Syracuse's Reed does it all in 40-7 victory over Lincoln Lutheran
Considering everything else Nick Reed did for Class C-1 No. 5 Syracuse in the first half Friday, the Rockets junior probably drove the bus to the game, too.
Reed amassed 143 all-purpose yards, had two interceptions and returned a punt for a touchdown — all in the first two quarters — to spark Syracuse to a 40-7 victory against Lincoln Lutheran at NWU’s Abel Stadium.
“If we needed something done they came to me,” Reed said. “That made me feel good. We have a lot of weapons.”
Reed and the Rockets took off from the outset.
A 67-yard punt by the Warriors’ Isiah Bockelman pinned Syracuse (4-0) deep in its own end for its first possession. Thanks to a pair of catches by Reed for 52 yards — 38 yards of which came when he outjumped a Lincoln Lutheran defender — and a 14-yard scoring run on fourth-and-4, the Rockets grabbed a 6-0 lead with 4:25 left in the quarter. The drive covered 86 yards in 11 plays and ate 6 minutes off the clock.
The next Syracuse score didn’t take nearly as long.
This time, Bockelman chased an errant long snap into his end zone, outran the Rockets’ punt block to the edge and was able to kick the ball while scrambling.
Unfortunately for the Warriors (2-2), Reed was at the Lutheran 31, caught the ball while on the run and returned it for the score to give Syracuse a 14-0 lead.
“He shanked it and it came right to me,” Reed said. “I had an open lane so I just took off.”
Although the Warrior defense stiffened for much of the rest of the game, before the first half ended, three Lutheran turnovers resulted in another score.
Mike Campbell recovered a Lutheran fumble at the Warrior 28 and, one play later, Syracuse scored when Adam Vogt connected with Nathan Stimlock. Reed helped close the half by picking off consecutive Lutheran pass attempts and the Rockets rolled into halftime leading 21-0.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Syracuse’s Andy Neels took a handoff and raced 81 yards to score.
While the Warriors scored when Daniel Ebert snagged a Syracuse fumble out of the air and returned it 85 yards, Lutheran never could get its offense going.
Vogt rolled around the right side one play after the Ebert score and went 80 yard for a score, ending any chance of a Warrior comeback.
“Last week we played error-free football. Tonight we made up for it,” Lutheran coach Lyle Ziems said. “We might have been holding up well there for a while, but with the turnovers and a penalty every other snap, Cinderella isn’t going to hold up very well at the ball.”
The Rockets were led by Neels, who had 130 yards on 10 carries, while Vogt ran for 72 yards and threw for another 137. Syracuse racked up 483 yards of offense. Lutheran was held to 126 total yards on 40 snaps.
Reed amassed 143 all-purpose yards, had two interceptions and returned a punt for a touchdown — all in the first two quarters — to spark Syracuse to a 40-7 victory against Lincoln Lutheran at NWU’s Abel Stadium.
“If we needed something done they came to me,” Reed said. “That made me feel good. We have a lot of weapons.”
Reed and the Rockets took off from the outset.
A 67-yard punt by the Warriors’ Isiah Bockelman pinned Syracuse (4-0) deep in its own end for its first possession. Thanks to a pair of catches by Reed for 52 yards — 38 yards of which came when he outjumped a Lincoln Lutheran defender — and a 14-yard scoring run on fourth-and-4, the Rockets grabbed a 6-0 lead with 4:25 left in the quarter. The drive covered 86 yards in 11 plays and ate 6 minutes off the clock.
The next Syracuse score didn’t take nearly as long.
This time, Bockelman chased an errant long snap into his end zone, outran the Rockets’ punt block to the edge and was able to kick the ball while scrambling.
Unfortunately for the Warriors (2-2), Reed was at the Lutheran 31, caught the ball while on the run and returned it for the score to give Syracuse a 14-0 lead.
“He shanked it and it came right to me,” Reed said. “I had an open lane so I just took off.”
Although the Warrior defense stiffened for much of the rest of the game, before the first half ended, three Lutheran turnovers resulted in another score.
Mike Campbell recovered a Lutheran fumble at the Warrior 28 and, one play later, Syracuse scored when Adam Vogt connected with Nathan Stimlock. Reed helped close the half by picking off consecutive Lutheran pass attempts and the Rockets rolled into halftime leading 21-0.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Syracuse’s Andy Neels took a handoff and raced 81 yards to score.
While the Warriors scored when Daniel Ebert snagged a Syracuse fumble out of the air and returned it 85 yards, Lutheran never could get its offense going.
Vogt rolled around the right side one play after the Ebert score and went 80 yard for a score, ending any chance of a Warrior comeback.
“Last week we played error-free football. Tonight we made up for it,” Lutheran coach Lyle Ziems said. “We might have been holding up well there for a while, but with the turnovers and a penalty every other snap, Cinderella isn’t going to hold up very well at the ball.”
The Rockets were led by Neels, who had 130 yards on 10 carries, while Vogt ran for 72 yards and threw for another 137. Syracuse racked up 483 yards of offense. Lutheran was held to 126 total yards on 40 snaps.
Copyright © 2002-2009 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.