LINCOLN -- Pioneer senior running back CJ Taylor did all he could, racking up 133 yards on 13 carries, but the Wolves offense was simply too much for an out-matched Gentry squad. The Lincoln rushing attack steamrolled Gentry's defense on Friday night.
The Wolves plowed up-and-down the field without mercy as first-year head coach Don Harrison and his squad solidified a spot in the playoffs, amassing 418 rushing yards in the process. They now sit at 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the 4A-1 conference.
"We knew, coming in, that we had to win this game. Not only did we have to win, we knew that if they beat us they were more than likely going to make the playoffs," Harrison said.
Freshman running back Caleb Lloyd ensured a victory by racking up 207 yards on the ground. He would account for 227 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns before the night was complete.
His teammate, junior quarterback Harrison Swayne, would do his part as well, putting up 179 yards on 21 carries with one touchdown on the ground and another through the air. Overall, the Wolves would feature three ball carriers averaging over seven yards per carry. Sophomore Jacob Anderson would tack on 32 yards and a touchdown himself as the Wolves ran the ball at will.
"I didn't do a very good job of getting our guys ready," Gentry coach Paul Ernest said. "Our kids played hard, they competed hard. Lincoln didn't do anything we didn't expect, and the rain didn't play a very big role.
"I just think, emotionally and mentally, they wanted to celebrate a little more than we did. That's on coaching and preparedness. I don't think our kids understood the magnitude of this game."
Lincoln drew first blood with 4 minutes and 54 seconds remaining in the second quarter when Lloyd punched the ball into the end-zone from one yard out. Gentry (3-6, 1-5) responded just two-and-a-half minutes later when Taylor would sprint by the Lincoln defense for a seven-yard score of his own.
The two conference foes would trade scores again, making it 19-12 with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter. From then on, though, it would be the Wolf-pack workhorses Lloyd, Swayne and Anderson cementing the victory.
Swayne and Lloyd hooked-up on a 20-yard touchdown pass late in the third, and Anderson would place the exclamation point on the game with a 5-yard touchdown run of his own with 5:52 remaining.
Lincoln now looks forward to facing arch nemesis and conference-leading Prairie Grove on the road next Friday.
Gentry 0 6 6 0 -- 12
Lincoln 0 13 13 7 -- 33
Second Quarter
LIN -- Lloyd 1 rush (Villapondo kick), 4:54.
GEN -- Taylor 7 rush (kick failed), 2:29.
LIN -- Swayne 1 rush (kick failed), 0:32.
Third Quarter
LIN -- Lloyd 8 rush (run failed), 7:15.
GEN -- Taylor 17 rush (run failed), 6:09.
LIN -- Lloyd 20 reception (Villapondo kick), 1:25.
Fourth Quarter
LIN -- Anderson 5 rush (Villapondo kick), 5:52.
Sports on 11/04/2015