Heritage Hall had led for most of the game.
The Chargers had all the momentum.
The state's second longest win streak was in jeopardy.
And yet, the No. 1 Lincoln Christian didn't panic.
It didn't flinch.
The Bulldogs just did what they had done plenty of times before during this stretch of 44 games.
They answered the call.
Lincoln went on a 10-play, 69-yard drive that took almost five minutes to take a 20-19 lead with just over three minutes to go.
The defense then held the Chargers twice more to get out of town with a thrilling September victory, the program's 9th straight win over Heritage Hall.
"I was really proud of how we hung in there all night. Our guys had a great 'next play' mentality all night. This was a great team win and a great win for the culture of our program," said Lincoln head coach Jerry Ricke.
The momentum started to swing when Lincoln held Heritage Hall on three straight plays from inside the five yard line, forcing a 25-yard field goal by Beau Butler with 8:10 to go in the game, making the score 19-14.
That's when sophomore Major Brooks grew up in front of everyone's eyes, as the young lefty took the Bulldogs on a game-winning drive, converting 4th down twice, including on the final play.
Brooks lofted a beautiful pass on the first 4th down, just across midfield, as he found senior tight end Colt Monsey, who trapped the ball on his back shoulder and rumbled down inside the Chargers' 20 for the biggest play of the game.
After Brooks found classmate and wideout Kade Wilson for 11 yards to move inside the Heritage Hall five, the sophomore was called upon again to deliver.
On 4th and goal from the 2, Brooks faked to Lincoln's Braxton McGinnis and plunged in, diving over the goal line as the Bulldog crowd erupted.
Lincoln had the lead and the momentum for the first time in forever with just 3:17 to go.
"I'm just really proud of Major," said Ricke. "He showed a ton of resolve and resilience all night. He made some great plays throwing the ball, and his scrambling ability helped us in some key situations."
Brooks was 11-of-17 for 253 yards and a touchdown, while he also ran eight times for 39 yards and a score.
"I put a lot of weight on the quarterback's shoulders, and Major handled that pressure well last night," said Ricke.
Suddenly, it was up to the defense once again.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Comfort's group had answered the call almost every time in the second half and they needed to do it a couple of more times.
The first stop came in just three plays, as junior Cayden Mathruin picked off Heritage Hall quarterback Teagen Lawson for the third time on the night with 2:06 to go.
"We had to make a couple of adjustments at halftime to what they were doing offensively," said Comfort. "Our kids did a good job and not panicking and understanding what we had to do in the second half."
After allowing 197 first half yards, Comfort and his unit surrendered just 72 yards in the second half, turning the Chargers over twice, along with forcing a punt, the field goal and a turnover on downs.
"The turnovers were huge to swing momentum. We told them if we win the turnover battle, we win the game."
After Lincoln and Ricke chewed some clock offensively, Heritage Hall got it back one more time with just over a minute to go inside its own 35.
But the Chargers would run just four plays, as Comfort's defense ratcheted up the pressure and forced three straight incompletions from Lawson to end the game.
"We have a ton of trust in our locker room and have so many capable guys that contributed to the win in all three phases of the game," said Comfort. "Our seniors led us well on defense and showed up when it mattered the most."
"Colt (Monsey), Parker (Rogers), and Rain (Ragland) just did a fantastic job of keeping us steady and not flinching."
Monsey had seven tackles, including four for loss, along with two sacks, in the win.
Junior Isaac Beisel had a team-high 12 tackles, while Rogers had six tackles and a forced fumble.
McGinnis had six tackles and a sack, while Ragland had three tackles and a fumble recovery.
Ricke went for it late on 4th down, as the head coach with a 109-13 career record not only played for the win, but showed ultimately trust and continuity with Comfort and how his defense was playing.
"I always converse with Coach Comfort on these types of calls, and he has a ton of confidence in his guys on the defensive side," said Ricke. "We didn't come into this game hoping we would play well. We came into the game determined to win. Sometimes, you have to make decisions to win the game, and I thought our guys executed those big time."
Lincoln struggled to run the ball all night, as the Bulldogs managed just 69 yards on 33 attempts.
Heritage Hall slowed down the Bulldogs' run game for the first time in a long time, which forced Ricke to lean on Brooks and his playmakers through the air.
"We knew Heritage Hall had a great box and were very stout in the run game," said Ricke. "They were loading the box all night and forcing us to make some plays on the outside. Fortunately, we were able to make some of those plays in the pass game."
Junior Caleb Peterson had another huge game, as he answered Heritage Hall's early touchdown with a big play.
After Comfort and company forced the Chargers to punt, Heritage Hall recovered the muffed kick inside Lincoln's 30-yard line.
After the Chargers punched it in seven plays later to go up 7-0 with 6:42 to go, it was time for Brooks and Peterson to respond.
On just the third play of offense, Brooks launched a quick screen pass to the far sideline and Peterson did the rest, splitting two Charger defenders and jetting to the house.
The 87-yard touchdown with 5:38 to go tied the game at 7-7.
Mathurin's first pick came on the ensuing drive, as the junior played great man-to-man coverage on Heritage Hall's Tripp Thomas, who finished with nine grabs for 119 yards and a TD.
Mathurin stepped in front of the deep pass at the Bulldogs' own 5-yard line before Lincoln went on its longest drive of the night.
Brooks found Peterson for 27 yards on 3rd and 12 to get out of deep Lincoln territory before another big pass play took place.
The sophomore found his classmate Wilson for 34 yards to get inside the Heritage Hall 25.
Four plays later, sophomore Max Madrid coasted in from 12 yards out to give Lincoln a 14-7 lead with 9:34 to go in the 2nd quarter.
"We have a lot of confidence in those guys. Kade and Caleb are both very hungry receivers, and they want the ball thrown their way," said Ricke. "I thought they were great in the explosive plays that we constantly preach about. And then you look at Colt there at the end, making a huge reception on a tipped ball. I was very proud of those guys."
Peterson finished with five catches for 130 yards, while Wilson also had five grabs for 94 yards.
The Chargers answered with a 6-play, 80-yard drive to pull within a point at 14-13 at 6:51 to go.
Junior Nate Uyetake and Ragland broke through to block the extra point, which proved to be huge later on in the game.
Lincoln had to punt on the remaining two drives in the half, while Mathruin picked off Lawson again before Lincoln held the Chargers to a field goal just before the half.
The Bulldogs were just 3-of-11 on 3rd down in the win and turned the ball over three times, but made the plays when they had to, as the Bulldogs have now won 44 straight games.
"It's just a huge win. I don't think our players and fans understand how tough it is to win a game on their field," said Ricke. "They have only lost a couple of games there in the last five or six years, and both of them have been to us."
Lincoln has not lost in nine games against Heritage Hall, beginning with a win in the 2019 semifinal matchup.
The 44-game win streak is the 5th longest all-time in state history. Lincoln is 94-4 since the start of the 2019 season and is 105-6 since the beginning of 2018.
The Bulldogs (2-0) host Shiloh Christian in the home opener on Friday.
"It is always great to correct mistakes on Saturday morning, knowing that you won the game," said Ricke. "We have a lot of things to clean up before Friday, when we play a great Shiloh Christian football team."
Photos by R Murphy Media
