Lincoln Christian survives their first district game in a defensive thriller, beating the Berryhill Chieftains 14-7.
The Chieftains started the game slow, with Lincoln's defense forcing a quick three-and-out. The Bulldogs then quickly fumbled the ball, giving the ball back to Berryhill with 9:40 left in the first quarter. The Chieftains immediately took advantage of the fumble, as Ethan Stites (#44) rumbled to a 63 yard touchdown to give Berryhill the lead 7-0. Lincoln bounced back however, marching down the field to set up a four yard John Washington touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7. The Bulldog defense then stood up the Chieftain offense, forcing a three-and-out. Lincoln then turned the ball over once again, losing a fumble to end the first quarter at 7-7.
Lincoln's defense continued to dominate, with Ty Johnson sacking Dalton Berrington (#10) to force a punt early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs offense then persevered, with Luke Milligan finding Seth Kruse on a 4th & 7 conversion to set up a one yard John Washington touchdown run. With Lincoln in the driver's seat up 14-7, the defense once again forced a Berryhill punt to give the Bulldogs offense the ball late in the second quarter. Although the Lincoln offense showed some great clock management, the Bulldogs did not score and ended the half up 14-7.
The second half started the way the first half ended, with both defenses forcing punts in the early third quarter. The Bulldogs offense began to slow the tempo of the game, pounding the rock down the field to end the third quarter.
After a holding call deep into the redzone, Lincoln unfortunately missed a field goal early in the fourth quarter, giving the ball back to the Chieftains. After multiple good runs by Berryhill, Preston Whitmarsh batted a Chieftain pass attempt on third down to force a punt midway through the quarter. After a couple of positive plays by the Bulldogs, another fumble gave the ball back to Berryhill, setting up the Chieftains for a potential game-tying drive with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter. After some late down conversions, Zane Thrasher, Seth Kruse and Ty Johnson (among others) made a series of big plays to set up a 4th & 2 with 28 seconds left in the game. With the crowd on their feet, a Berryhill mishandled snap led to a fumble recovered by Zane Thrasher, effectively ending the defensive battle with a 14-7 Lincoln win.
The Bulldogs defense dominated in this first district game, holding the Chieftains to only one touchdown while helping the team persevere through multiple turnovers. Lincoln's defensive line and linebacker groups were on fire, with Zane Thrasher, Moses Fullingim, Braden Davidson, Caden Ricke, David Smithwick, Ty Johnson, Caleb Shearrer, and Nate Ross leading the way. Seth Kruse, Griffin Dyer and Preston Whitmarsh helped lock down Berryhill, holding them to 53 passing yards. John Washington led the offense in rushing with 32 carries, 208 yards and 2 touchdowns. Luke Milligan passed well, going 15-22 with 142 yards passing. Lincoln will get a break next week, having their bye week to end the recent road streak.
