Ready for a Region 3:Pioneers at Lincoln County tonight
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But tonight, the Pioneers will be taking a different ride, as they hit the road for their first Region 3-5A contest of the season.
Standing in the way of the Pioneers’ first 3-0 record in over a decade — and first road win since the 1999 season — are the always-tough Lincoln County Falcons, who are at 1-1 after opening the season with a blowout loss to Franklin, but righting their ship with a 42-19 victory over Blackman a week ago.
As in years past, the key to competing with the Falcons looks to be hanging tough up front. Where Franklin found success — and Blackman did not — was finding the ability to rush the football against a tough LCHS front, and by holding in check a ground game that is bolstered by a deep field of running backs behind a huge group of veteran offensive linemen.
In last Friday’s win over the Blaze, Lincoln County dominated the line of scrimmage, rushing for 281 yards on 51 attempts and earning 23 first downs. Quan Buchanan accounted for 88 of those yards, carrying the ball 15 times, and was one of seven different ball-carriers used by coach Louis Thompson’s squad, which posted 21 points in the second quarter and cruised through the final half.
Other strong performers in last week’s win included a pair of big nights from the Falcon field generals. Starting quarterback Brince Ellis had 11 carries for 63 yards, including a touchdown, and backup Chris Shelton scored on one of his eight touches while finishing with 48 yards. Through the air, the duo combined to complete 12 of 17 passes for 197 yards, with 93 of those coming on Dominique Brooks’ six catches, which included a pair of first-half TDs.
Defensively, Lincoln County kept Blackman in check until the game was well out of reach. The Blaze were held to 102 rushing yards, 79 of which came in the fourth quarter against Falcon reserves. Blackman quarterbacks Cory Cave and Mauricio Wallace found themselves on the run for most of the night, against a LCHS pass rush which Blaze coach Bobby Wells told Murfreesboro sports reporter John Callow “shut us down.”
“We thought we could run the ball, but they stuffed it,” Wells said of the Falcon defensive unit. “We came ready to play, but so did Lincoln County. They whipped us up front at the start.”
Game time tonight in Fayetteville is scheduled for 7:30.
Tonight’s high school football games
East
Bearden at Kingsport Dobyns Bennett
Bradley Central at Oak Ridge
Briarcrest at McCallie
CAK at Alcoa
Chattanooga Central at Red Bank
Cherokee at Cocke County
Chuckey-Doak at Gatlinburg-Pittman
Claiborne County at Knoxville Carter
Cleveland at Brainerd
Cloudland at Cosby
Copper Basin at Whitwell
David Crockett at Morristown East
East Ridge at Polk County
Gibbs at Union County
Greeneville at Daniel Boone
Hampton at Jellico
Happy Valley at West Greene
Heritage at Farragut
Howard at Notre Dame
Jefferson County at Campbell County
Johnson County at Unicoi County
Karns at Sevier County
Kings Acad. at North Greene
Knoxville Catholic at Austin-East
Knoxville Fulton at Anderson County
Knoxville Halls at Knoxville Central
Lenoir City at Powell
Lookout Valley at Temple
Loudon at Sweetwater
Marion County at Boyd-Buchanan
Maryville at Clinton
McMinn Central at Meigs County
Morristown West at Volunteer
North Carolina School for the Deaf at TSD
Oakdale at Midway
Oneida at Coalfield
Ooltewah at McMinn County
Pope John Paul at Knoxville Webb
Rhea County at Hixson
Rockwood at Wartburg Central
Rutledge at Pigeon Forge
Scott County at Oliver Springs
Silverdale Acad. at Grace Bap.
South Greene at Cumberland Gap
South Pittsburg at Sequatchie County
South-Doyle at Knoxville West
Sullivan Central at Sullivan South
Sullivan North at Sullivan East
Sunbright at Greenback
Tennessee High at Elizabethton
Tyner at Bledsoe County
Unaka at Grace Chr.
William Blount at Soddy-Daisy
Middle
Adamsville at Houston County
Antioch at Hunters Lane
Baylor at Brentwood Acad.
Cannon County at York Institute
Cascade at Nashville Christian
Cheatham County at Giles County
Clarksville Acad. at White House – Heritage
Clarksville NE at Columbia
Columbia Acad. at Moore County
Cookeville at Coffee County
Cornersville at Perry County
Creek Wood at Marshall County
DCA at CPA
DeKalb County at Greenbrier
Dickson County at Brentwood
ECS at BGA
Ezell-Harding at Fairview
FACS at SAS
Franklin County at Cumberland County
Franklin Road Acad. at Goodpasture
Friendship Christian at Clay County
Gallatin at Hillwood
Gordonsville at Red Boiling Springs
Harpeth at East Robertson
Hillsboro at Tullahoma
Independence at Centennial
Jackson County at Smith County
Jo Byrns at Eagleville
Kenwood at Beech
Kingston at Livingston Acad.
Lawrence County at Whites Creek
Lebanon at LaVergne
Maplewood at Hickman County
McEwen at Forrest
McGavock at Hendersonville
Monterey at Mt. Juliet Christian
Mt. Pleasant at Huntland
MUS at MBA
Nashville Overton at Glencliff
Page at David Lipscomb
Pearl-Cohn at Macon County
Portland at Clarksville NW
Ravenwood at Franklin
Riverdale at Blackman
Riverside at Loretto
Rossview at Clarksville
Siegel at Oakland
Spring Hill at Montgomery Central
Springfield at Mt. Juliet
St. George’s at Davidson Acad.
Stewart County at Lewis County
Stratford at Shelbyville
Sycamore at Station Camp
Tellico Plains at Grundy County
Trousdale County at Watertown
Walker Valley at White County
Warren County at Lincoln County
Waverly at Richland
Westmorland at Upperman
Wilson Central at Smyrna
Zion Christian at Wayne County
West
Bartlett at Cordova
Bishop Byrne at Memphis Catholic
Central-Merry at Brighton
Chester County at Jackson South Side
Craigmont at Bolton
David Brainerd at SBEC
Dyer County at Haywood County
Dyersburg at Ripley
Father Ryan at CBHS
Fayette Acad. at Manassas
George Carver at Westwood
Germantown at Whitehaven
Gibson County at Milan
Greenfield at Hollow Rock-Bruceton
Henry County at Hardin County
Hillcrest at Mitchell
Houston at Collierville
Humboldt at Dresden
Huntingdon at Westview
Jackson Northside at Munford
Lexington at Liberty Magnet
McKenzie at West Carroll
McNairy Central at Fayette-Ware
Memphis Central at Ridgeway
Memphis East at Melrose
Memphis Northside at Kingsbury
Memphis Overton at Millington
Memphis South at B.T. Washington
Middleton at Halls
Obion County at Crockett County
Raleigh-Egypt at Fairley
Sheffield at Trezevant
South Fulton at Gleason
St. Benedict at Harding Acad.
Treadwell at Oakhaven
Trinity Christian at Jackson Christian
Union City at Lake County
Univ. School Jackson at Peabody
White Station at Kirby
Wooddale at Hamilton