Falcons fly to 3-5A win over WCHS
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And although the Lincoln County Falcons eventually came away on the high side of a 49-13 game, Warren County coaches still said they saw improvement in their team’s performance.
“Although it looks like we were blown out on the scoreboard, I don’t think physically on the field we were blown out,” head coach Chris Madewell said Saturday. “There were two things I was looking for this week: One of them was defensively making them drive the ball down before they scored. They’re going to score, but I want them to have to do it on long drives.
“Offensively, I wanted to get some first downs, and we did that. So we did a lot of things I was looking for. I’m pleased with our performance, just not pleased with the score.”
After the Pioneers punted the ball away on their first possession, Lincoln County struck with a vengeance on its first play, turning a reverse into a halfback pass, with Arrington Bryson connecting with Dominique Brooks for a 73-yard scoring strike.
“That was a good call by their coaching staff,” Madewell said. “We weren’t really ready for that, and it’s hard on a team when they can come out and score on us like that.
“They pulled out a lot of trick plays, and when you’ve got a good disciplined team like that, you can run things like that.”
Lane Jackson scored from the 6 to make it a 14-0 LCHS lead, and as the Pioneers took over, their new-look offense with Nick Cantrell at quarterback and Joshua Paz at tailback steadily moved the ball downfield.
The drive ended with another big play from the Falcons, however, as Jackson intercepted a Cantrell pass at the 3-yard line and streaked 97 yards for his team’s third touchdown of the quarter.
“It’s hard, when you drive the ball down like that and don’t get a score out of it,” Madewell said. “It’s tough on a team.
“When you’ve got speed like they have, that creates big plays. And we don’t have the big playmakers yet that they have. We’re young, and that kind of big-play ability comes with experience.”
Josh Gregory scored on a 33-yard run, and Bryson ran another interception — Cantrell’s third out of four in the first half — for a 63-yard TD as Lincoln County closed the first half with a 35-0 lead.
Gregory, who finished with 117 yards on 12 carries, scored from 2 yards out late in the third quarter to make it a 42-0 Falcon lead.
“He’s real impressive,” Madewell said of the Falcons’ main rushing threat. “He can read the holes, he makes some good cuts, and it takes more than one person to take him down.”
Down by a substantial margin, the Pioneers took to the air in the second half, showing more offensive success than they had thus far in the 2003 season.
Paz and Cantrell combined for 248 yards passing on 14 of 42 completions, and didn’t throw an interception in the second half. Ethan Womack was their main target, finishing with 113 receiving yards including a 58-yard TD catch from Paz midway through the fourth.
“We changed our offense up a little bit,” Madewell said of the decision to throw the football. “We saw some weaknesses in their secondary, and thought we could throw the ball against them.
“We were successful moving the ball on offense, we’ve just got to get it into the end zone.”
In addition to Womack’s big night, John Owen added an 8-yard TD catch late in the game, and Ben Dunn finished with five catches for 69 yards. Seven different Pioneers caught passes during the game.
“We knew Ethan had the ability, and his height certainly helps him,” said Madewell, “and John made a big catch in our first game, and knows how to lay out for them when he has to.
“I was really impressed with our receivers going after the ball. Ben Dunn really impressed me, especially the way he runs with the ball after he catches it. He’s a pretty strong kid, and it’s hard to bring him down.”
Lincoln County immediately answered Owen’s TD catch, when Gregory returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to provide the final margin of victory.
The 0-3 Pioneers stay at home next Friday, and will take on neighboring rivals White County at Nunley Stadium. The Warriors improved 1-2 Friday night with a win over Lawrence County.