LINCOLN -- A defining characteristic of a true leader is they inspire those around them and senior quarterback Harrison Swayne, male Athlete of the Year at Lincoln is no exception.
The Wolves were the only team until Prairie Grove lost to Warren in the state semifinals to hold the Tigers scoreless in a quarter, blanking their rivals in both the first and third periods of a Nov. 25 regular season, 33-20, win by the Tigers at Lincoln's Wolfpack Stadium.
After falling behind, 19-0, Swayne guided Lincoln to three touchdowns in the final quarter against 4A-1 champion, Prairie Grove (12-1, 7-0). Lincoln forced six turnovers and although the Tigers won, they were at times frustrated by Lincoln (3-7, 2-5).
"We were excited, it was fun," Swayne said. "Nobody expected it, which made it even more fun. Nobody thought we had a chance."
Swayne described the Wolfpack attack.
"In our high-tempo offense we try to go no-huddle, that's what we try to do for the most part," Swayne said. "I love the spread. I like to run (the football). It just fit me very well."
Lincoln head coach Don Harrison said the Wolves executed well in the fourth quarter.
"We did a good job with our scheme at times," Harrison said. "When you execute that well, good things happen."
After senior Gohon Lee recovered a muffed punt at Prairie Grove's four, Swayne tossed a shovel pass to junior Braden Umberson inside the tackles and he scored. Prairie Grove then scored twice in less than six minutes to up their lead to 33-6, but Lincoln drove 58 yards in four plays fueled by a 53-yard pass play from Swayne to Umberson. Swayne snuck in from the one with 2:11 left. Lincoln got the ball back with Umberson's interception two plays later. The Wolves covered 60 yards in six plays with Swayne hooking up with Umberson for 32 yards. Swayne capped the drive by slashini in on a 9-yard sprint to daylight in the final minute.
Swayne hadn't looked at his season statistics and was surprised at his 7.2-yards-per-carry rushing average. In his senior season, Swayne completed 87 of 183 passes for 1,422 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In spite of having negative sack yardage subtracted from his rushing totals, Swayne rushed for 525 yards on 72 attempts for 7.3 yards-per-carry and 7 touchdowns. He is quick to give credit elsewhere, including Harrison's play calling and his blockers up front.
"A large part of it was due to the calls at the time were right," Swayne said.
There was something about Swayne that propelled his linemen to take their game up a notch when his number was called.
"Our guards pulled really good," Swayne said. "The offensive line really came together with the quarterbaack running the ball, but it was mostly them."
Harrison said Swayne handled the decision-making responsibilities of playing quarterback well.
"He's a good kid," Harrison said. "We put a lot on his shoulders from being able to make checks at the line of scrimmage to completely audible out of a play."
Sports on 12/28/2016