Lincoln County secured the Class A Division II Region 8 championship last week with a win over Greene County.
The No. 6 Red Devils defeated the No. 7 Tigers 43-20 behind a solid first-half performance and a strong finish.
Greene County head coach Terrance Banks liked his team’s effort but said mistakes led to the loss.
“Lincoln County is a very good team. They have the opportunity to run the table and go very, very deep in the playoffs,” Banks said. “One thing we discussed was that you can’t make the mistakes we made and [expect to win]. We’ve got to continue to try to clean those up. I’m definitely proud of the effort from our guys.”
Lincoln County’s rushing attack, especially in the first half, couldn’t be stopped.
Quarterback Mekhi Wade broke the game open with a 45-yard touchdown. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior dual-threat signal caller juked and raced past Greene County defenders on his way to the end zone for six.
The Tigers responded and marched right back down the field. Quarterback Landon Garretson hooked up with wideout Steve Miller across the middle for a touchdown pass, tying the game midway through the first quarter.
However, Lincoln County’s Jonathan Norman returned the ensuing kickoff to the Greene County 7-yard line. A few plays later, running back Kelby Glaze scored one of his three rushing touchdowns from a yard out.
The Red Devils led 14-7 well into the second quarter until under two minutes left as Glaze scored again.
Their attempt at an extra point turned into a successful two-point conversion as Aidan Deutschle hit CJ Crite in the corner of the end zone. They held a 22-7 lead but weren’t done scoring before the end of the half.
The Tigers fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Lincoln County recovered at the 20-yard line. Crite broke the plain on an end-around a few plays into the drive, extending the Red Devils’ lead to 29-7 after the extra point.
Greene County faired better in the second half, out-scoring its opponent. Running back Travez Gibson scored both of the Tigers’ touchdowns in the second half, but the damage was done, and they never could recover.
After Gibson’s first touchdown, Greene County cut it to 29-14. Glaze responded with his final score on the next drive. The Red Devils held a commanding 36-14 lead after the extra point with two minutes left in the third period.
Greene County ran 56 offensive plays and racked up 312 yards, while Lincoln County totaled 308 yards on 14 fewer plays. The Red Devils played well on special teams to secure the win, especially in the second quarter.
Banks said mistakes made by special teams in the first half cost his team a chance at winning the region title.
“We came out, scored, and kept going back and forth with them, but we made some costly special teams errors,” he said. “Those mistakes ended up hurting us. We can’t make mistakes against a team like Lincoln.”
Next up, Greene County (7-2, 2-1) will face Warren County (6-3, 2-1) in a make-up game. The Tigers and Screaming Devils are tied for second place, so Friday’s matchup in Greensboro is important. The winner will finish second behind region champion Lincoln County (9-0, 4-0) and is set to host a playoff game next week.
Banks hopes his team can stay focused as home-field advantage in the first round hangs in the balance. But he expects Warren County not to lay down and to fight for that second-place finish on Friday at Tiger Field.
“[Warren County head coach] Steve Simpson has a championship pedigree, having led his program to three consecutive quarterfinals not long ago. I think he has a very solid coaching staff,” he said. “Speed is what they’ve got. They’ve got some guys who can roll. They run the wing-T well. We can’t allow those genies out of the bottle. We have a chance if we can load the box and make them run between the tackles.”
Greene County and Warren County will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Greensboro.