Rain or No Rain The Showdown Was Going Down – District MatchUp Live Oak Eagles take on the Walker Wildcats

Writer/Contributor Jo Eddlemon – Recruit Louisiana
Game Highlights:

It was a calm clear night that turned into a wet soggy rain storm in a matter of minutes.  One thunderstorm cell came over the area that had fans running for cover; however, that didn’t stop the teams from taking the field and fighting it out on the gridiron.

The match up between the Live Oak Eagles and the Walker Wildcats was set to be a pivotal district game for both teams.  Each team was needing to establish themselves in the district standings.  What was a little rain going to stop?  Nothing….the show had to go on.

With one of the strongest legs in the Class of 2022 kicking prospects, Live Oak’s senior kicker Landon Ratcliff boomed the opening kickoff for a touchback.  He would continue to have a strong night for the Eagles in the kicking game.

Walker would open up with a scoring drive, capitalizing on explosive plays led by junior athlete and wide receiver Ja’Cory Thomas (6’3″ 180) and a grinding run game from senior running back Rayshawn Simmons.  The Wildcats would capitalize on Live Oak’s miscues and turnovers to jump out to an early lead in the first half with a halftime score of 19-7.  The Wildcat defense would not budge in the second half with their game plan and continued to make defensive stances that would help the Wildcats to finish out the game with a 26-7 win.

Walker held the Eagles to only 171 yards of total offense for the game.  It was all about the defense stepping up and making the plays to control the line of scrimmage and the clock.  “I have players on the field that are just dawgs,” stated defensive coordinator Doug Dotson. “They play hard every down.”

The Wildcats wasted no time putting together a successful first offensive possession.  Junior wide receiver Ja’Cory Thomas would take the ball off right side for a 42 yard run on the second play of the game to get the ball down to the 25.  Senior running back, Rayshawn Simmons would finish off the offensive series by taking the handoff from Bethel and scampering 13 yards for the first score of the game with 9:51 left in the first quarter.  Thomas would finish the night with 104 yards rushing on six carries and a touchdown and Simmons would finish with 69 grinding yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns.

The Eagles would find the end zone after an interception by Live Oak’s junior free safety Skyler Martin.  The Eagles would capitalize on the turnover to get into the end zone, as junior running back Daylen Lee would take the handoff and plow his way into the end zone to tie the game up at 7 at the 4:22 mark of the 1st quarter.  Lee would pound out 161 yards on the ground on 25 carries on the night for the Eagles.

In the first quarter, each team would exchange turnovers on big defensive plays.  The Eagles were not able to capitalize and but the Wildcats seemed to use their opportunities to move the ball down the field.  One such defensive stop came in the second quarter when Live Oak’s quarterback Tyler Graves fumbled the ball as he was sacked on a 3rd and 9 play.  Walker recovered the ball on the 49 yard line.  The Wildcat offense took over from there and on the first play of the series Thomas took the handoff, broke a tackle and scampered 49 yards for Walker’s second touchdown of the game taking back the lead 13-7 with 10:19 left in the half.  The Wildcats did not look back from there.

The Wildcats third scoring opportunity in the first half came from a misplayed kickoff by Live Oak.  Walker fell on the ball and took over at Live Oak’s 32 yard line.  Simmons would then take the ball on three consecutive rushes to grind out much needed yardage, breaking tackles and shedding tacklers along the way.  It set up a final one yard rushing touchdown with under 9 minutes left in the first half to extended the Wildcats lead 19-7.  Walker’s offense appeared to once again be on the move but a fumble on 4th and 2 was recovered by the Live Oak defense with 2:30 left in the half and that would be the halftime score.

Live Oak would get the ball to start the second half.  Freshman quarterback Sawyer Pruitt took over the helm for the Eagles.  Pruitt had trouble getting the offense moving down the field against a stout Wildcat defense.  The Eagles had a scoring opportunity in the 3rd quarter but Lee was stopped short on 4th down and 3.  Both defenses then took over on the field holding their opponents and forcing punts by each teams special teams units.

The Eagles had another bright spot in the second half when David Voorhies intercepted Bethel that would give the ball back to the Live Oak offense but a roughing the passer call negated the interception and the Wildcats maintain possession.

Walker would add another touchdown in the fourth quarter as Sophomore running back C J McClendon would take the ball from 11 yards out with 3:20 left to play and extend the lead 26-7 Walker.

Another explosive player for the Walker offense on Friday night to help the Wildcats garner the win, junior athlete Warren Young, Jr. had key plays throughout the night that keep the Wildcats moving down the field and helping extend offensive plays to set up scoring opportunities.

Walker would end the night with 305 yards of total offense to Live Oak’s 168 yards of total offense.

More To Come Including Key Players Of The Game……