. We can’t help the conditions of the field or the weather. We have no control over that, but the kids lined up and played ball. They fought extremely hard and I’m proud of them.”
The lone score of the game came when senior running back Kaleb Robinson took in a 10-yard touchdown rush.
Both teams struggled to move the ball throughout the contest as players struggled to gain traction on a saturated field.
Lamb said the narrow win should build confidence in his young football team.
“I think it helps us quite a bit,” said Lamb. “We know we can run the ball when we need to. Especially last night, we weren’t going to throw the ball. There’s no way we could throw the ball and the same thing as Cumberland County.”
Lamb was complimentary of the strides Cumberland County has made as a program under first-year head coach Noah Repasky.
“Coach (Repasky) has done a great job with those guys,” said Lamb. “They’re so much better. It was a great win for our kids. We figured out we can do what we need to do at different times of the game.”
In the absence of Coleman, Raven Carpenter and Nathan Cowgill are splitting time at the quarterback position. Lamb said he was pleased with their performance Friday night.
“I was very proud of what they did,” said Lamb. “Raven came in and gave us a different dynamic with running the ball. Nathan came in and did a great job controlling the game and threw a couple of good balls. I think in dry weather they would’ve been completed. For a sophomore to come out in his first start ever at quarterback, I thought he was great.”
The Wildcats (2-1, 1-0) now turn their attention towards a non-region rivalry matchup against Upperman. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in Livingston. Lamb said his team is excited to play a rival at home.
“It is big with Upperman coming in. They are a rivalry,” said Lamb. “It’s even bigger that we get to play at home. We haven’t been at home the last three weeks. This is our first game at home since Nolensville (in the 2019 playoffs). Our guys are real excited about that. We’ll have to prepare really well. We’re just going to have to line up and get better and hopefully we can come out with a win.”