After three big wins and a week off, No. 1 Lincoln showed no rust in the district 3A-3 opener, as the Bulldogs dominated Stigler on both sides of the ball in a 49-7 win Friday night.

Lincoln (4-0, 1-0) scored six first half touchdowns and allowed just 39 yards through two quarters, as the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Panthers early en route to their 18th straight win.

The Bulldogs had 412 total yards at halftime on just 30 plays, while the defense held Stigler to just 34 total yards on 24 snaps.

In the first half, Lincoln had a touchdown or a first down on 21 of 30 plays, as the Bulldogs picked up right where they left off from the big win over Shiloh Christian two weeks ago.

"I thought we looked fresh and it showed in the 1st half," said Lincoln head coach Jerry Ricke. "We went out on both sides of the ball and executed our game plans well. I was pleased with our effort."

The offense was humming right out of the gate, as the Bulldogs scored on the first play from scrimmage after forcing a 3-and-out.

Carter Ricke, who had his best game as a starter, found running back Braden Baker on a screen pass for the first big play of the game.

Baker followed the convoy of Bulldog blockers, broke several tackles inside the 10 and dove across the goal line for the 50-yard score.

Lincoln led 7-0 with 10:02 left in the 1st.

The dominant Lincoln defense forced another quick 3-and-out, giving the ball back to the offense at the Bulldog 42.

Ricke completed passes of 14 to CJ Wright and 22 to Hudson Farris, setting the Bulldogs up inside the Stigler 25.

Four plays later, Ricke found senior running back Dawson Fullingim leaking out of the backfield for a 3-yard pitch and catch.

The touchdown made it 14-0 with 4:53 to go in the 1st.

Another quick punt got the offense the ball back, where Ricke continued to impress through the air.

Another long pass to Baker, this time for 46 yards on a quick screen, put Lincoln in business inside the five.

Ricke found senior wideout Jack Milligan on the following play in the back of the end zone, showing off the chemistry between the two for the 3-yard score.

Lincoln led 21-0 with 2:18 to go in the 1st.

"We talk about execution, technique, attention to detail, etc., all of the time in practice," said Ricke. "We really work on executing our offense at a high level and I thought we did that tonight. We got some big plays and momentum early that we were able to ride the rest of the game."

After Stigler converted its initial first down of the game, the Lincoln defense quickly put a stop to that.

Senior Creed Nail stepped in front of a Brylar Honeycutt pass and held on for the interception, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs at the Lincoln 48.

A 14-yard run by Fullingim, followed by a 13-yard pass to Kylan Schultheis moved the ball to the Stigler 1-yard line, where the Bulldogs would extend the lead.

Baker plunged in for his second score of the evening, as Lincoln pushed the margin to 28-0 with 9:33 to go in the half.

Stigler was unable to move the ball again on the following possession, as the Lincoln defense continued to push the Panthers backwards, forcing another 3-and-out.

The offense needed just one play on the ensuing drive, as Wright got loose for a big play.

Ricke quick pitched to Wright on a jet sweep and the freshman turned the corner, outrunning the Panthers' defense down the visiting sideline for a 66-yard score.

Lincoln led 35-0 with 8:11 left in the first half.

After Stigler was forced to punt again, the Bulldogs had one more score in them before the halftime break.

Lincoln got the ball back at its own 25 with 6:20 to go in the half.

The Bulldogs needed just two plays to cash in, as Ricke continued to spin it well.

The junior found Milligan over the middle for a 28-yard pick up, and then made maybe his best throw of the night.

Ricke rolled left after a play fake and threw across his body, laying in a deep ball to Schultheis on a corner route in stride.

The senior hauled it in, made a man miss and stepped into the end zone for a 47-yard score with 5:35 to go in the 2nd quarter.

Ricke had his best game as a starter, as the junior was 12-of-14 passing for 302 yards and five touchdowns.

"He seems to be more comfortable every game," said Jerry Ricke. "He had a good week of practice and it showed. Our goal is to complete every ball in practice. He had a great week of practice that carried over into the game. It is nice to have such competent guys at receiver that he trusts."

Ricke threw a touchdown to five different receivers, as the Bulldogs had many of its top weapons on offense score in the district opener, something the head coach enjoys the luxury of.

"It makes my job a little easier and tougher all the same," he said. "I know I've got a lot of offensive weapons, but I've got to make sure that I get and keep them all involved. I thought we spread the ball around tonight and got everyone some touches. We had six guys that caught touchdowns and I think that shows the depth we have."

Stigler had just two first downs in the opening half and -5 yards rushing.

The defense gave up a late score in the 4th, but held the Panthers to just 1-of-9 on 3rd down and 98 total yards in the game.

"They have been playing very well all year long," Ricke said. "I thought they came out tonight and played very physically early. We only gave up four first downs on the night and less than 100 yards of total offense so everyone contributed to limiting Stigler."

Lincoln added to its lead immediately out of the locker room.

Senior quarterback Titan Price threw a quick screen to the home sideline, finding Brett Kaste, who did the rest.

The junior hauled in the throw, split two defenders behind a great block from Nail on the outside.

Kaste raced 62 yards for the score and Lincoln led 49-0 with 11:41 to go in the 3rd.

Lincoln was able to get a bunch of action for underclassmen, reserve and younger players late.

Gabe Huntsigner had 10 carries for 38 yards. Price carried four times for 42 yards. Evan James had 27 yards on nine carries.

The defense also played well in the second half, allowing just 64 yards after half and 0-for-3 on 3rd downs.

"I was really proud and impressed with our younger group last night," Ricke said. "They were basically playing their varsity kids and I thought we really did a great job hanging with them. We play Bixby, Owasso, and Broken Arrow in JV games so I thought that helped our younger guys be ready to play the entire 2nd half."

Lincoln ran for 161 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry as a team.

Baker had two catches for 96 yards. Wright caught three passes for 84 yards, while Schultheis also had three grabs for 66 yards.

Lincoln will be at Holland Hall next week.