Mark Humphrey Game Journal

According to Arkansas high school football predictors, the Lincoln Wolves weren’t supposed to be a playoff contender let alone be alive in week 13 in their second season in 4A.

In a preseason coaches’ poll the Wolves were predicted to finish fifth in the 4A-1 Conference and were the 33rd ranked team in their classification as listed by Hootens. Such a dire outcome was published based on past successes of other programs and the perceived lack of talent in Lincoln’s 5-5 campaign in 2012 with a 2-5 conference mark.

All things are possible to those who believe and if no one else could comprehend their talent, at least a returning core of 17 seniors dared to believe in themselves and their coaches.

“It’s crazy, no one in the state figured we would do this,” said senior receiver and defensive back Dalton Simmons. “It’s the best feeling in the world to come in here [Malvern] as an underdog and win [41-21] in the second round of the state playoffs.”

The seniors have grown up with the program learning to tune out the voices of distraction and maintain self-esteem.

After a sensational 7- 4 season in 2011 earned the Wolves only their second playoff appearance in school history, the program faced another challenge — moving up to the 4A classification for the 2012 season. Garrett Hammons, one of Lincoln head coach Brad Harris’ former players at Arkadelphia, and Austin Lewis, a 2008 Farmington graduate, were brought in as assistants.

Yet, before the season could get started the potential seemed to unravel with off-the-field surreal drama. Two- time All- State quarterback Cheyenne Vaughn transferred to Stilwell, Okla. after his junior year and fellow junior Dakota Riggin, the most experienced backup, opted not to play football. State laws governing eligibility of homeschool students changed forcing starting linebacker Timmy Alexander to sit out his junior year.

Then, in the 2012 season-opener, All-Conference running back Tyler Cummings was hurt and sat out the season.

In spite of the adversity, the community and program continued to undergo transformation discovering inspiration, motivation and preparation. Meet the Wolves, the final school event held at the old Lincoln football field, Aug. 22 drew scores and had Lincoln athletic director Deon Birkes raving.

“Donations were awesome tonight, 800 people came here with tickets. We have a truckload of towels and soap that’s been donated to the football program,”

Birkes was equally enthusiastic about the support of new superintendent Mary Ann Spears and the school board, who came out for a ribbon-cutting at the dedication of the new Wolfpack Stadium on Sept. 13.

In a locker room conversation after Lincoln’s 41-21 second-round playoff win at Malvern on Friday, Harris and assistant coach Justin Bounds recalled breaking the 29- game losing streak with a narrow, 9-7, win over Westville.

“If we scored 9 points now, we’d be mad,” Bounds said.

The backward glance was a reminder of how far the program has progressed.

As the team began summer camps and workouts there was an attitude adjustment with an acceptance that 4A status is here to stay and the Wolves would simply line up and compete. Riggin found out how much he missed football and rejoined the team.

“I really wasn’t looking for a starting job, I was just looking to help wherever I could.”

And help he has, especially on defense lining up at end where against Nashville he consistently shed blocks and made tackles in Lincoln’s 27-14 win on Nov. 15.

The homeschool law changed again and Alexander, whose family was carefully monitoring such developments, was quickly informed.

After sitting out the basketball season, Cummings received medical clearance to play baseball in the spring and when football season began his impact has been immense. The 6-foot-1, 180 pound senior plays every down like its his last and ripped off a school record 415 yards and 6 touchdowns rushing against Malvern.

These Wolves have been trained well physically and mentally. They know winning starts in the mind and to think victory not defeat. Even when they’ve seen giants on the other sideline, such as legendary Nashville coach Billy Dawson, these boys expect to win.

“We’ve got a great bunch of kids, they play hard,” Harris said. “There’s something about Friday nights, they get it going. If you look at the two teams [Nashville and Malvern] we beat the last two weeks and go man-toman, height and weight, they’re supposed to beat you on paper.”

Yet, Harris knows the battle to win doesn’t begin with physical attributes or skills, victory starts in the mind and one of the keys to success is visualizing triumph long before competition ever starts.

“That’s why you play the game,” Harris said.