No. 7 Lincoln East sticks with game plan despite weather to remain undefeated.

BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

COLUMBUS — Garek Petry grinned through his shivers.

Despite a cold rain that fell throughout the game Thursday,  Petry was in football heaven after Class A seventh-ranked Lincoln East earned a 20-0 victory against Columbus to remain undefeated in five games. (For more high school coverage, visit Prep Extra.)

“It’s cold. But I love this weather,” Petry said. “It got slippery and we had to dig deep and keep our base low, but we still went after the same game plan.”

The Spartans struck early when quarterback Jim Ebke found Andrew Peterson open for a 48-yard touchdown pass with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

As the rain continued, and the field conditions grew worse, the lead seemed to swell.

“They did what they had to do, getting up early. Our plan was to attack the flats, but as the field got worse, we couldn’t do that,” Columbus coach Craig Williams said. “We also noticed that their corners play a bit soft on the outside, and we have speed, so we thought we could take advantage.

“We did for a while, but then they made a nice adjustment.”

Columbus missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt midway through the second quarter.

The Spartans drove 69 yards after the second-half kickoff to take a 13-0 lead. Ebke had a 25-yard scramble to keep the drive alive and scored on a 7-yard run.

East could have put the game away in the third quarter when it drove to the Columbus 18-yard line. Two Discoverer unsportsmanlike penalties aided the drive, but the Spartans turned the ball over when Levi Lash caught a pass at the 5, but was stripped of the ball by Jason Schlautman.

The Discoverers drove to midfield before Justin Burns intercepted a Columbus pass with 11:52 left in the game. More than 8½ minutes later, East capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive when Ebke scored on a 1-yard sneak. Petry converted on fourth down with a 5-yard run and Ebke had an 8-yard scamper on fourth down to keep the drive alive.

“We wanted to run the clock in the second half,” East coach John Gingery said. “At halftime, we challenged our kids to go out there and be physical. We held on even though it was a mess out there. The field was deteriorating.

“Ebke made some good reads. Their defense was trying to take him away and Petry really had a nice game for us.”

Ebke rushed for 127 yards on 28 carries, while Petry had 60 yards on 13 rushes.

Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com