Staff writer
Peabody-Burns Warriors suffered a loss Friday at home, losing a close one to Lincoln, 50-48. Next up is a road trip Friday to Claflin.
Hunter Pickens opened the game with an on-side-kick to Lincoln. The Leopards started at midfield and worked their way to the Warriors 18. Defensive stops by Derek Price, Hunter Pickens, Storm Pickens, Abe Eldridge, Lucas Larsen, and Brody Kyle forced a fourth-and-4 pass attempt. Lincoln turned over the ball on downs at the Warrior 20-yard line.
Hunter Pickens ran a quarterback keeper on first down to earn a new set of downs at the Warrior 32. Another keeper by Hunter Pickens to the left side moved the yard markers again to the Lincoln 21.
The PBHS squad moved the sticks one more time on a pitch from Hunter Pickens to Storm Pickens. On first and goal at the 5, Eldridge dived over the goal line for the first points in the contest. Eldridge also threw a block on the conversion play to open the way for the 2-point scoring run for Hunter Pickens. With 8 minutes, 44 seconds on the clock in the first quarter, PBHS took the lead, 8-0.
PBHS defense held the Lincoln offense on their next drive Storm Pickens caught the punt and returned the ball 59 yards to the Leopards’ end zone for the score. Hunter Pickens connected with Storm Pickens for the 2-point conversion and PBHS took the 16-0 lead with 6:27 left in the first.
Despite defensive plays by Larsen, Jacob Gillet, Eldridge, Hunter Pickens, Moffett, and Price, Lincoln covered the length of the field. The Leopards scored on a first-and-goal pass play from the 2. A quarterback keeper conversion was successful and Lincoln closed the gap, 16-8, with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
The Warriors next drive started at midfield but went in reverse. Early in the second quarter, Price punted the ball on a fourth-and-24 at the Warrior 24.
Lincoln started deep in their own territory but a completed pass on a first-and-10 at the Lincoln 22 went for a long touchdown for the Leopards. Trevor Foth and Moffett double-teamed the Lincoln runner on the conversion but the PBHS lead was now only 2 with 9:29 left in the second period.
Lincoln fooled the return team on the ensuing kick-off and recovered their on-side-kick at the Warrior 37. PBHS defense failed to stop the Leopards and with 7:53 left in the second, Lincoln took their first lead in the contest on a first-and-goal run from their own 7-yard line. The conversion pass attempt fell short, but PBHS trailed, 20-16, for the first time in the game.
Price fielded the short kick-off at the Warrior 29. Eldridge earned the Warriors a new set of downs on a third-and-5 rush to the left side of the defense. A facemask penalty on the run aided the drive and PBHS had first-and-10 at the Lincoln 26. Savage, Hunter Pickens, and Eldridge combined for three rushes and PBHS had first-and-10 at the Lincoln 15. A pass to Kyle set up first-and-goal at the 4. Eldridge took the ball through the middle on first down for the score. Lincoln stopped the run conversion attempt but PBHS regained the lead, 22-20, with 4:19 left in the half.
Lincoln found the end zone on the first down of the next drive. The Leopards covered the field on a 55-yard pass play. The run conversion was successful and the lead favored the Leopards, 28-22, with 4:01 left in the first half.
Eldridge fielded the kick-off at the Warrior 36-yard line. A Hunter Pickens keeper went nowhere on first down. Kyle caught a second-and-10 pass and ran for the 44-yard score. The conversion run was stopped but with 3:03 left in the second quarter, the score was all even, 28-28.
The Leopards had one last burst of offense in the half with a completed pass and run for the touchdown. The conversion pass attempt fell incomplete but Lincoln regained the lead at 34-28.
The Warriors offense tied the game shortly after the half with a second-and-10, 42-yard run from the Warrior 38 by Price. PBHS then captured the lead again with a Hunter Pickens right side keeper for the 2-point conversion. The Warriors led 36-34 early in the third quarter.
The PBHS kick-off was fielded and the return man was stopped by Kyle at the Lincoln 33. Eldridge held the run on first down. Brent Jones and Clint Jones tagged the run on second down to bring up a third-and-5 from the Lincoln 38-yard line. A Leopards pass and run finished the series in the end zone. A completed pass for the 2-point conversion gave Lincoln the 6-point edge, 42-36, with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors offense struggled on the next series, netting 2 yards on eight plays. Price punted the ball on a fourth-and-19 at the Warrior 33. Lincoln had the ball on their own 11-yard line.
A sack by Brent Jones and Larsen stopped the first-down run for a loss of 2. Hunter Pickens defended on second down and an incomplete pass on the third forced a Lincoln punt, Price fielded the punt at the Warriors 38.
Two pass attempts fell incomplete on the next drive before Hunter Pickens connected with Kyle to give the squad a first down at the Lincoln 15-yard line. Hunter Pickens ran on first down and Eldridge got the ball on second and third downs. On fourth-and-2 at the 7, Hunter Pickens found Kyle in the end zone and connected for the touchdown. Eldridge ran for the conversion but the official call was the ball didn’t cross the goal line. The Warriors failed to add the conversion, but PBHS tied the game at 42-42 with 3:12 left in the third.
Savage and Kyle teamed up for a stop on the kick-off to put the Leopards at their own 31-yard line. Larsen and Price each had tackles on the series and Brent Jones and Clint Jones teamed up for a sack on the quarterback for a loss of 8 yards. PBHS defense forced a fourth-down punt from the Warrior 30.
The next series for the Warriors started late in the third and ended early in the fourth. PBHS covered 50 yards and came as close as a second-and-goal at the Lincoln 1. The drive was halted on an incomplete pass attempt on a fourth-and-goal at the 11.
Lincoln offense started their next scoring drive at their own 10 and moved the ball to the Warriors 6.
The Leopards scored a touchdown and added 2 on the conversion PBHS trailed by eight, 50-42, with 4:20 left in the final quarter.
PBHS answered quickly with a 41-yard pass play to Gillet for the score. PBHS scored the conversion, but it was called back on a procedure penalty. The second attempt for 2 was unsuccessful and PBHS trailed by two, 50-48, with 4:06 left in the contest.
Lincoln was able to control the ball for the remainder of the game. PBHS lost a close one, 50-48.