Top-ranked Lincoln completely dominated from start to finish on Friday night in Class 3A's biggest game statewide, as the Bulldogs rolled 62-0 over No. 4 Holland Hall.

Lincoln (5-0) finished with 690 yards of offense, while holding Holland Hall to just 113 yards in the shutout.

The Bulldogs averaged 12.3 yards per play and had 25 first downs, as the Bulldogs led 49-0 early in the 3rd.

"I thought that we had a really good week of practice, and our guys were locked into the game plans. I was impressed with our physicality on both sides of the ball and our ability to wear Holland Hall down," said Lincoln head coach Jerry Ricke.

The Bulldogs ran for a whopping 495 yards, averaging 12.4 per carry in the win.

"We felt like our offensive line would have to play well to help our team be successful, and they definitely stepped up to the challenge," Ricke said.

"Those five guys have played a lot of snaps against a lot of different looks, so I think their experience helps a ton. It was also important to play a physical brand of football and I was proud of those guys for doing just that."

Meanwhile, Lincoln held the Dutch to just 58 yards on 24 attempts rushing.

The Bulldogs scored on every drive besides the final one, where the clock ran out.

It was the 33rd straight win for Lincoln, as well as the 54th victory at home in-a-row — dating back to 2018.

"I really thought our crowd was fantastic," said Ricke. "The red, white, and blue and hometown hero theme was really neat. We enjoy playing on our home field and feel a sense of responsibility to honor our house by playing fast, relentless, and focused."

The Bulldogs have also won 45 consecutive district games.

Lincoln got to work early, as the Bulldogs forced an early punt from Holland Hall and cashed in on the first touchdown of the night.

Junior running back Braeden Baker, who had another tremendous night, capped off the 8-play, 60-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run.

Baker accounted for all but eight of the yards on the opening drive and Lincoln led 7-0 with 7:32 remaining in the 1st quarter. 

Holland Hall gained one of just six 1st downs on the night on the following possession, but was forced to punt again, after Dutch QB Trey Burleson was sacked by Bulldog junior Lincoln Torres on 3rd and 7.

The Bulldogs responded with their longest drive of the night, marching 71 yards in 11 plays spanning 5:26 to score again.

Lincoln converted two 3rd downs and a 4th down on the drive, which was capped off by a 4-yard score by sophomore CJ Wright, making it 14-0 with 10:27 to go in the 2nd quarter.

After Lincoln forced another punt following a sack by junior Colt Monsey, the Bulldogs took to the air on the ensuing drive.

After Baker ran for 38 yards on first down, senior quarterback Carter Ricke found senior receiver Hudson Farris over the middle on an RPO and the speedster did the rest.

Farris outran the Dutch defense all the way to the house, extending Lincoln's lead to 21-0 with 6:19 to go in the half.

The defense forced a 3-and-out on Holland Hall's next possession and junior receiver Brett Kaste got into the mix.

Lincoln picked up two first downs, one on an 11-yard pass to Wright and another on Ricke's 11 yard completion to Kaste.

But Lincoln was backed up after a penalty into a 4th and 25.

That's when arguably the play of the night happened, as the Dogs decided to go for it and succeeded.

Kaste ran right past the Holland Hall secondary and Ricke delivered a high-arcing bomb, dropping right into the junior receiver's arms for the Dogs' 4th score of the night with 1:28 to go in the half.

After the defense held on 4th down to close out the half inside of the Bulldogs own 40, Lincoln led 28-0 at the break.

"I'm really proud of all of our receivers, especially Brett and Hudson, for the way those two have stepped up in these big games," said Ricke.

"They both have a rapport with Carter that has been developing over the summer and our daily practices. I really like the playmaking ability of both, and then you add CJ and Braeden in there, and we have some weapons all over the place."

The 3rd quarter is where Lincoln put the game out of reach. And the Bulldogs did it quickly. 

Lincoln got the ball to open the 3rd quarter and went right down the field.

Baker ran for 40 yards to cross midfield and into Dutch territory before Ricke found Kaste again.

The two hooked up for 32 yards, followed by a missile of a throw for the score.

Ricke zipped a pass on an in-rotue to Kaste, who hung on while falling down for the score.

The 16-yard connection pushed the lead out to five touchdowns at 35-0 with 10:55 remaining in the 3rd.

The offense would not get much rest, as Lincoln kicker Cooper Housley had a perfect kickoff to pin the Dutch at their own 2-yard line to start the next drive.

That's where Burleson and his running back fumbled the exchange, allowing Monsey to recover and Lincoln to take over at the Dutch 2.

Ricke found Wright wide open off a play fake on the following play for his 4th of the night and the easy score.

All of a sudden, it was 42-0 with just 72 seconds gone by in the 3rd.

The Bulldogs forced another 3-and-out quickly after before Wright got loose for the run of the night.

The sophomore broke three tackles on a stretch play to the visiting sideline, bouncing off defenders left and right before finding a crease.

When he did, Wright was out of the gate and cruised into the end zone for a 74-yard touchdown run.

"Both CJ and Braeden take pride in the way they practice," said Ricke talking about his two backfield weapons. "What you see on Friday nights is a result of a lot of hard work they both put in throughout the week."

"I also love the genuine care that they have for each other. They are competitive guys, but they both root for each other and just want what's best for the team."

Lincoln's lead was 49-0 with 9:34 to go in the 3rd.

The Bulldogs forced a turnover on downs before going on another scoring drive.

Sophomore quarterback Brayden McMullen came into the game to close out the 3rd quarter, leading Lincoln on a 6-play, 65-yard drive.

Junior running back Gabe Huntsigner capped off the scoring drive with runs of 15, 12 and eventually eight yards for the touchdown, pushing Lincoln's lead out to 56-0 with 3:28 remaining in the quarter.

The defense continued to dominate even into the 4th quarter, as Holland Hall was forced to punt again, giving the ball back to Lincoln for the Bulldogs' final scoring drive of the night.

This time, the Bulldogs went 89 yards in eight plays to eat up almost seven minutes.

Sophomore running back Jax Crumbliss had nearly 50 yards rushing on the drive, including the 29-yard touchdown scamper for Lincoln's final score of the night with 8:45 to go in the game.

Ricke was 10-of-15 for 181 yards passing and added 18 yards on five attempts rushing.

Baker carried 11 times for 149 yards, while Wright rushed for 120 yards on just seven carries and added four catches for 27 yards.

Kaste had four grabs for 95 yards and the two scores, while Farris had two catches for 59 yards.

McMullen had four carries for 46 yards, while Huntsinger carried five times for 44 yards. Freshman Max Madrid had two carries for 67 yards.

Holland Hall was just 1-of-11 on 3rd down and 0-of-2 on 4th down. 

Monsey and freshman Colt Conroy led the team with six tackles apiece. 

Torres had four, while Huntsinger, sophomore Caleb Peterson, Baker and seniors Ethan Uyetake and Logan Kelley each had three.

Ricke bragged on his defense, specially his linebacking group, which held Holland Hall to just 2.8 yards per play and forced seven punts. 

"Connor Rowlett has really stepped up as the leader of our defense. He continues to improve each week," the head coach said.

"I really like the way Isaac Beisel and Parker Rogers are playing, and they both have helped our defense pitch three shutouts thus far this year. Those guys would tell you it is really helpful to play behind those defensive linemen up front."

The Bulldogs will be on the road next week at Locust Grove in another 3A-3 matchup.

Lincoln is looking to win its 8th consecutive district championship and 3rd straight Class 3A state title. 



Photos by Lee Talley