Lincoln Southeast defeats Lincoln North Star 42-16

Lincoln Southeast defeats Lincoln North Star 42-16 on a beautiful Friday night at Seacrest Field.

The running game was the big story for Lincoln Southeast during their defeat of Lincoln North Star.

Cash Buettenback, a junior, led the charge as Lincoln Southeast’s starting running back, racking up 204 rushing yards with a whopping 12.75 yards-per-carry average. He was a big part of the offensive as the game progressed and the Knights didn’t stray away from using him.

Buettenback wasn’t the only one used as a running back, seniors Parker Watson and Braydon Randall split time in the second half and were efficient running the ball themselves. The ground game as a whole tallied a total of 339 yards rushing.

The game got off to a bit of a slow start as both teams traded possessions with three and outs. Lincoln Southeast broke the scoring drought with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Buettenback in the middle of the 1st quarter.

The Lincoln Southeast defense continued to hold serve stopping the Lincoln Northstar offense and forcing a punt to flip the field. Lincoln Southeast’s Parker Watson responded with an 8-yard touchdown run on third down in the 2nd quarter to increase the score to 14-0.

Lincoln North Star would not quit, putting together a productive drive led by quarterback Dean Donaldson. Donaldson made some impressive short yardage passes that resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run by running back J.C. Sievers. That made it 14-7, Lincoln Southeast lead.

The Knights stuck with the running game including a flashy 30-yard hook-and-lateral play that was started by another Buettenback rush, pitching the ball in the flat to wide receiver Ashton Coffey. Lincoln Southeast quarterback Owen Baxter punched it in for a 4-yard touchdown just before halftime.

After the halftime break, Lincoln Southeast produced a huge run of 54 yards, putting them in scoring position at the 9-yard line. Baxter then threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Allen Jr., a two-way player for Lincoln Southeast. The lead grew to 28-7 early in the third quarter.

The Lincoln Southeast defensive line continued their strong performance, causing Donaldson to fumble on a big hit. Lincoln Northstar recovered the fumble but had to punt the ball back to Lincoln Southeast on fourth down.

Lincoln Southeast’s offense kept going full throttle, as they drove down the field. Baxter hit wide receiver Davieian Williams for a 30-yard passing touchdown. The score grew to 28-7. At the end of the third quarter, Lincoln North Star got something going with a Max Kleppinger 40-yard field goal.

Both teams would go on to score a touchdown each in the fourth quarter. Lincoln Southeast running back Braydon Randall rushed the ball in from 2 yards out, and Lincoln North Star quarterback Beaudree Ball executed a 4-yard pass play to wide receiver Kamden Krieser just before the game ended.

Lincoln Southeast’s overall record improves to 2-2. The next game on the Knights schedule is against Millard North on the road, Friday, Sept. 22, at 7:00 p.m.

Lincoln North Star’s overall record falls to 2-2. The next game on the Gators schedule is facing Millard South on the road, Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7:00 p.m.

Key Takeaways:

1. Lincoln Southeast’s running game is outstanding and is their identity on offense. Cash Buettenback and Parker Watson were running through holes all game long thanks to the offensive line. On top of that, Lincoln Southeast was also able to throw the ball. Owen Baxter finished the game 12 out of 14 passes for 162 yards. If both aspects of their offense continue to be this productive, it’s going to be tough for defenses to pick their poison against Lincoln Southeast.

2. Lincoln North Star’s passing game struggled to get going. They want to run the football, and this specifically hurt the offense because they had to attempt to come back from a scoring deficit and their offense isn’t built to do that. It will be interesting to see if the Gators can improve the passing game to where they can keep a defense honest in that aspect of the game going forward. Utilizing star wide receiver Michael Hunter Jr. will be pivotal in creating explosive plays in the passing game.

3. Lincoln Southeast’s defensive line has some serious potential. Pierre Allen Jr., the Junior Defensive End, was getting pressure on Lincoln North Star’s quarterbacks all game long. Lincoln Southeast defensive linemen Zayvion Campbell and Caden VanCleave were also in the backfield all night. The defensive line getting so much pressure helped their secondary as they were able to shut down the passing game with several pass break ups.