Houser Shoring Up Midseason Mistakes

Livingston Academy faces a Macon County team Friday night that Head Coach Matthan Houser calls one of the best teams in the district.

The Macon County Tigers are 5-2 on the season and are averaging 42 points a game in their wins. Houser said the Tigers are a tough match-up and he has tremendous respect for their head coach Kyle Shoulders.

“He and I have worked together in the past,” Houser said. “He does such a tremendous job at every stop he’s been and he’s got those guys rolling. They understand the expectations, they do the little things correctly. They’re really, really well prepared each game.”

The Tigers led by the Border twins, Zach and Gabe. Houser said they are two of the most electric players, but knows it is not just the Border show in Macon County.

“They’re explosive, they play well on both sides of the ball and do an even better job in special teams,” Houser said. “They’re a super difficult team, one of the best teams in the state. I know they got two losses on the year, but they’re definitely one of the best teams in 4A.”

Last week the Macon County Tigers only faced four third downs and converted on three of them. Their third down efficiency will play a large role in Friday’s game since the Wildcats allowed Stone Memorial to convert on six of eight third down tries last week. Houser said third down defense has always been a focus in practices but knows that opposing coaches are doing the same thing. He also points to special teams as an area that the Tigers excel at.

“It’s something we’re definitely aware of,” Houser said. “We got to make sure we’re protecting the punter and we’re covering for punts. We got to make sure on kickoffs we’re getting downfield and staying in our lanes, which was a problem for us last week.”

Kickoff set for Friday night at 7pm.