Rockets thrive with air attack
Ordinarily it’s a good thing when a defense is able to make an opposition’s offense one-dimensional.
As Lincoln High found out Friday at Seacrest Field, ordinarily doesn’t mean always.
Despite a defensive effort that all but eliminated any and all efforts Lincoln Northeast made at running the ball — at least when it mattered — quarterback Tyler Francis had a field day through the air to lead Northeast (3-3) to a 56-7 victory.
Francis threw for 244 yards on 12-of-17 passing, with no interceptions and four touchdowns, and Yusef Wade hauled in two of the TD tosses and returned a punt 76 yards for a score.
“All I’m doing is getting back there and trying to get the ball to my playmakers,” Francis said. “And we have a bunch of them.”
After forcing Lincoln High to punt on each of its first two possession, Northeast tried to establish a ground game. The Links would have no part of it, however, and Francis and the Rockets took to the air.
Francis hit Porter Groves on a slant pattern across the middle and Groves outraced the Links’ defense 58 yards to the end zone to give Northeast a 7-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, Wade hauled in a 13-yard fade pass and the Rockets were ahead 14-0.
Although the Links (2-4) pulled to 14-7 when Gabriel Smail scored from the 14 with 14 seconds left in the first period, it was all Francis, Wade and the Rockets from there.
Despite grinding out just 19 yards on 19 carries in the first half, Northeast led 35-7.
“Tyler made good decisions when he had the ball,” Northeast coach Dave Svehla said. “Even when he had pressure he didn’t panic.”
Francis and Wade hooked up again from 19 yards early in the second period before Wade added a special-teams score by returning a punt 76 yards. Groves added a last score by leaping over a pile at the goal line with time running out in the first half.
In the first half, the Links were able to amass 144 total yards. Because of a pair of turnovers, however, they couldn’t score again and Northeast was off to the races.
“We did some great things on offense and some great things on defense,” Lincoln high coach Mike Fultz said. “We just have to quit spotting people so many points.”
Francis finished the first half 9-of-16 for 209 yards and the three scores. The Rockets also got touchdowns on a 35-yard Clayton Dean reception and runs of 8 and 7 yards, respectively, from Logan Molina and freshman Corey Jones. Northeast finished with 356 total yards.
Lincoln High, which was led by 65 yards from Smail on 10 carries and another 84 yards passing by Dylan Flinn, ended with 176 total yards.
“We just made some mistakes,” Fultz said. “We’ll get it back together and keep going. That’s all you can do.”
As Lincoln High found out Friday at Seacrest Field, ordinarily doesn’t mean always.
Despite a defensive effort that all but eliminated any and all efforts Lincoln Northeast made at running the ball — at least when it mattered — quarterback Tyler Francis had a field day through the air to lead Northeast (3-3) to a 56-7 victory.
Francis threw for 244 yards on 12-of-17 passing, with no interceptions and four touchdowns, and Yusef Wade hauled in two of the TD tosses and returned a punt 76 yards for a score.
“All I’m doing is getting back there and trying to get the ball to my playmakers,” Francis said. “And we have a bunch of them.”
After forcing Lincoln High to punt on each of its first two possession, Northeast tried to establish a ground game. The Links would have no part of it, however, and Francis and the Rockets took to the air.
Francis hit Porter Groves on a slant pattern across the middle and Groves outraced the Links’ defense 58 yards to the end zone to give Northeast a 7-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, Wade hauled in a 13-yard fade pass and the Rockets were ahead 14-0.
Although the Links (2-4) pulled to 14-7 when Gabriel Smail scored from the 14 with 14 seconds left in the first period, it was all Francis, Wade and the Rockets from there.
Despite grinding out just 19 yards on 19 carries in the first half, Northeast led 35-7.
“Tyler made good decisions when he had the ball,” Northeast coach Dave Svehla said. “Even when he had pressure he didn’t panic.”
Francis and Wade hooked up again from 19 yards early in the second period before Wade added a special-teams score by returning a punt 76 yards. Groves added a last score by leaping over a pile at the goal line with time running out in the first half.
In the first half, the Links were able to amass 144 total yards. Because of a pair of turnovers, however, they couldn’t score again and Northeast was off to the races.
“We did some great things on offense and some great things on defense,” Lincoln high coach Mike Fultz said. “We just have to quit spotting people so many points.”
Francis finished the first half 9-of-16 for 209 yards and the three scores. The Rockets also got touchdowns on a 35-yard Clayton Dean reception and runs of 8 and 7 yards, respectively, from Logan Molina and freshman Corey Jones. Northeast finished with 356 total yards.
Lincoln High, which was led by 65 yards from Smail on 10 carries and another 84 yards passing by Dylan Flinn, ended with 176 total yards.
“We just made some mistakes,” Fultz said. “We’ll get it back together and keep going. That’s all you can do.”
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