Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Wolves Celebrate 2-0 Start
LINCOLN HANDLES KEYS, OKLA., IMPROVES TO 2-0
LINCOLN — Football is fun at Lincoln and the Wolves are enjoying their second consecutive 2-0 start going into Friday’s final nonconference game against Subiaco Academy at Wolfpack Stadium.
Junior quarterback Tyler Brewer played with more confidence, after he got the first game jitters out of the way. The 6-4, 201-pound signal caller made good on 14-of-20 passes for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns to a variety of receivers during a 41-13 rout of Keys, Okla., last week.
“At first I was nervous. I’m not going to lie, coming in it was like I just had a bad game really last week (7-of23 passing) and coach had to talk to me about that,” Brewer said.
Brewer had some shaky moments in the first quarter, but found a way to overcome the mental challenges.
“First drive I came out here and I got hit and I didn’t deliver the ball because I got scared, but then I came back and just really got the right mindset and just kept on going, wouldn’t stop,” Brewer said, explaining the game plan was to wear Keys down.
“They were starting almost all guys both ways so we kept on pounding it and pounding it until they couldn’t take anymore and that’s what we did. (We) ran the ball like crazy. When they finally started coming in on that, we started throwing the ball, RPO’s (Run-Pass Options) anything, just catching them off-guard,” Brewer said.
Brewer completed an 89-yard bomb to Daytin Davis with about half the yardage coming through the air and Davis doing the rest after the catch.
“I rolled out to the left. I saw him. I set my feet and I saw this guy coming. I was like, ‘You got to sacrifice your body for the team.’ I just threw it as hard as I could and I let him go for it and I took the hit” Brewer said.
He didn’t get knocked down and saw the result. When he saw Davis catch the ball, Brewer took off sprinting to congratulate Davis at the far end of the field.
“It was amazing. It’s great keeping up with him, throwing touchdowns to him. He’s my best friend. It’s an amazing feeling,” Brewer said.
“It’s really fun when you get to drop back, protection is good, deliver a great ball and you get to watch some magic happen, and they make a move, they go juke a couple of guys out, take off, outrun a guy, and you just get to watch from behind and then I seen him break. That’s when I turn on the turbos. I just take off running and that’s when I’m going to go celebrate with my buddies in the end zone, whoever it might be. That’s a good feeling.”
Lincoln coach Don Harrison described an early Noe Avellaneda interception as “huge” in turning away a Keys drive and giving Lincoln the ball. The Wolves scored to go up 7-0 on their second possession. Avellaneda caught 6 passes for 59 yards and ran 8 times for 14 yards including taking a knee three times to run out the clock.
“He’s a ball-hawk. He’s like a ball-magnet whether he’s on offense he finds a way to get it, whether he’s on defense he’s always around it. Last week he had a ton of tackles and he’s that guy. That’s not even his regular position either. He doesn’t play free safety. He’s a bandit. We put him at free (safety) this week for that reason right there,” Harrison said. “That’s Noe, Noe plays free safety, wide receiver, tailback, quarterback. I mean he drives the bus to the game and does a great job. He’s our Swiss Army knife. We pull it out and he does whatever we need.”
Avellaneda is eager to contribute and line up wherever the coaches position him.
“I was behind the receiver and I seen him and I just looked at the ball and I bit on it. One thing led to another and I got it,” Avellaneda said.
Avellaneda can line up in the Wildcat or run the offense playing quarterback, which he did to finish the game after Brewer sustained a cut. Thrilled with the opportunity, Avellaneda said playing quarterback is something he always wanted to do.
“I’ve always been practicing and luckily our quarterback is OK, but yes, I enjoy playing quarterback,” Avellaneda said.
Harrison also hailed the passing of Brewer, who hit Davis for a 21-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter in addition to the long bomb.
“That throw he made down here in the end zone and Daytin’s catch, but the thing is he put it where only Daytin could catch it and then Daytin makes a play,” Harrison said. “The play he threw right down here before the half. He knows that he’s just got to put it up and do a great job and those guys are going to go make plays for him. He comes out every day. He works hard and he listens. He watches film with me. He’s putting in the hours. He’s doing a really good job.”
When Lincoln needed to impose its will, gain yardage and burn the clock, the offensive line came through with a push. Harrison said working extra linemen into the rotation is a bonus.
“It helps when you have seven of them. We don’t just play five guys, we play seven; and like I said Audie Ramsey plays tackle and guard. Conner Brown’s the left tackle. Noah Moore’s the center. Mason Beeks comes in and plays center. Noah goes to guard so that those guys get breaks for defense so there’s seven of them and they do a decent job,” Harrison said.
That decent job enabled Lincoln to rack 468 yards of total offense against Keys.