Pummeled at ‘The Pit’: State’s top team downs WCHS 70-7
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And from the opening kickoff, the Falcons proved why they belong at the top of the state rankings.
Lincoln County scored early, scored often, and scored in almost every way imaginable at “The Pit,” as they dismantled the Pioneers for a 70-7 victory.
“Athletically, I’ve never seen a team that has that much talent on the field,” WCHS coach John Dryden said of the Falcons, who improved to 9-0. “They’re starting 17 seniors, and there’s not another team on the state they wouldn’t start on. They’ve got every position locked down, and they play it well. It’s hard to do anything against a team like that.”
Special teams and defense accounted for 28 of the Falcons’ points, beginning early in the first quarter. Warren County was held to three-and-out on its first possession, and the Falcons’ Joey Miller returned a punt 38 yards to give LCHS the early lead.
After another WCHS punt, Lincoln County needed just two plays to score from 30 yards out, with quarterback Michael Edmiston going 26 yards for the score. Edmiston struck again on his team’s next drive, weaving his way through a host of Pioneer defenders and scampering 33 yards to the end zone.
Edmiston, who sat out much of the game’s final three quarters, finished with a whopping 122 yards on just four carries.
“We definitely could’ve tackled better again, but that’s been a work in progress over the last four weeks,” Dryden said of his team’s defensive efforts.
The Falcons’ other main offensive weapon — tailback Josh Gregory — got into the act late in the first quarter, scoring on touchdown runs of seven and 35 yards, respectively, as LCHS took a 35-0 lead by the period’s end. Edmiston added a 49-yard scoring run on his squad’s first play of the second quarter, effectively ending the night for the Falcon first-teamers.
A 50-yard fumble return by Adam Stubblefield gave LCHS a 49-0 lead, and Will Langford scored from 19 yards out to send the Falcons into halftime with a more-than-comfortable 56-0 advantage.
The Pioneers, who started several underclassmen on offense due to injuries — including an infection which hospitalized starting lineman Eric Hildreth — managed just one first down in the first half and were forced to punt eight times.
“Offensively, we didn’t get a lot of opportunities to do much, but with the week we’ve had leading into the game it was hard,” Dryden said. “We’ve got one starter in the hospital, and another unable to play because of injury. So that makes it tough.
“We started more backups this week than we have any other week, and that definitely takes you out of your gameplan early.”
After intermission Lincoln County’s offense slowed somewhat, as Falcon head coach Louis Thompson kept his reserves on the field and game officials ran the clock as much as possible.
Warren County’s only successful drive of the game came in the third quarter, and began when they recovered their second Lincoln County fumble of the contest. A 25-yard pass from Josh Paz to Cole West put the Pioneers within reach of the end zone, and Paz plunged in from the 1 for Warren County’s lone touchdown of the game.
Lincoln County answered immediately, however, when Arrington Bryson returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, and Miller — who had scored the game’s opening TD — put the exclamation point on the Falcon win with a 38-yard interception return midway through the fourth quarter.
The Falcons finished with 296 yards of total offense, 277 yards of which came in the first half. Conversely, the LCHS defense held the Pioneers to 39 rushing yards and 30 more through the air.
Warren County will look to avoid a winless season Thursday night, when it plays host to Coffee County for a 7:30 Senior Night game. The contest was originally scheduled for Friday night, but has been rescheduled.