It was big play after big play on Friday night in the 2024 home opener for No. 1 Lincoln Christian, as the Bulldogs won another big game, pulling away from Shiloh Christian 38-14.

Lincoln (3-0) had two interception returns for touchdowns, as well as an 85-yard touchdown, as the Bulldogs won at home for the second straight year over the Class 6A power from Arkansas.

The victory pushed Lincoln's streak to 17 straight wins.

"I'm very proud of our guys for winning the game against such a strong opponent in Shiloh Christian," said Lincoln head coach Jerry Ricke. "They have an outstanding team and they showed that tonight. We made some huge momentum plays that really helped propel us tonight. The score was definitely not indicative of our hard-fought the game was."

Things got exciting right out of the gate, as the Bulldogs fumbled on the opening kick and allowed No. 2 Shiloh to recover inside the Lincoln 10.

But three plays later, senior defensive back Kylan Schultheis undercut a pass from Shiloh quarterback Jake Bodenstien at the goal line and followed a convoy of Lincoln defenders 100 yards the other direction for the score.

The pressure caused by senior linebackers Mason Torres and Creed Nail forced the throw and Schultheis made a great play to completely flip momentum early on, as Lincoln led 7-0 with 10:41 to go in the 1st.

"The game started off with a crazy series of events. We fumbled the opening kickoff and had our backs against the wall," said Ricke. 

"We teach our kids to make them snap it again and we made a big play doing just that. Kylan made a huge momentum play with the 100-yard interception return for a TD. That play gave us momentum that we maintained throughout the night."

After a 15-play drive that lasted over six minutes, the Lincoln defense stepped up again, forcing a turnover on downs at the Lincoln 41.

"I thought our defense did a great job being physical against a really good team," said Lincoln defensive coordinator Jeff Comfort. "It was an extremely physical game and they did a great job continuing to fight and making Shiloh snap it again even after some big plays."

The Bulldogs moved the ball into Shiloh territory, but junior quarterback Carter Ricke was picked off on 4th down at the Saints' 29, giving the ball back to the visitors.

Shiloh (2-1) quickly punted and was able to pin Lincoln deep early in the 2nd before the Bulldogs made their next big play.

Ricke ran for nine yards on 3rd down, bouncing off several tacklers to move the chains before CJ Wright got loose on the ensuing play.

The freshman took a hand off from Ricke left, hit the hole and was gone, racing 85 yards down the Lincoln sideline for the score.

"I'm very proud of CJ for the way he responded after the fumble," Ricke said. "The 85 yard TD run showed the kind of burst he has and why we are so excited for him this year. He has been thrown into the fire as a 9th grader. He is getting better and better with the reps he is getting."

Great blocking from Colt Monsey, Rain Ragland, Dawson Fullingim and Schulteis on the edge helped put Lincoln up 14-0 with 9:17 to go in the half.

"The play was blocked really well," said Ricke. "We ran a stretch play into the boundary that we blocked very well. We got that exact look in practice and were able to execute it against Shiloh."

"Colt had a great block forcing his guy to the sideline. Rain and Dawson got the linebackers blocked and Kylan did a great job on the corner. I was impressed with how hard CJ hit the hole and got to the 3rd level immediately."

Shiloh would respond with another long drive, as the Saints went 80 yards in 12 plays, cashing in on a 1-yard plunge from former Jenks star Hudson Ball.

Torres shot through and blocked the ensuing extra point and Lincoln's lead was 14-6 with 5:41 left in the half.

The Bulldogs responded with another big play to push the lead back out.

After a nice return by Wright to set the Bulldogs up near the 40, Ricke found sophomore Braden Baker for 10 yards and senior Jack Milligan for 12 yards to move inside the Saints' 40.

Two plays later, Ricke hit Schultheis on a deep shot down the middle, similarly to the touchdown play from last week at Heritage Hall.

The result was the same, as the 42-yard score made it 21-6 with 3:33 left in the 2nd quarter.

"Carter did a great job managing our offense against a defense that gives so many different looks," Ricke said. "The biggest play he made was the QB run on 3rd down when we were pinned deep in our territory to get a huge first down. He made some great throws on 3rd down and obviously, he made the big throw to Kylan on the touchdown."

After the Bulldogs forced a quick punt, Lincoln gave it right back to Shiloh on the first play of the drive, as the Saints were in business at the 38 with 1:49 to go.

Shiloh moved the ball inside the Lincoln five with under a minute to go before Schultheis made another huge play.

With 32 seconds to go, as Saints receiver Chandler Kemp took a jet sweep hand off and was angling to the end zone, Schultheis broke on the play and stripped the ball loose.

Lincoln junior corner back Hudson Farris quickly dove on it in the end zone for a touch back and the Bulldogs took a 21-6 lead into the break.

Shiloh ran 45 plays in the first half to Lincoln's 18, but had just seven more yards.

The Bulldogs didn't let up coming out of the locker room, as the defense forced a 3-and-out on the opening possession of the 3rd quarter.

Lincoln extended the lead on its first drive of the 2nd half, thanks to a crucial 18-yard pitch and catch from Ricke to Milligan on 3rd and 10.

Lincoln junior kicker Cooper Housley knocked through a 28-yard field goal, making it 24-7 with 6:21 to go in the 3rd.

But another big play would be incoming quickly. 

After Shiloh plodded along near midfield against a consistently tough Lincoln defense for 10 plays, Torres took his turn to get in on the action.

The senior linebacker made a beautiful read on a Bodenstien pass, picking it off inside and housing it from 48 yards away.

"We talk about making big plays when it matters the most. Our guys have really bought into that and showed up when it counts. The seniors have been at the forefront of that and it has paid off for our team. Mason Torres and Kylan Schultheis have really shown up when it counts on multiple occasions," said Comfort.

It was the 4th interception for Torres in three games on the young season and the Bulldogs had blown the game open, leading 31-6 with 1:48 to go in the 3rd.

Shiloh responded with another long drive, working 14 plays to go 83 yards in 3:41.

Saints running back Griffin Mason, who finished with 32 carries for 159 yards on the night, had 60 on the drive, while Hudson Ball rushed five times, including the 3-yard touchdown.

Lincoln led 31-14 with 8:19 to go in the game.

The Bulldogs had one more drive left in them, as Lincoln used a familiar connection to move down the field.

Ricke found Schultheis over the middle for 34 yards to move inside the Saints' 35.

Two plays later, senior tight end Luke McCants made a great play on a catch in the flat from Ricke, tip-toeing down the sideline inside the Shiloh 10.

Sophomore running back Braeden Baker found the end zone for a 7-yard score on the next play, making it 38-14 with 3:56 remaining.

Lincoln ran just 39 plays but had 304 yards. Shiloh ran 79 plays on the night for 353 yards.

The Saints rushed for 220 yards but on 56 attempts, held in check by the Lincoln defense to just 3.9 yards per carry.

"Our front seven played lights out. We knew this was a very good offensive line, but our kids don't shy away from that, they embrace it. It was a group effort to tackle their RBs and I couldn't be more proud of how our guys handled the challenge," Comfort said.

The Bulldogs held Shiloh to 10-of-19 on 3rd down and 0-of-4 on 4th down, forcing three punts.

"We played a very tough non-district schedule that we believe will prepare us for the challenges that lay ahead in district play," Ricke said. "I'm really proud of our guys for stepping up to the challenge every week. We came out in relatively good health."

Lincoln was 6-of-9 on 3rd down and did not punt in the win.

Ricke was 11-of-15 for 161 yards in the win, while Schultheis had four catches for 94 yards. Milligan had two grabs for 30 yards.

Wright carried seven times for 89 yards for Lincoln.

Lincoln is off next week but will return to action when the Bulldogs host Stigler on Sept. 27.