LINCOLN -- Former Lincoln football coach Brad Harris led the 2013 Wolves into the state playoffs with a 9-1 regular season record, losing only to U.S. 62 rival, Prairie Grove.
The Wolves recorded playoff wins, the first ever in school history, against Nashville, 27-13; and Malvern, 41-21; before losing, 35-0, to eventual 4A state champion Booneville in the quarterfinals to conclude with an 11-2 record.
"We felt like we had a chance to be competitive," Brad Harris said.
The Wolves received quality production from offense and special teams with four players representing those categories garnering All-Conference designation from Lincoln's 2013 football roster including: Tyler Cummings, runningback; Drew Harris, quarterback; Alec Pitts, wide receiver; and Emillo Marrufo-Gonzalez, kicker.
A pair of Wolves from the 2013 offense were listed as All-Conference honorable mention: Austin Thorpe, guard; and Kaleb Ayers, fullback.
Cummings was All-State and also voted the Outstanding Back in the 4A-1 Conference and to the West All-Stars.
Tyler Cummings
Cummings gained 2,058 rushing yards scoring 29 touchdowns and Brad Harris said he was fun to coach and be around.
"He's a great competitor. He had an outstanding season coming back from ACL surgery to rebound this year."
According to Brad Harris even through summer stuff Cummings was still pretty hesitant. Then the lights came on at Westville in week one and he thinks he forgot about the injury.
"He's a playmaker. Put the ball in his hands and he makes it happen. He really worked hard in his off-season and rehab to get back. We got him in early April released to play baseball and we didn't think we'd get him until the end of April. It was good for him to get back out there. It about drove him crazy to sit out all football, basketball and most of baseball season."
Drew Harris
Former Wolf Drew Harris transferred with his dad to Benton to be closer to his grandparents but not before making his mark at Lincoln. Drew rushed 118 times for 810 yards with 7 touchdowns and completed 110 of 204 passes for 1,793 yards and 20 touchdowns.
"Overall it was a huge improvement from his sophomore year," Brad Harris said. "He realized he took his lumps as a sophomore. He had a little bit more confidence going into this year. He had a good year. He played within our system. He knew he was the change of pace guy and kept it off a little bit for Tyler. He knew we had a guy behind him we were going to hand it off to."
"I'm extremely proud of him as a coach and as a dad," Brad Harris said. "He did a good job of stepping into that leadership role that you want your quarterback to."
Alec Pitts
Brad Harris said Pitts was probably the surprise player of the year for Lincoln, rushing the ball 17 times for 125 yards and a touchdown on end-around plays. Pitts caught 27 passes for 619 yards and 8 scores.
"He did have a good year catching the ball but the most where he impressed us was stepping up taking the cornerback spot," Brad Harris said. "He very seldom came off the field. You pull him out, he's wondering why. He had a great junior year."
Emilio Marrufo
Brad Harris said the team joked with Marrufo and told him he was a fast learner after he made a tackle on special teams against Stilwell in week two.
"He kicked off and the kid ran it back. After he missed that first tackle, we told him not to look at the kid's eyes but to look at his body. The next time he made that tackle," Brad Harris said.
Marrufo had never played football before coming to Lincoln but quickly learned how to kick a football making 10 of 13 field goal tries and 63 of 66 extra-points with 20 touchbacks on 76 kickoffs.
"What an impact player. A lot of people can't understand how a kicker can influence a game," Brad Harris said, explaining a lot of times Lincoln's kickoff team didn't have to worry because he'd kick the ball out of the end zone and there was no runback.
"It's a big plus whenever you've got a guy you've got that kind of confidence in. I think he only missed three field goals all year. One at Booneville was 48 yards. The other ones were 41 or 42 yards. It's been a blessing to have him on the team this year. He's a good kid and we've enjoyed having him on the team this year."
Austin Thorpe
Harris described Thorpe as adding a needed component.
"He brought that nasty swagger to the offensive line. You need that at times in football," Brad Harris said. "He was the kind of guy that kept our offensive line together and rallied them. He's a fiery guy ready to get on them a little bit. I'm real proud of what he did as a senior."
Kaleb Ayers
Brad Harris said Ayers was probably the most overlooked person from the offensive team, who at the end of the year had the most awards for domination blocks and did a tremendous job for Lincoln as a lead blocker.
"He was just like having an offensive lineman at fullback," Brad Harris said. "You try to put a smart kid there that don't mind doing the dirty blocking stuff."
Sports on 08/06/2014