Lincoln Christian defeats the Locust Grove Pirates 56-0, finishing their 4th straight season undefeated in district play on Senior night.
The Bulldogs began the game with their continuously dominant defense stepping up, as they forced the Pirates into a common three-and-out on their first drive. The Lincoln offense was able to capitalize on their defense's success, as John Washington ran in a 1-yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs up 7-0. After Lincoln held the Pirates drive to -8 yards of offense, Luke Milligan dotted up Dylan Baldridge on a 58 yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 with 6:11 in the first quarter. The Pirates couldn't catch a break, as Preston Whitmarsh intercepted the Pirate quarterback for a 14-yard pick-6 as Lincoln took a 21-0 lead. The Bulldogs read the Pirate offense once again, as Seth Kruse intercepted Locust Grove on their very next pass attempt for a 19-yard pick-6 and a commanding 28-0 lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
After another Pirates three-and-out, Luke Milligan found a wide open Cam Dooley for a long 42 yard touchdown pass. The Bulldogs defense continued to own the Pirates, forcing Locust Grove to punt for the 4th time in the game. Lincoln then immediately came out firing on offense, using big gain after big gain to march down the field until Luke Milligan found Seth Kruse for a 44 yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 42-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Things then continued to go south for the Pirates, as Kolten Katsis picked off the Locust Grove quarterback for a 7 yard pick-6 touchdown. The Bulldogs then paced themselves on offense, running the ball down the field until Cedric Levell ran in his first touchdown of the season to give Lincoln the lead and the final score of the game, 56-0. The Bulldogs young talent stepped up toward the end of the game, as Micah Kruse picked off an errant Pirate throw to clinch the defensive shutout for the home team.
Lincoln dominated throughout the entire game, doing what they wanted, when they wanted to against the Pirates. The Bulldogs passing game was unbelievable, with two players having a 100% completion percentage on the night in Luke Milligan (10-10 with 247 yards and 3 touchdowns) and Carter Ricke (7-7 for 56 yards). Dylan Baldridge, Seth Kruse and Cam Dooley led the way in receiving, with all three grabbing at least 50 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bulldogs defense continued to dominate, forcing their 5th straight shutout as a unit. With this win, Lincoln improves to a 9-1 overall record and 6-0 district record, earning themselves home field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. Congratulations to all 20 seniors for a great win tonight and successful Bulldog football careers!
