Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Team Unity, Blocking Pave Way For Cummings’ Big Game
TEAM UNITY, BLOCKING PAVE WAY FOR CUMMINGS’ MONSTER GAME
MALVERN — Tyler Cummings likes running on artificial turf but he doesn’t like falling on the synthetic grass carpet — so why bother?
Especially with the Lincoln offensive line of David Adams, George Avenllanda, Jake Davenport, Ryan Riable and Austin Thorpe and blocking fullback Kaleb Ayers opening gaping holes in Malvern’s defense.
The 6-foot-1, 180 pound, senior Wolf runningback has a surname synonymous with heavy equipment and he has run like a bulldozer all season fighting tacklers for extra yardage with each carry. On Friday, the offensive line played like a wrecking crew playing smash- mouth football leveling Leopard defenders on a rain-soaked field to emerge with a resounding, 41-21, road win over Malvern in the second round of the 4A playoffs.
Cummings is motivated by the memory of a tight bond he shared with his late grandfather, Dickie Pat, of West Fork.
“He never missed one of my games up until my sophomore year when he started to get sick,” Cummings said. “He had a passion for the game. He’s been shining down looking over me and our team all year long.”
Cummings had touchdown runs of 36 yards on a fake punt, 47 and 1 in the first-half as Lincoln built a 21-7 halftime lead on the road.
In all Cummings gained a whopping 415 yards on 34 carries scoring all six Lincoln touchdowns, recording the eighth best singlegame rushing performance in Arkansas high school history on Friday.
“It’s just awesome. Our guys have played extremely well. Our guys have played over their head,” said Lincoln head coach Brad Harris. “We coach them up but they’re the ones who execute out there on the field. Our offensive line by far had their best ball game. They opened up some creases for him.”
This is an individual accomplishment brought about by a team commitment to flow in one direction as outlined by Brad Harris in a Friday morning speech at a team breakfast hosted by the Lincoln Baptist Church.
“Coach Harris always uses this devotion time. Special speakers come in sometimes. Coach Harris always puts it in athletic terms,” said senior defensive end Timmy Alexander. “This morning he talked about compasses and how we as a team all have to face the same direction if we want to do anything in the playoffs this year.”
Lincoln athletic director Deon Birkes, who drove the team bus to Malvern, is one of the devoted hometown fans, who has been impressed with the molding of the 2013 Wolves into a cohesive team unit.
“When you give up the me for the we — that is huge,” Birkes said. “You’ve got to be willing to sacrifice for your family and you learn that through athletics.”
Jake Davenport, who plays tackle, and Dakota Riggin, who teamed up with Colton Barnum for extra-blocking up front in Lincoln’s doubletight set new to the offense this year, agree Cummings consistently makes something out of basic blocking.
“You don’t have to give Tyler much cause he can find a crease,” Davenport said. “Our whole line did really great tonight. I’m really proud of these boys. The good thing is that we all have each other’s backs whenever something bad happens.”
The Wolves rose to the occasion at every opportunity at Malvern. When the Leopards took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and scored narrowing Lincoln’s lead to 21-14; the offense responded going 81 yards in four plays. On second-and-12 from Lincoln’s 17, Alec Pitts’ 16-yard gain after a pass reception gave the Wolves a first down. Cummings then took a quick-pitch right for 42 yards and raced through a huge hole created by his blockers to score from 15 yards out on the next play. Emilio Marrufo’s kick made it, 28-14, to push the Wolves back to a two-touchdown lead.
Malvern scored again but with the pressure on, Lincoln’s offense went to work. Brad Harris mixed in a Pitts jet sweep for 3 yards and a trio of quarterback keepers by his son, Drew Harris, for 9 yards to keep the Leopards honest. Still, Malvern could not contain Cummings, who exploded for 47 yards on second-and-eight from Lincoln’s 28 and added another first- down on an 8-yard carry to the Malvern 14. After a timeout, Cummings ran in for an 8-yard touchdown and a 35-21 Lincoln cushion with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter.
Malvern moved the ball near midfield but lost a costly fumble. The Leapords were again victimized by the speedster when Lincoln’s offensive line ripped a hole in the middle springing Cummings for another 47-yard touchdown and a 41-21 lead after three frames.
In the fourth, Lincoln defensive coordinator Jim Meyers was able to tweak the defense and Malvern did not score again. The Wolves didn’t score either but burned 8: 20 off the clock with their ball-control offense including the final 6:27 after Danny Calvillo’s interception turned back Malvern’s last threat at the Lincoln 10-yard line.
The best compliment Lincoln received may have come from Malvern coach Mike Scarborough, who coached against Harris when both were head junior high coaches at Malvern and Arkadelphia. He sent a text message for Harris to tell his players, “They play harder than anybody else we have played this year.”
Lincoln ( 11-1) takes on Booneville (12-0) in a quarterfinal playoff this Friday at 7 p.m.