Johnie Logue
Sports Reporter
A lack of numbers has been a deep concern all season for Lincoln football. Friday, the fears became a reality. With 2:43 left to go in only the third quarter with Crest Ridge leading Lincoln 42-8 and Lincoln down to just 10 players, the contest came to an abrupt end.
It was a game full of injuries as Crest Ridge quarterback Daniel Doak lasted just two plays before being sidelined. Crest Ridge also sent an unnamed player to the hospital later in the hard hitting contest.
The Class 1 Lincoln Cardinals came out flat and Crest Ridge's Carlson Hurst scored at the 2:44 mark in the first quarter. The extra point kick failed.
Lincoln, rattled with bad snaps and poor punts, trailed 20-0 at the half.
Wesley Taylor, the new Cougars quarterback, just a sophomore, and Hurst ran wild over Lincoln's inexperienced front line. Ben Eckhoff had a good game for Lincoln on the line and Cam Everhart did a good job at linebacker but wasn't able to slow down Crest Ridge's offensive attack.
Cardinals quarterback Riley Sanders hit Dawson Parrott early in the second half about twenty yards deep and Parrott ran for paydirt for a 73 yard TD. Sanders then sidearmed a pass to Parrott for the PAT as it was 28-8.
Crest Ridge took over in the rest of the third as they led 42-8 in the shortened contest. With Sanders and running back Anthony Srader injured and a few strange calls, Cardinals head coach Brad Drehle had seen enough and called the game.
"We started the game with 14 eligible kids. At the time we ended it, we had 7 linemen and 4 skill kids available. One of the lineman had hurt his knee the play before and was trying to finish. His mother took him to ER after the game, so losing him put us at 10.
He added, "We were without (Riley) Sanders, (Anthony) Srader, and receiver Bradyn Benham after the hit. One of the lineman had been injured on a kickoff earlier. We had 10 healthy kids to put on the field."
Friday's game with Windsor at home is in doubt.
Lincoln fell to 1-2.
