No. 1 Lincoln got off to another fast start on Friday night, as the Bulldogs took care of Locust Grove 63-20 to move its win streak to 20 straight.

The Bulldogs racked up 665 yards offensively, while holding the explosive Locust Grove offense scoreless in the opening half.

Junior quarterback Carter Ricke had the best performance of his career for the third straight week, as he finished 18-of-23 for 419 yards and five touchdowns in the win.

Lincoln also ran for 246 yards as a team, averaging 8.8 yards per rush. The Bulldogs tied the school record with 20 straight wins. It was also Lincoln's 39th straight district win, dating back to 2018.

"I was really impressed with our offensive efficiency last night," said Lincoln head coach Jerry Ricke. "We scored 63 points and had 665 yards of offense. I thought we spread the ball around to different guys and that makes it difficult on a defense."

Freshman CJ Wright continued his strong first season for the Bulldogs, as he finished with seven carries for 115 yards and a score on the ground, while catching three passes for 117 yards and two scores.

Senior receiver Kylan Schultheis kept his touchdown streak alive, as the playmaker excels each week for Lincoln in the passing game.

Schultheis finished with eight catches for 185 yards and two scores. He has scored a touchdown in each game this season.

"We continue getting better each week," Ricke said. "Having the ability to spread the ball around has helped our balance. CJ and Kylan both had some big plays and those always help."

Lincoln held Locust Grove quarterback Titan Hix in check, limiting the signal-caller to just one yard on the ground and only 196 yards through the air at just a 45% clip.

The Bulldogs forced Locust Grove to punt on the game's opening possession before the offense opened up the scoring.

A 21-yard pass from Ricke to Schultheis and a 16-yard run by Wright set Lincoln up at the Pirates' 13.

Two plays later, senior running back Dawson Fullingim ran it in for a 13-yard score, giving Lincoln a 7-0 lead with 8:30 left in the opening quarter.

Lincoln got the ball back immediately by way of special teams, as Noah Wilhelm executed a perfect kick that the Locust Grove returner was unable to corral, allowing senior Creed Nail to hustle down and jump on the ball.

The Bulldogs needed just two plays to score, as Ricke connected on a deep pass to Wright for a 36-yard score. Lincoln led 14-0 with 6:02 to go in the 1st.

Locust Grove turned it over on the ensuing possession, as the Lincoln defense held on 4th down.

Ricke connected with a wide open Luke McCants two plays later for a 45-yard touchdown, as Lincoln scored in just 25 seconds to extend the lead to 21-0 with 2:59 left in the 1st.

"Luke is probably the most unselfish guy on our team," said Ricke. "He takes great pride in doing the little things with great effort. It was nice to see him get rewarded on that touchdown catch."

Lincoln's special teams made another impactful play, as Wilhelm perfectly placed another kickoff along the sideline, allowing Brett Kaste to recover and give the Bulldogs possession at the Pirates' 33.

On the next play, Ricke found Schultheis on a deep pass over the middle for another big offensive play, as the Bulldogs pushed the margin out to 28-0 with 2:30 to go in the opening quarter.

"Kylan practices consistently every week and that is what you see out there on Friday nights. He has a really good feel for the game and he and Carter have great chemistry," said Ricke. "I'm really proud of the job he has done."

The Bulldog offense got the ball back after a 3-and-out from the Lincoln defense, as Braeden Baker capped off a 6-play, 61-yard drive with a 1-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to make it 35-0.

After Locust Grove went on a lengthy drive that covered the majority of the field, including a couple of first downs, a familiar face stepped up to turn the Pirates over.

Senior linebacker Mason Torres read Hix and stepped in front of the pass, his 5th interception of the year, stalling the Pirates' drive deep into Lincoln territory at the Bulldogs' 8.

The offense was back on the field after Torres' 11-yard return, as Ricke and crew would have no issue marching down the field again.

After moving out to near midfield, Ricke found Schultheis again along the home sideline, as the senior raced down the boundary for a 59-yard score, his second of the evening.

The long touchdown pass made the score 42-0 with 8:47 to go in the half.

Locust Grove moved the ball back deep into Lincoln territory, as Hix connected with receiver Jett Stephens on a 50-yard play.

But three plays later, as the Pirates had it at the Lincoln 2, the snap went over the quarterback's head and Micah Kruse out hustled the offense to pounce on it at the Bulldogs' 17.

"We did a good job on him for most of the 1st half and then he got his team driving the ball late in the 1st," said Ricke. "I know Coach Comfort and our defensive coaches addressed some of those issues with our guys this morning."

The Bulldogs moved the ball back into Locust Grove territory before the 1st half clock ran out.

"What I love about this team is that they are all coachable and want to get better. Our 1st team defense shut them out so we are really happy with that."

Lincoln opened the 3rd quarter with another impressive drive, marching 67 yards in six plays across 1:44, capped off by an 11-yard touchdown run from Baker.

The Bulldogs led 49-0 with 10:16 left in the 3rd.

Locust Grove would add two touchdowns in the 3rd, as the Pirates took advantage of a short field to make the score 49-14 late in the quarter.

But Lincoln answered, as three plays later, Ricke handed to Wright on a jet sweep and the freshman did the rest, racing to a 66-yard score to push the lead to 56-14 on the opening play of the 4th.

Locust Grove would score on the ensuing possession, covering 72 yards in 10 plays across 5:49, as Hix threw a 5-yard touchdown to Cayson King to cut the lead to 56-20.

But Wright had one more big play in hime to close things out, as the speedster housed another long one, this time flying down the visiting sideline for a 54-yard touchdown with 2:28 to go in the game.

Lincoln had 28 first downs in the win and Bulldogs faced just four 3rd downs, converting two.

Locust Grove ran 61 plays for 256 yards. Lincoln held the Pirates' rushing attack to just 60 yards on 30 attempts.

The Bulldogs held Locust Grove to 8-of-17 on 3rd down and 0-of-4 on 4th down.

Lincoln will be at Muldrow on Thursday.

Photos by Lee Talley