The Lincoln Cardinals defeated the Cole Camp Bluebirds 46-0 Friday, Oct. 14, to preserve its undefeated record.
Derek Stephens was first to find the end zone, making the score 6-0 for Lincoln (9-0) after defending a long opening drive by Cole Camp.
Cole Camp (7-2) found themselves with loose footing to begin the game. They were charged with two penalties in the first minute, and three in the first quarter. The Bluebirds, however, held Lincoln to six points in the first quarter.
While Cole Camp’s defense gave the Cardinals offensive trouble early, Lincoln’s defense had their own trouble in return.
With eight minutes left in the second quarter, Cardinal defensive back Blake Roberts, who had two picks Friday, returned an interception 45 yards to widen the gap to 18-0 in favor of Lincoln.
“It felt amazing,” Roberts said of his first interception. “I mean, I just covered my area and played deep thirds, read the quarterback and our (defensive) ends pressured him so he just threw it up and I read it.”
Minutes later, Evan Shearer successfully received a deep pass to bail the Bluebirds out of fourth down and keep the drive alive. Yet again, the Bluebirds offensive efforts were to no avail.
Cole Camp head coach Kevin Shearer said the team was were outmatched by Lincoln’s speed.
“Their team speed gave us all kinds of trouble on both sides of the ball — special teams included,” Shearer said. “They were faster than we were in most positions.”
Lincoln scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter, one of which was ran in by Boone Kroenke and followed by a successful 2-point conversion to end the third quarter at 38-0, Lincoln.
Lincoln head coach Danny Morrison said its dominant performance can be credited to all sides of the ball.
“Defensively, we were stellar,” Morrison said. “We shut them down and didn’t let them get anything going, and that was our goal tonight. Offensively, we started out a little slow but got things (picked) up before halftime and finished real strong in the second half.”
