Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Servant Leadership: Lincoln Senior Enjoys Popularity For Selfless Acts
LINCOLN — Referees stopped play during a 2020 Lincoln basketball game asking for the playing surface to be wiped and when a junior manager stepped onto the court — instant applause erupted.
A roar went up from the hometown crowd prompting Lincoln’s public address announcer to introduce the young man.
“Audie Ramsey, ladies and gentlemen.”
Another roar resounded throughout Wolfpack Arena.
The visiting team might have thought Ramsey was a touchdown- making- machine on the football team helping out the boys basketball program.
Lincoln, at the time, competed in different classifications, 3A for basketball, and 4A for football; during the 2019-2020 school year until the Arkansas Activities Association switched the Wolves entirely to 3A for the 2020-2022 cycle.
Ramsey, who played his entire football career prior to his senior season on the offensive line, seldom touched the football during his seventh grade through junior seasons so chances of scoring weren’t in his favor.
Yet, his popularity was evident to everyone in the house.
Lincoln unabashedly cheered one of its own engaging in the simple act included within a basketball manager’s duties — wiping away any sweat residue that might make the hardwood slick following an all-out battle for possession of the basketball which resulted in players tumbling and tossing each other around.
Lincoln recognized Ramsey’s humble act of serving the interests of others and applauded his efforts.
It’s the kind of thing Ramsey does on a regular basis without thinking about what might benefit him personally.
When his cousin, Sena Lund, relocated with her family from Alaska to Lincoln for her sophomore year in 2018-2019, Ramsey endeavored to smooth the transition.
Ramsey represented the only person Sena knew from Lincoln, and he treated her like a sister.
“He’s one of the greatest guys you’ll ever meet. He’s an amazing cousin and he really is like a brother. He made this move so much easier than I ever thought it could be,” Sena said.
As a senior Ramsey is not above working the down markers for Lincoln Junior High games, which will likely be the only chain-gang he’s ever included in.
Coming into the 2020 season Lincoln football coaches decided to capitalize on Ramsey’s team-first mindset asking him to make the switch to tight end. That transition went beyond leveraging Ramsey’s blocking skills, opening the door for his first career touchdown on a 15-yard catch from Levi Wright against Johnson County Westside on Sept. 18. Ramsey appreciates the opportunities he’s presented with the coaches moving him from the offensive line.
“Kyler Calvin made a pretty good block for me and besides that one guy, nobody was there. It’s a pretty exciting feeling getting your first one and it’s just a good play, fun to do, never got to do that before,” Ramsey said.
After Mansfield scored its only touchdown Friday cutting Lincoln’s lead to 17-6 in the second quarter, Ramsey recovered a Tiger onside kick and returned it across the 50. That set up Tyler Brewer’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Daytin Davis and later in the quarter Brewer hit Ramsey wide open at the one to record his second career touchdown.
“It’s cool, something that you’ve never got to do before and I got a little better, new position, and a little bit more responsibility, it’s a good feeling, but a little bit
pressure, too,” Ramsey said. “There’s definitely a learning curve to it, going from blocking somebody every play to having to catch the ball some and then knowing what to do with the ball after you got it, it’s definitely a change of pace.”
The Wolves went on to win big, 52-6, while Ramsey enjoys every moment always looking for opportunity — even trying to lift classmate Matthew Sheridan across the goal line when Mansfield knocked the tailback off his feet as he neared the end zone Friday.
He’s one Lincoln teenager making a difference in the lives around him operating from a servant’s heart.