Lions, Broncos pick up blowout wins
Lions jump all over Knights in road victory
WEST GREENWICH — The Lincoln football team got off to a slow start on the season, but they've since swapped that out for a three-game win streak.
There was nothing slow about the Lions on Saturday afternoon against Exeter/West Greenwich. Michael Marcaccio took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and that was just the beginning of Lincoln's speedy Saturday. The Lions added four more touchdowns in a 35-14 Division III road victory over the Scarlet Knights.
“It was a great team win,” Lincoln coach Sean Cavanaugh said. “We had great intensity from the start. We got off on the right foot. The kids played hard and they worked together.”
Sporting a 6-0 lead 20 seconds into the game, the Lions tacked on another first-quarter score to put themselves up two scores despite having had just one true offensive possession up to that point. Justin Rutter ran the ball in for a 14-yard touchdown after a key third-down conversion by Julien Karraz for the first offensive touchdown of the game.
The Lions featured a fourheaded monster in the backfield, with Rutter, Karraz, Marcaccio and Isiah Oliveira all combining to collect big yardage on the ground.
“It takes all 11,” Cavanaugh said, indicating that the team's blocking helped set up the run game. “That's something we try to preach and remind the kids. We're fortunate to have a balanced attack. It takes all 11.”
The 11 players on defense looked equally balanced for the Lions.
After a EWG three-and-out was wiped out by a roughing the punter call, the Lion defense again prevented the Knights from advancing the ball, forcing a punt that they blocked.
A Lincoln three-and-out gave the Knights a chance to make a game out of it, but instead EWG quarterback Nicholas Cardolino fumbled a keeper, and the Lions pounced on the loose ball.
“The intensity was really up,” Cavanaugh said of his defense and special teams units. “They're making plays. Executed the gameplan and fought till the end. They finished the plays, which is something we're working on.”
Lion quarterback Randall Hien guided his team into the red zone after the fumble was recovered, but the promising drive ended when Hien threw an interception into the end zone.
Hien quickly redeemed the sole Lincoln turnover of the afternoon, following an interception nabbed by Aidan Murtha. A Karraz 15-yard run on first down set up a deep pass attempt, which floated over the EWG secondary into the waiting arms of Rutter.
Rutter turned on the jets to keep the EWG defenders in his rearview mirror, and a two-point run by Marcaccio gave the Lions a 21-0 halftime advantage.
The third quarter went much the way of the first two: EWG went three-and-out to start, followed by a 10-play Lincoln drive that culminated in seven points. Oliveira cut up the right sideline for a 15yard gain to start the drive, and runs by Rutter, Karraz and Hien set up first and goal from the five yard line.
Two straight negative-yard plays – a Lions penalty and run for a loss – made it look like the drive was going to fizzle out without adding any points to the scoreboard. Karraz was handed the ball on fourth and goal from the four, and surged into the end zone for the fourth Lions score.
Karraz kept his big day going on the next drive, running all the way to the sevenyard line. That big run allowed Oliveira to join in on the touchdown bonanza, putting the game into mercy-rule territory at 35-0.
EWG finally answered back, using three big catches by Joe Coutcher to score two touchdowns in less than a minute of game time. With 5:50 remaining in the fourth, Coutcher caught the ball up the left sideline and broke multiple Lincoln tackles to get EWG on the board.
The Knights recovered two onside kicks in a comeback win against Smithfield earlier this season, and some of that magic seemed to still be in the leg of Damon Schuberth when the Knights recovered yet another onside try trailing 357. Coutcher had two more lengthy catch-and-runs after the kick went to EWG, but the Lions simply ate up the rest of the clock after recovering another onside attempt.
The Lions are now 3-1 in D-III play, and 3-2 overall. After losing their first two games of the season, the young team has embarked on a three-game win streak that has them near the top of their division.
“We have a tough division,” said Cavanaugh. “A lot of talented teams. We're dayby-day. We got a little bit better today than we were yesterday, so we're happy with that.”
Next week, Lincoln takes on the North Smithfield/MSC co-op (1-3 in D-III) at home. The following week also sees the Lions play at home, this time against the division leader Juanita Sanchez co-op (5-0).