Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Lincoln Sets Records In Win
HARRIS LEADS WAY
DOVER — In a showcase of offensive efficiency, Lincoln racked up 501 yards of total offense behind the pin-point passing of junior quarterback Drew Harris, who was 13-of-18 for 320 yards and five touchdowns — all in the first half.
“That’s the best execution I’ve seen in my 16 years of coaching,” said Lincoln coach Brad Harris. “A big hat off to Drew, he did a good job of knowing what we needed to do. This week we talked about we’re going to throw the football and loosen them up. It was a great team effort.”
Lincoln was ahead, 47-0, but Dover couldn’t keep the Wolves off the scoreboard despite taking over with 2:19 to go in the first half. The Pirates let the play clock nearly expire and called timeout before lining up for a punt which Lincoln blocked and recovered at the one.
Only a penalty kept the Wolves from reaching the end zone and Emilio Maruffo sent a 27-yard field goal through the uprights pushing Lincoln ahead by a whopping 50-0 margin with three seconds left in the half. The play began with a span of five of the next seven plays involving a Maruffo kick with the junior kicking off after the score.
After kicking off to start the second half, Dover ran two plays before fumbling the football into the end zone where Lincoln freshman Harrison Swayne dove on it for a touchdown. Maruffo booted the extra-point for a 57-0 Lincoln lead, then kicked off again.
“He’s been a weapon for us so far. Of course, he kicked the field goals but Emilio did a great job of kicking the ball down inside the 10-yard line,” Brad Harris said. “They [Dover] started inside their 20 the whole first quarter, that kept them pinned deep. They had a hard time getting out of there with it.”
A false start penalty saved the Pirates when a shotgun snap went awry but they could not redeem the possession and had to punt.
“We start substituting in the second quarter. The guys we put in kept playing,” Brad Harris said. “We played everybody throughout the entire game after we got up.” The result was no different. Reserve quarterback Dakota Riggin led the Wolves on a 6-play, 79-yard march finding paydirt on a 16-yard toss to Harrison Swayne, Lincoln’s only passing attempt of the second half.
In the fourth quarter, Riggin guided the Wolves on a four play, 35-yard drive climaxed by his nine-yard touchdown run on first-andgoal.
“It’s a dream come true if you will,” Riggin said. “I’ve been telling Coach Harris I’m going to get my touchdown sticker.”
Dover’s final possession ended with a Ryan Holcomb interception preserving the shutout. A pass was deflected and the 5-foot-8, 145 pound senior caught the ball below his knees before it hit the turf to the delight of all his teammates.
“Most of them told me to try and run it towards the end zone,” Holcomb said. “I tried but the guy got me on the chest and tackled me.”
“It’s awesome, Lincoln’s come a long way from going 0-29 to winning 71-0 that set a record in Lincoln’s history,” Riggin said. “It wasn’t the fact that Dover didn’t play good. They were big, but we were flawless tonight.”
No player more epitomizes the turnaround in Lincoln’s football program than Holcomb, who has dealt with autism and has opened up his world to those around him since going out for football in the seventh grade, something he never planned on doing until Brad Harris arrived and mailed out invitations to all incoming seventh graders.
“It makes me feel proud of myself, it’s my first interception,” Holcomb said.
“There’s not a better way to finish the game. Every one of our kids love him to death and he gets a pick,” Brad Harris said.
The Wolves entertain conference foe, Berryville, on Friday in Lincoln’s Homecoming game at 7 p.m. at the new Wolfpack Stadium.