Lincoln High used a strong second half performance from quarterback Adonis Hutchinson to beat Lincoln Northeast 41-6 Friday night at Seacrest Field.
Hutchinson used both his feet and his arm, throwing for 110 yards, rushing for 84 and scoring two touchdowns.
Lincoln High stole the show on Northeast’s Homecoming night, the second time this season the Links have won an opponent’s Homecoming game.
Northeast also honored its legendary, undefeated 1972 squad, which won the Class A state championship.
“Coaches talked about this week’s practices being sloppy, and we need to clean that up,” Hutchinson said. Lincoln High is set to play North Star next week.
Offensively, both teams came out sluggish with consecutive three-and-out drives. After multiple possessions ending in punts, the Links broke the seal when Hutchinson tossed a jump-ball corralled by Beni Ngoyi for a touchdown. Northeast responded with a field goal to make it 7-3.
A pair of Northeast facemask penalties put Lincoln High in the redzone after the Links recovered a botched punt return with two minutes to play in the second quarter. Hutchinson punched in the touchdown on a quarterback keeper with 1:15 remaining in the half for a 14-3 Lincoln High lead. Immediately following the fumbled punt return, the Links cashed in on another special teams miscue, Kenneth Williams recovering the kickoff.
Ultimately, the Links were held scoreless on the possession despite strong field position. Heading into halftime, the Links had a 14-3 lead.
“Northeast came out and they punched us in the mouth,” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson did not mince words when asked about the team’s sentiments at halftime, explaining that head coach Mark Macke kept it honest with his team, saying “If we continue to play like this, we’re going to lose.”
Coming out of halftime, Adonis Hutchinson broke loose for two 15-yard runs, setting his team up inside the 20-yard line. Julian Babahanov picked up a rushing Touchdown from 5-yards out increasing the Links’ lead to 20-6.
Northeast’s first possession of the half started with a slew of handoffs to Ivan Eloume. On the same drive, Eloume’s teammate Brecken Wilke made a miraculous catch that plunked the hands of multiple defenders before Wilke navigated the ball while on the ground and picked up 21-yards on the catch. Micah Quirie would boot a 40-yard field goal to finish the drive.
In the final quarter, Lincoln High scored two offensive touchdowns, one from Bobahanov and the other from Dane Mentore. The highlight of the night was on defense. With just seconds left on the clock, Lincoln High Senior Kenneth Williams intercepted a pass and returned it to the end zone for a 100-yard score to cap the game and his second score of the night. Williams amassed 161 all-purpose yards in the game.
Lincoln High moved to 3-2 on the season with the win, and will face North Star on Sept. 30.
Lincoln Northeast falls to 0-5 after the loss, the Rockets will face Norfolk on Sept. 30.
