A dream of a first quarter quickly turned to a nightmare for the Leesville Wampus Cats, as the No. 1 Rebels of West Monroe pulled away to a 68-28 win here Friday night.
The game wasn't without its shock factor, however. Leesville, which was blown away from the beginning against the Rebels in 2009, came out and punched the state bully in the mouth with a quick 21-7 lead behind the play of senior Levander Liggins and junior Zack Squyres.
What followed was every team's worst scenario. West Monroe capitalized on turnovers and Leesville mistakes to reel off 42 unanswered points to end the first half.
"Apparently, West Monroe didn't know how good our passing game was and how good Levander Liggins is," Leesville head coach David Feaster said. "In that first quarter we did what we had to do — score quickly, onside kick and get the ball back and score again. Unfortunately, fatigue began to play a role in what happened."
If Rebel players, coaches and fans didn't know who Liggins was prior to the game, they walked away with a healthy respect for No. 1. Liggins torched what was billed as West Monroe's best defense ever with three first-quarter touchdowns.
Four plays into the first quarter, Liggins hauled in a Squyres pass down the middle of the field for a 73-yard touchdown and the track meet was ignited. West Monroe had an answer in senior tailback Tyler Cain, who scored from 14 yards out to tie the game at 7-7.
Five plays later, Liggins struck again by hooking up with Squyres on a 36-yard scoring strike to up the lead to 14-7 when Colton Honeycutt converted the second of his four PAT kicks. Feaster turned to his modus operandi with an onside kick, perfectly executed when Deshaun Shorty recovered at the West Monroe 43. After a 9-yard completion to Liggins, the senior all-purpose performer scooted in from 40 yards out to put the Cats ahead, 21-7, and silence the capacity crowd at Rebel Stadium.
"After playing for over an hour, you look at the clock and there's still six minutes left in the first quarter," Feaster said. "It's hot on the turf there and we began to wear down and fatigue. When that happens, you begin to make mistakes."
Cain scored from 36 yards out to cut into the Leesville lead at 21-14 and following a short Leesville punt the Rebels returned to the Leesville 17, Cain went in again from one yard out to knot the game at 21 still in the first quarter.
As the second quarter began, Leesville put together an impressive drive from its own 43 down to the West Monroe 33, but a fourth down pass near the endzone to Clinton Thurman was knocked away at the last second by West Monroe cornerback Austin Cain.
Two possessions later, a gamble may have lit the which that lay dormant on the West Monroe sideline for most of the first half. The Wampus Cats went for a fourth-and-1 at their own 37, but Liggins was thrown for a loss by Rebel standout defensive tackle Chucky Hunter to swing momentum clearly on the home side.
What happened next?
The Rebels went on a scoring binge.
West Monroe scored four times in the next 1:22 to blow the game wide open. On the first play from scrimmage, Cain jetted in from 39 yards out. Leesville fumbled on its next play, which was scooped up by Jonathan Tyson, who also fumbled but the ball was picked up by Michael Hunter at the2. He scored to give the Rebels a 35-21 lead.
Following a seven-yard Squyres to Horlacher pass, the Leesville quarterback was picked off by J.D. Brown, who returned it 63 yards for the touchdown and a 42-21 lead in the blink of an eye.
It wasn't over just yet. Leesville again turned the ball over with a fumble on its very next offensive play. Paul Turner hit Cody Stone from 25 yards out to end the onslaught with a 49-21 lead.
"Fatigue had a lot to do with how the second quarter unfolded," Feaster said. "We advertised all week that Liggins and Diontay Thurman would get the ball a lot and needed to be conditioned. After the long first quarter, they were a little burned out. Then you have Zack, who took a lot of hits in the first half. West Monroe was getting pressure on him every play."
Despite dominating the stat sheet, the Wampus Cats were behind the proverbial eight ball with penalties and turnovers in the first half.
After forcing the Rebels to punt to open the second half, there was a small glimmer of hope. The Cats drove down to the West Monroe 15 and had the ball on first down. However, Squyres was picked off by Cade Stone at the goal line and 45 seconds later, Turner hooked up with Cody Stone again from 44 yards out to up the lead to 56-21.
The Cats would get one more score. A big play by Diontay Thurman on a screen pass set up the final score for LHS. Thurman took off through the Rebel defense for a 58-yard gain to the West Monroe 2, where he was tripped up before hitting the endzone. Liggins hauled in a 5-yard pass from Squyres to finish the scoring for the Cats.
West Monroe added one more late TD in the fourth quarter.
Liggins had 8 catches for 158 yards and 3 TDs on the night, while adding 54 yards rushing and another score. He also had two kickoff returns for 75 yards. He accounted for 287 yards on the night.
Squyres completed 17-of-29 passes with two interceptions. He totaled 280 yards passing on the night to go with his 3 TD passes. Diontay Thurman added 31 yards rushing and 78 receiving in his first action as a varsity starter.
Tyler Cain led the Rebels with 146 yards rushing on 12 carries to go with his 4 TDs. Turner had 88 yards passing and 33 rushing.
The Wampus Cats will travel again in Week 2, taking on the Sam Houston Broncos in Moss Bluff on Friday night.
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A dream of a first quarter quickly turned to a nightmare for the Leesville Wampus Cats, as the No. 1 Rebels of West Monroe pulled away to a 68-28 win here Friday night.
The game wasn't without its shock factor, however. Leesville, which was blown away from the beginning against the Rebels in 2009, came out and punched the state bully in the mouth with a quick 21-7 lead behind the play of senior Levander Liggins and junior Zack Squyres.
What followed was every team's worst scenario. West Monroe capitalized on turnovers and Leesville mistakes to reel off 42 unanswered points to end the first half.
"Apparently, West Monroe didn't know how good our passing game was and how good Levander Liggins is," Leesville head coach David Feaster said. "In that first quarter we did what we had to do — score quickly, onside kick and get the ball back and score again. Unfortunately, fatigue began to play a role in what happened."
If Rebel players, coaches and fans didn't know who Liggins was prior to the game, they walked away with a healthy respect for No. 1. Liggins torched what was billed as West Monroe's best defense ever with three first-quarter touchdowns.
Four plays into the first quarter, Liggins hauled in a Squyres pass down the middle of the field for a 73-yard touchdown and the track meet was ignited. West Monroe had an answer in senior tailback Tyler Cain, who scored from 14 yards out to tie the game at 7-7.
Five plays later, Liggins struck again by hooking up with Squyres on a 36-yard scoring strike to up the lead to 14-7 when Colton Honeycutt converted the second of his four PAT kicks. Feaster turned to his modus operandi with an onside kick, perfectly executed when Deshaun Shorty recovered at the West Monroe 43. After a 9-yard completion to Liggins, the senior all-purpose performer scooted in from 40 yards out to put the Cats ahead, 21-7, and silence the capacity crowd at Rebel Stadium.
"After playing for over an hour, you look at the clock and there's still six minutes left in the first quarter," Feaster said. "It's hot on the turf there and we began to wear down and fatigue. When that happens, you begin to make mistakes."
Cain scored from 36 yards out to cut into the Leesville lead at 21-14 and following a short Leesville punt the Rebels returned to the Leesville 17, Cain went in again from one yard out to knot the game at 21 still in the first quarter.
As the second quarter began, Leesville put together an impressive drive from its own 43 down to the West Monroe 33, but a fourth down pass near the endzone to Clinton Thurman was knocked away at the last second by West Monroe cornerback Austin Cain.
Two possessions later, a gamble may have lit the which that lay dormant on the West Monroe sideline for most of the first half. The Wampus Cats went for a fourth-and-1 at their own 37, but Liggins was thrown for a loss by Rebel standout defensive tackle Chucky Hunter to swing momentum clearly on the home side.
What happened next?
The Rebels went on a scoring binge.
West Monroe scored four times in the next 1:22 to blow the game wide open. On the first play from scrimmage, Cain jetted in from 39 yards out. Leesville fumbled on its next play, which was scooped up by Jonathan Tyson, who also fumbled but the ball was picked up by Michael Hunter at the2. He scored to give the Rebels a 35-21 lead.
Following a seven-yard Squyres to Horlacher pass, the Leesville quarterback was picked off by J.D. Brown, who returned it 63 yards for the touchdown and a 42-21 lead in the blink of an eye.
It wasn't over just yet. Leesville again turned the ball over with a fumble on its very next offensive play. Paul Turner hit Cody Stone from 25 yards out to end the onslaught with a 49-21 lead.
"Fatigue had a lot to do with how the second quarter unfolded," Feaster said. "We advertised all week that Liggins and Diontay Thurman would get the ball a lot and needed to be conditioned. After the long first quarter, they were a little burned out. Then you have Zack, who took a lot of hits in the first half. West Monroe was getting pressure on him every play."
Despite dominating the stat sheet, the Wampus Cats were behind the proverbial eight ball with penalties and turnovers in the first half.
After forcing the Rebels to punt to open the second half, there was a small glimmer of hope. The Cats drove down to the West Monroe 15 and had the ball on first down. However, Squyres was picked off by Cade Stone at the goal line and 45 seconds later, Turner hooked up with Cody Stone again from 44 yards out to up the lead to 56-21.
The Cats would get one more score. A big play by Diontay Thurman on a screen pass set up the final score for LHS. Thurman took off through the Rebel defense for a 58-yard gain to the West Monroe 2, where he was tripped up before hitting the endzone. Liggins hauled in a 5-yard pass from Squyres to finish the scoring for the Cats.
West Monroe added one more late TD in the fourth quarter.
Liggins had 8 catches for 158 yards and 3 TDs on the night, while adding 54 yards rushing and another score. He also had two kickoff returns for 75 yards. He accounted for 287 yards on the night.
Squyres completed 17-of-29 passes with two interceptions. He totaled 280 yards passing on the night to go with his 3 TD passes. Diontay Thurman added 31 yards rushing and 78 receiving in his first action as a varsity starter.
Tyler Cain led the Rebels with 146 yards rushing on 12 carries to go with his 4 TDs. Turner had 88 yards passing and 33 rushing.
The Wampus Cats will travel again in Week 2, taking on the Sam Houston Broncos in Moss Bluff on Friday night.
