Clarksville Becomes Lincoln's Good Samaritan

MARK HUMPHREY GAME JOURNAL
MARK HUMPHREY GAME JOURNAL

Singing lifts the spirit, enabling the individual to shift perspective when circumstances arise that challenge success.

And Sing they did.

Friday afternoon Lincoln's football team found themselves seated aboard a bus borrowed from the Clarksville School District en route to their playoff game at Hamburg.

The Wolves (8-3) lost 31-20 in a battle of border towns separated by 310 miles of Arkansas highway. Lincoln High School lies six miles east of Arkansas' western border with Oklahoma; while Hamburg High School is situated 15 miles north of the Louisiana state line on Arkansas' southern border.

What was supposed to be a 5-hour drive to Hamburg proved eventful.

Shattering Experience

The first mishap occurred as Lincoln's charter bus turned off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fayetteville to get on Interstate 49 South. A window on the bus shattered. The Wolves were only 16 miles or a 20-minute drive from home so getting a replacement bus seemed more of a nuisance.

In football terms, likened to dealing with a 5-yard penalty for delay of game.

Airbag Deployment

The Wolves clambered aboard the replacement bus then got going again. Their schedule was already off and things weren't going to get better. Two hours down the road an airbag on the bus unexpectedly deployed on the other side of Ozark leaving the Wolves sitting alongside I-40.

Relationship

Lincoln athletic director Deon Birkes knew the right man to call when Lincoln got into trouble.

He was on the phone to Clarksville athletic director Michael Banning requesting aid. Banning initiated an emergency response.

"Deon is a good friend of mine, they were in need of transportation, the bus was not moving," Banning said, reached by phone Monday morning.

Clarksville Aid

The request is not unusual, according to Banning.

"Our proximity to the interstate, we get calls for help," Banning said.

After taking Birkes' call Friday, immediately, Banning was on the phone to Clarksville Transportation Director Jason Teague.

"The gentleman quickly got into action," Banning said.

Two weeks prior Greenbrier, which competes head-to-head against Clarksville as a member of the 5A West, came to town Oct. 19. The Greenbrier bus experienced an issue with the windshield wipers failing during a rainstorm and phoned. Teague responded and resolved that issue in a timely manner. He was able to get the windshield wipers fixed within minutes and when the contest was over, Greenbrier proceeded homeward without delay.

Sense Of Urgency

On Friday within 20 minutes of Lincoln's request for help Teague arrived "on-scene" with a bus and he didn't just take any bus. Teague brought Clarksville's activity bus, which Banning describes as "a really nice bus we have."

Both Banning and Teague understood the sense of urgency. Under Arkansas Activities Association rules teams must be on the field and ready to play by kickoff time or forfeit. Many other logistics go into planning a long playoff trip.

In 2013 on the way to Malvern, which has a turf field, Lincoln ate lunch at Conway, then made a stop off at Benton Harmony Grove to conduct an afternoon "walk-through" practice session on the Cardinals' turf field. This is typical. Many coaches want to get a "game-day" session in when traveling to a playoff game.

"Time was of the essence, they had meals planned, they had things planned," Banning said.

Singing Wolves

Instead of howling over their misfortunes, the Wolves began singing. Lincoln head football coach Don Harrison constantly harps on not allowing circumstances to dictate the attitude for the team.

"I've said it a million times, focus on your specifics and not on your circumstances," Harrison said in a recent interview.

Lincoln arrived on time, but the adventures weren't over.

Hamburg Injuries

Hamburg dealt with its own adversity. Starting quarterback senior Jonathan Kelley (6-2, 205), who threw for 1,683 yards as a junior despite playing through a thumb injury for the final six games of 2017, was out. Kelley's absence hurt the Lions offensively relegating the Lions to more of a one dimensional offense based on the run game.

During the regular season, Hamburg rushed for an average of 151 yards-per-game and passed for 161, but those numbers dipped considerably after playing a tough three-game stretch to close out the regular season against rival, Crossett (21-6 win); conference-leader Warren (36-14 loss); and No. 2 4A-8 Dumas (36-8 loss). In those three games, Hamburg's production lowered to 87 yards-per-game running and 94 yards passing with 181 yards of total offense per game. Against Dumas they managed only 78 rushing yards and a mere 25 passing.

Game Action

The Wolves came in expecting to win, but fell behind 12-0 at the end of the first quarter. Kelley's replacement, junior quarterback Nicholas Bridges rushed 7 and 5 yards for the Lions' first two touchdowns. He finished with 163 rushing yards.

Lincoln quarterback Caleb Lloyd missed portions of the game, but still threw for 240 yards. He completed a pair of touchdown passes to Noe Avellaneda to pull the Wolves with, 24-14, at halftime.

Hamburg's Derrick Webb broke a 69-yard touchdown run for one score, then added a 7-yard score, but Lincoln successfully defended all four Lion extra-point attempts making the margin 10 points instead of 14.

Power Outtage

At 8:38 p.m. the power went out at Hamburg's Campbell field. When play resumed, Webb, who finished with 191 yards rushing, reeled off a 31-yard touchdown run to push the Lions' led to 31-14 in the third quarter. Lloyd engineered a late scoring drive following the Wolves' fumble recovery of a botched Hamburg handoff. He threw his third touchdown pass to Avellaneda, but Lincoln couldn't get any closer and lost 31-20.

Making Repairs

Once the Wolves loaded themselves and their equipment onto Clarksville's activity bus, Teague took care of the logistics of arranging a bus repair for Lincoln's charter. He called a wrecker, got the bus towed in and got the air bag repaired expediently.

"He went well and beyond," Banning said, explaining that when Lincoln returned with Clarksville's activity bus, the Wolfpack charter was ready to take them home.

Banning said Clarksville School District was glad they were able to help, especially for a good friend like Birkes.

MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS REPORTER FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER.

Sports on 11/14/2018