LINCOLN -- A 44-point explosion in the first half highlighted by 30 in the second quarter sparked Lincoln's 50-0 whitewash of Green Forest Friday.
Lincoln scored a pair of touchdown in the first period, beginning with Noe Avellanda's 28-yard pass reception from quarterback Caleb Lloyd, who later scored on a 1-yard run. Avellanda ran in a 2-point conversion putting Lincoln up 14-0 inside three minutes to go in the first.
Lloyd continues to make good decisions on the field and consistently completes passes for Lincoln (6-1, 3-1), which racked up 398 yards off total offense. Lloyd completed 7-of-11 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown for the Wolves, who led 44-0 at halftime.
"He's doing a really good job, especially on the RPOs (run-pass options)," said Lincoln coach Don Harrison. "He's making a really good decision on run-pass options and they're really quick decisions, at the last second. There's times I'm looking at the runningback carrying the ball and then I realize it's been thrown downfield so he's doing an awesome job. He's finding the space, and then on the three-step game, I mean, he's delivering the ball really clean out of his hands. It's awesome."
Cam Brown, who led the Wolves with 114 yards rushing after coming back from injury, scored on an 8-yard carry to begin a string of 22 Lincoln points in the final eight minutes of the first half. Blake Arnold found paydirt on a 62-yard punt return. Sterling Morphis caught Lloyd's 2-point conversion pass.
Arnold took an interception runback to the house. Brown's run tacked on two more points. Lloyd 1-yard run closed out the first half touchdowns. He added to the feat by finding Morphis for yet another 2-point conversion.
Lincoln's defense has solid throughout the season. Harrison was satisfied with their performance the previous week during a 41-7 Homecoming victory over Berryville.
"They played very well, they did a really good job of playing assignment football," Harrison said. "When you play this kind of stuff, you got to play assignment football. They did an awesome job down the stretch of making sure that you got to contain that quarterback at the same time because they're trying to run in the middle. They got us one time on the outside in the first half, but we cleaned it up. I'm real proud of them."
Preparing For Shiloh
Lincoln is in the thick of the conference race and goes from playing a road game at the weakest league opponent, Green Forest, to hosting conference-leader Shiloh Christian Friday.
The Wolves have been busy moving players around, giving opportunities for personnel to prove themselves. According to Harrison, some of the switches have paid big dividends.
"We're really trying to move kids around and find homes for them, but at the same time, we don't want them to find a home," Harrison said. "We want them to keep trying other positions because you never know what's going to happen next year is how we sell it."
Sophomore Levi Wright played defensive tackle for the third week after shifting to the D-line from linebacker against Pea Ridge, which handed Lincoln its only conference loss.
"There again moving people around. He has some quickness, he can give some guards some issues because of his take-off and what he does," Harrison said. "He played really well on D-line last week versus Pea Ridge and again lined up and gave some of those bigger linemen issues in the second half and helped us stop Pea Ridge at some pivotal points. Another guy that can catch a touchdown, that can tackle at linebacker, that can play D-line."
The Wolves' defense held Pea Ridge's vaunted rushing attack to a paltry 2.7-yards-per-attempt and forced the Blackhawks to beat them with the pass, which Pea Ridge accomplished with a 24-14 win after Lincoln took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
"What they did was we were really sold out to stopping that run and a couple of times they had some open receivers," Harrison said. "One time we just completely slipped and fell in the middle of the field. Had it covered, we just fell."
Harrison credits defensive coordinator Beau Collins and assistant coaches Austin Lewis and Erwin Starts with improving the Wolves on defense and players responding to the challenge.
"We're really tough on the run this year, and it shows," Harrison said. "And it has a lot to do with that D-line. The two sophomores in the middle, (Kris) Martinez and (Bryce) Swinford are doing an awesome job. You work in Levi Wright and then the defensive ends, Nathan Khilling, doing an awesome job. There was a kid that was backup outside linebacker, wasn't getting to play much. We put his hand in the dirt and he's doing an amazing job. And we've already talked about Chance Blankenship. Then the two kids in the middle, Christian Crittenden and Bradley Drain, doing an awesome job so proud of them. Two seniors leading this team, leading this defense."
Harrison said the defense kept the Wolves in the game against Pea Ridge by stopping the run.
"Pea Ridge wasn't even getting three-yards-a-carry, that's huge for us because in the past they were just running us completely over," Harrison said. "So those kids are selling out. They're doing a really good job. They're listening to their coaches and it's making a big difference for us."
Backup quarterback Tyler Brewer has seen action. He led a touchdown drive against Berryville.
"He did a great job," Harrison said. "He's our future and we know it. He's been struggling with some injuries and with some illness, finally came back, pretty much a hundred percent. He's been repping a lot on defense at some spots. But I'm really, really proud of him. He came in and I mean he led us right down the field. He had maybe one bad play, everything else making good, clean reads, carrying the ball a little bit. Another kid, again, we know who he is. He's our future and he gets some reps and he's doing an amazing job."
LINCOLN 50, GREEN FOREST 0
Lincoln^14^30^6^0^--^50
Green Forest^0^0^0^0^--^0
First Quarter
Lincoln -- Noe Avellanda 28-yard pass from Caleb Lloyd (conversion failed).
Lincoln -- Caleb Lloyd 1-yard run (Noe Avellanda run).
Second Quarter
Lincoln -- Cam Brown 8-yard run (conversion failed).
Lincoln -- Blake Arnold 62-yard punt return (Sterling Morphis pass from Caleb Lloyd).
Lincoln -- Blake Arnold interception return (Cam Brown run).
Lincoln -- Caleb Lloyd 1-yard run (Sterling Morphis pass from Caleb Lloyd).
Third Quarter
Lincoln -- Christian Crittenden 4-yard run (conversion failed).
Sports on 10/17/2018