Pioneers pound Lincoln, earn state playoff berth
LINCOLN — Garrett Matthews’ 73-yard interception return with 1:40 to go in the fourth quarter sealed Gentry’s 34-14 win over Lincoln Friday.
With the win, Gentry makes the playoffs and Lincoln has been eliminated. Both teams sported identical 2-3 conference marks coming into Friday. With a lot of buzz surrounding Gentry senior quarterback Jon Faulkenberry, who came in with 1,422 yards passing and 935 yards rushing; Lincoln junior quarterback Caleb Lloyd came in with more passing yards. Lloyd entered Friday’s contest with 139 completions in 278 attempts for 1,716 yards and 17 touchdowns, something about which Gentry coach Paul Ernest was concerned.
“They moved the ball and scored points on everybody; it was scary coming in,” Ernest said. “Our defensive coordinator, Daniel Ramsey, put a scheme in to limit what they could hurt us with. I’m just so proud of our kids and our coaches they worked so hard for this.”
Matthews was the man of the moment and the man of the hour. He kicked field goals of 34 and 31 yards to help the Pioneers open up a 27-6 lead in the fourth quarter. Lincoln fought back, sparked by Cam Brown’s 36-yard kickoff return. The Wolves marched 52 yards in 9 plays to pull within 27-14 after Lloyd’s 3-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion pass to Lyndon Miller at the 9:21 mark of the fourth period.
Gentry chewed up 72 yards and ran the clock down to 2:55 before coming up inches short on fourth down at the Wolves’ 9. Lincoln revved up its passing game and reached Gentry’s 29 before Matthews’ pick six.
Faulkenberry scored on touchdowns of 5 and 14 yards and completed a 57-yard touchdown pass to Matthews in the first half. Lincoln scored with 3 seconds remaining in the second quarter on Braden Umberson’s 22-yard pass from Lloyd.
Turnovers were Lincoln’s undoing. Gentry linebacker Garrett Hays recovered a fumble at the Pioneer 11 to stop Lincoln’s first drive. Peyton Wright had a pick at Gentry’s four, and Dylan Rayburn intercepted a Lincoln pass in the end zone for a touchback.
“It just wasn’t our night,” said Lincoln coach Don Harrison. “You can’t turn the ball over that many times and expect to win the football game. Caleb’s done a good job for us all year long in his first year at quarterback even though he had the interceptions tonight. We thought we could throw it on them deep, but it just wasn’t our night.”