Strong start continues for Lincoln
Unbeaten Lions far too good for Wizards
WEST WARWICK — There was no outcry from either the West Warwick or Lincoln fanbase at Maznicki Field on Friday afternoon when, at the start of the second half, the scoreboard began to partially malfunction.
Able to depict each team’s point total, but not the game clock, the otherwise unfortunate situation was largely ignored given the developments on the field.
Down 20 points at the break, the Wizards surrendered another 21 points over the final two quarters en route to a 41-0 shutout defeat, dropping their overall record in conference play to 0-2 on the year.
Kyle Wilson and Tyler Dusty, both junior running backs, each scored a pair of touchdowns on the day, while classmate John Jaramillo added one of his own along with senior quarterback Randall Hein to help the visiting Lions improve their record to 2-0 in conference play.
“They showed that today. We just made a couple of big plays and things went in our favor.”
— Lincoln’s Sean Cavanaugh
“We’re happy with the outcome,” Lincoln head coach Sean Cavanaugh said of the shutout victory, acknowledging that the freshman-heavy Wizards will likely not be the toughest team his players will face this year.
“I know they’re a little young this year,” he said of West Warwick, but added “they’re always tough, they’re always gritty. They showed that today. We just made a couple of big plays and things went in our favor.”
Despite the lopsided score, the game was actually close for much of the opening half until a few key plays turned everything on its head.
Jaramillo’s touchdown run, a four-yard burst into the end zone, set up by a 20-yard run from Dusty moments earlier, served as the only score through the first 22 minutes of play in what was shaping up to be a tight contest headed into the break.
The Wizards were in the midst of putting together a drive of their own late in the second quarter, but were eventually forced to punt.
Pinning the visitors back at their own 5-yard line made for only that much more of a dramatic turnaround, as
Dusty broke free on the first play of the Lions’ drive, carrying the ball 95-yards down the field for the score.
The Lions would get the ball back less than two minutes later and promptly cashed in once again, with Wilson scoring the first of his two touchdowns on a 25yard burst to make it 20-0.
Hein scored the lone touchdown of the third quarter on a two-yard run to up the lead to 27-0, before connecting with Wilson on a 42-yard pass in the fourth. A blocked punt was returned for a score late in the fourth, with Dusty taking the ball in himself to put a stamp on the win.
“Absolutely,” Cavanaugh replied when asked if he was pleased with his team’s offensive display. “All eleven guys contributed today and execution was good for them. That was their goal coming in, so we’re actually happy with the way things turned out from the team effort aspect of it.”
With a home game against Classical up next, Cavanaugh knows that there is plenty of work left for his team to do, but for the time being, he is content with their start to the year.
“We’ve got miles to go. Our division is not going to get any easier, but any win is a good win, so we’re happy with that,” he said.
Dave Caito, coach of the Wizards has a much different
set of obstacles to overcome in the weeks ahead.
Coming off a 34-6 loss at Rogers last week, Friday’s shutout defeat against the Lions did not do much to boost confidence.
“Little steps, baby steps. They’ve gotten better, it’s just that the tackling is still atrocious. We’ve been working on it all week,” he said of what his team has been working on most as of late.
“We’re still light in the butt as we call them that we can’t tackle anybody high, especially big backs and good athletes like that had. You’ve gotta stay low. At times they did tackle well, but we have to do it consistently and not get blown off the ball like we did at times.”
Offensively, though they did not reach the end zone, the Wizards showed signs of promise. Freshman quarterback Brady Miale connected with sophomore Richard Medeiros Jr. for a 34-yard gain on what looked to be a promising drive, only to have it end with an interception at the goal line by the Lions’ Vaun Larisa.
“We’ll go back, you know corrective criticism when we look at the film. We just have to get better every week. That’s the goal right now,” said Caito.
on
Photo by Nick Cantor