About the only play Lincoln High School football might want back from Friday night was the first one of the game.
Visiting McDaniel came up with an interception on the Cardinals’ first offensive snap, but it was all Lincoln from there.
The Cardinals got the stop with a turnover on downs and proceeded to score on their next seven possessions with six touchdowns and a field goal.
Meanwhile, the Lincoln defense was dominant again, blanking the Mountain Lions to take home the 44-0 win, the Cardinals third consecutive victory.
“I think we have some great defensive coaches and a great group of guys around it, so we had a gameplan of keeping (McDaniel quarterback Tre’Marion Crawford) contained,” Lincoln sophomore Leonardo Correani said. “We know he’s a runner, so keep him contained, don’t let him roll out and throw the ball, don’t let him run up field … We contain the QB, we win the game and that’s what happened.”
On offense, senior Liam Eldridge powered his Lincoln (4-2, 3-1 PIL) squad into the end zone for the first time of the night when he had a 33-yard down into the red zone and then an 8-yard run to finish the drive off and make it 7-0 Lincoln.
After another turnover on downs by McDaniel (1-5, 0-3 PIL), the Cardinals got the ball on the Mountain Lions 29-yard line and only needed a handful of plays to get down close for a 3-yard TD run by Finn Davies to make it 14-0.
McDaniel had to punt on its next possession, and Lincoln marched down the field once again in its single-wing offense, finishing this drive with an 18-yard scamper from Eldridge.
“That’s just all the O-line,” Eldridge said. “The holes I’m running through are so big, it’s so easy. Brady (Holland), Jaxon (Barber), JJ (Ross), Logan (Ewoldt), Big Al (Alex Lydgate), Manny (Emmanuel Wisbrock).”
Eldridge followed his touchdown run up with an interception of Crawford to give Lincoln another shot at the end zone before halftime.
The Cardinals succeeded by Davies hitting Blake Timothy down the near sideline for a 30-yard touchdown pass, making it 28-0 with less than a minute left before halftime.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Cardinals kicked it into the middle of the McDaniel return team and ended up recovering the ball, giving them another chance at six.
On the first play of the drive, Davies found Abraham Blackman alone on the far sideline for an easy 35-yard TD catch. Lincoln missed the PAT after it was pushed back due to a penalty, making it 34-0 at the break.
The Mountain Lions had only 85 yards of offense and couldn’t find the holes in the Lincoln D.
“I think every week, especially with our defense, it’s more about us,” Eldridge said. “We stick to what we know.”
Timothy got a pick to start the second half for Lincoln and finished that drive with a 20-yard TD run from Blackman to make it 41-0 and start the running clock.
Timothy came up with another interception in the fourth quarter that led to a 31-yard field goal by Davies to produce the 44-0 final.
“I cut my teeth on defense so I’m always pumped when we get that going,” Lincoln head coach Cody Schnaufer said. “Any time you can keep a team off the scoreboard it’s a huge thing. It’s not just the defense, special teams has been fantastic this year, punt coverage has been phenomenal.”
Lincoln finished the night with 251 yards rushing and 316 total. Eldridge had 9 carries for 136 yards and two TDs to lead the way. Blackman had 43 yards and a score on four carries while Davies was 2-for-4 passing for 65 yards and two TDs.
McDaniel had only 126 yards of offense, Crawford had 13 yards rushing on five carries and 14-for-22 passing for 84 yards and three interceptions.
Up next for the Mountain Lions is a home matchup against Northeast rival Grant at 7 p.m. Oct. 18.
For the Cardinals, the potential path to a PIL title is still wide open, and the biggest step could be next week against Southwest rival and reigning league champions in Ida B. Wells. The game is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at Wells.
“We know they run a tricky offense, so that’s always a thing every year,” Correani said. “Same thing, we just gotta do us. We just got to do us and we can win, they’re a good team and we’re a good team. It’s gonna be a good game, I’m super excited.”
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