Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Wolves Can’t Sustain Resilience
Lincoln drove inside the Keys 10-yard line on their opening possession of the second half but turned the ball over on downs and their resilience faded.
Failure to punch the ball in for a score marked a critical turning point in a 40- 30 loss to the Keys Cougars at Park Hill, Okla., on Sept. 12. Keys capitalized on Lincoln penalties and went the other way for a go-ahead touchdown erasing Lincoln’s one-point, 22-21, halftime lead, then added a second quick score after a successful onside kick to stretch the margin to 33-22 midway through the third period.
The Wolves never recovered although Lincoln bounced back from a 14- 0 deficit early after a high snap was fumbled leading to the Cougars’ second touchdown. The ensuing kickoff went out-of-bounds giving the Wolves posses- sion at their own 40. On the first play from scrimmage, tailback Charles Rowe broke a 60-yard run to the house, then added a two- point rush with help from teammates pushing the pile forward. With 3:05 to go in the first, Lincoln was within 14-8, then took advantage of a short field when a Keys punt rolled dead at the Cougars’ 39.
The Wolves overcame a holding penalty with Kaleb Ayers snagging Harrison Swayne’s high lob to the left corner while falling at the 5. On second- andgoal, Swayne rolled out to his right and hit Dalton Hamby standing near the right pylon for six points. Rowe carried the two-point conversion over the goal line and the Wolves enjoyed a 16-14 lead at the 6:56 mark of the second stanza.
On the next series, Lincoln had the Cougars backed up into a thirdand - 27 but a l l owed Keys quarterback Riley Radomski to complete a long throw for first down yardage. Seven plays later, Radomski found Elisha Allison isolated on the left side for a 19- yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the first half. Keys added the PAT to retake the lead, at 21-16.
Again the Wolves showed resilience and explosiveness going 66 yards in 5 plays with Swayne racing 40 yards on a keeper for a Lincoln touchdown. Keys intercepted the 2- point attempt, yet Lincoln owned a 22- 21 advantage which they held at halftime.
After giving up three touchdowns to Keys in the second half, Lincoln trailed, 40-22, and managed one more rally in the last 4:05. Aided by a flurry of penalties against over-eager Keys defenders the Wolves drove 62 yards in a 1:28 span with Rowe scoring on a 5-yard run off left tackle. Swayne’s forward progress was ruled good on the 2-point conversion concluding the scoring with the Wolves behind, 40-30.
Against Keys the Wolfpack offense was much more productive than in their season- opener. Lincoln and Rowe got more rushing yards on one play with Rowe’s 60-yard touchdown than was generated during the entire game against Hot Springs Lakeside (58 total). Factoring in Harrison Swayne’s 40-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown, the Wolves almost doubled their rushing yardage from week one in just two plays against Keys.
Lincoln performed better on special teams in week two, Kaleb Ayers blocked an extra-point kick, giving Lincoln blocked kicks in both of their first two games. After suffering three punts blocked by Lakeside, Lincoln had no punts blocked against Keys although the Cougars obviously read the scouting report from week one and came hard off the edge.