No. 1 Lincoln Christian Bulldogs defeated the Eufaula Ironheads 62-0 win on the road.
Lincoln had 554 yards of offense en route to a 49-0 halftime lead, while the defense held Eufaula (2-4, 2-7) to just 46 total yards. Lincoln had hammered Checotah 56-0 and defeated both Eufaula and Holland Hall 62-0.
They outscored those three teams 180-0.
The Bulldogs moved to 9-0 on the year and remained not only unbeaten at 6-0 in district 3A-3, but in dominant fashion.
Lincoln has outscored its opponents 341-3 in six district games, as Lincoln clinched its 8th straight district title heading into the final week of the regular season.
The Bulldogs also pushed their win streak to 37 straight, which is still the second longest active streak in the state.
Lincoln has also won 49 consecutive district games and 16 straight road games. The Ironheads knew it was going to be a battle to slow down the No. 3 ranked team in the state.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a big lead early, scoring four times in the opening quarter behind another big night from senior quarterback Carter Ricke.
The Lincoln defense forced a punt to open the game before the offense got going. Eufaula was without starting quarterback Koltyn Lane who has been playing with a lower body injury most of the season.
Eufaula back-up quarterback Clayton Plunkett was under pressure throughout the contest and running back Peter Lee was the focal point for the Bulldogs as they held Lee to just 17 yards on 16 carries.
On the next possession Ricke hit senior receiver Hudson Farris, who had another big night, for 24 yards on the opening play for the Lincoln offense.
Two plays later, Ricke found Farris again for 26 yards, as the tough speedster broke some tackles and moved it inside the Eufaula 15.
Junior Braeden Baker scored on the next play, barreling over the Ironheads’ defense for a 12-yard TD run, giving Lincoln a 7-0 lead with 8:17 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Ironheads battled hard against last year’s state champs as they gave their all but were on the field most of the game.
Lincoln forced another 3-and-out before the offense continued to roll.
Ricke completed passes to Farris and Peterson to move the ball inside the Eufaula 15, before finding a recent favorite target in the red zone for his second scoring toss of the night.
The senior found freshman Kade Wilson wide open over the middle for a 15-yard pitch and catch made it 21-0 with 2:20 to go in the 1st.
The offense didn’t have to wait long to strike again, as Eufaula was forced to punt again after just three plays. The Ironheads was trying anything to move the football even using Peter Lee at quarterback in the game but the Lincoln defense was overwhelming.
Ricke zipped a pass over the middle, hitting Brayden McMullen in stride, where he did the rest, speeding past the Eufaula secondary for a 60-yard TD — the first of his career.
Ricke’s third TD pass of the night pushed the lead out to 28-0 on the final play of the 1st quarter.
The Ironheads had to punt another time, before Lincoln struck quickly again.
Two plays later, Ricke perfectly worked an RPO before launching a bomb to Farris, who had gotten behind the defense.
Farris caught it and outran the Eufaula defender for a 52-yard touchdown, stretching the lead to five scores with 9:45 to go in the first half.
Lincoln forced another punt after three plays, as Eufaula struggled to get anything going all night.
Ricke connected with Peterson for 28 yards on the first play after the punt before finding Mc-Mullen again two plays later.
This time, Ricke threw a ball up to the sophomore in the corner of the end zone, where McMullen out jumped a Eufaula defender and wrestled it away, hauling in his second score of the night.
It was 42-0 with 6:26 left in the half.
Lincoln would score once more in the opening half, after the Bulldogs again forced a Eufaula punt. Eufaula’s Luke Hodgins punted the football 8 times for 279 yards.
Lincoln went 69 yards in seven plays, capped off on an 11-yard touchdown run by senior running back Gabe Huntsinger, who totaled 31 yards on the drive.
The senior’s third touchdown of the season made it 49-0 with just 1:56 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs continued its onslaught in the second half they sealed the game 62-0. Eufaula has been outgained in total yards the last two games 987 to 253.
The effort by Eufaula was courageous, as they never stopped competing at a high level until the final whistle.
The Ironheads can end the season next week when they host the Checotah Wildcats in the 110th meeting between the two schools. The Ironheads might knock the Wildcats out of the playoffs with a win.
GAME STATS Eufaula – Lincoln Christian
First Downs-4-21 Rushing-16 yds-261yds Passing-3/8 for 30 yards- 12/14 for 5 tds and 293 yards Total Yards-46-554 Players Stats Rushing Peter Lee 16 attempts for 17 yards Passing Clayton Plunkett 2/4 for 17 yards Peter Lee 1/4 for 13 yards Receiving Logan Plant 1 for 13 yards Cash French 1 for 11 yards
