Lufkin Wraps Up Season With Dominating 50-6 Rout of Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE -- In a game that meant nothing for Lufkin's playoff seeding, the Panthers dominated anyway.

Playing in front of Jacksonville's Senior Night crowd, the Panthers struck early and often, rolling to a 50-6 win over the Indians.

Counting the coin flip win over Ennis, the Panthers will open the playoffs on a four-game winning streak.

That playoff run will start on Friday night when they renew a long time rivalry with the Longview Lobos on Friday night at 7:30 at Tyler's Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

A punishing defense and an efficient offense made sure there would be no letdown for the Panthers in the regular-season finale.

Kordell Rodgers led Lufkin's offense with 188 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-18 passing. He also added 48 yards on five carries.

He had plenty of help with Malik Jackson making six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown and Khalil Brown running for 71 yards and two scores on 12 carries.

Meanwhile, Lufkin's defense was dominant throughout, holding Jacksonville to six points and 247 total yards. Jacksonville QB Cameron High ran for 148 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries but was held to 53 yards and an interception and 4-of-13 passing.

The Panthers' defense set the tone for the night on the opening drive of the game when Jacksonville elected to go for it on fourth down. Lufkin forced a fumble ending the drive.

Although the Panthers eventually settled for a Rodrigo Molina 24-yard field goal to make it 3-0, the tone had been set.

Jacksonville's second drive ended on a failed fourth-down conversion try, setting up a Khalil Brown 23-yard touchdown run that made the score 9-0 after a blocked extra point.

The Panthers began to take control of the game after another defensive stop led to a short field for the Panthers.

Brown finished off a five-play, 41-yad drive with a one-yard touchdown run that made it 15-0 after a failed two-point try.

That lead extended to 22-0 with 3:35 left in the first half as Dalvin Smith found the end zone from two yards out to cap off an eight-play, 55-yard drive.

After another defensive stop, Savon Fields gave the Panthers good field possession with a 35-yard punt return. Malik Jackson took over from there, making three catches on a drive that culminated with his 13-yard touchdown reception from Kordell Rodgers, making the score 29-0.

In the first half, Lufkin's defense held Jacksonville to a total of 100 yards and five first downs.
Brown led the Pack offense with 66 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries while Jackson had four receptions for 48 yards and a score.

Rodgers threw for 118 yards on 8-of-11 passing before the half.

Cameron High led the Jacksonville offense with 51 yards on eight carries, but he was held to 16 yards and an interception on 2-of-8 passing.

Jacksonville pulled out all the stops to start the second half, tricking Lufkin with an onside kick on the opening play. High followed that with a 40-yard touchdown run to narrow the gap to 29-6.

The Indians then recovered another onside kick to continue the momentum. However, Lufkin came up with a three and out that seemingly took the breath out of Jacksonville.

Following a pair of stops, Lufkin took over at its own 8 and went to work with Brown capping off an eight-play, 92-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown reception that made the score 36-6.

On the next drive, Rodgers hit Javante Ellington for a six-yard score with a 43-3 lead late in the third quarter.

Jacksonville drove to the Lufkin 1 midway through the fourth quarter before the Panthers turned them away.

Lufkin followed by putting together a nine-play, 99-yard drive that was capped by a 38-yard touchdown pass from Blake Brooks to Kenneth Warren, making the final 50-6.