SCORE: Lincoln East 27, Lincoln Northeast 24

WHAT HAPPENED: East drove 68 yards in less than a minute to earn the district victory against its city rival. Matt Palm picked away at Northeast, completing a pair of 8-yard passes to Justin Burns and an 11-yarder to Sam Witherby. But it was a 33-yard toss to Tyson Clark that gave the Spartans a real chance.

Clark outjumped the Northeast defenders for the first down with 17.5 seconds left. A run by Palm picked up a yard and, after a timeout, Palm hit Clark on an out to the right side with three seconds left in the game.

The first half was somewhat uneventful. Northeast got the only score when Yusef Wade raced in to block Lincoln East’s first punt of the game. Northeast took over on the Spartan 40-yard line and picked up a pair of first downs before Zach Reinke pulled in a 26-yard scoring pass from Jordan Burt. Reinke broke a tackle at the 10-yard line and spun around into the end zone.

East’s Justin Burns thwarted what appeared would be a Northeast touchdown when he dove in front of Curt Adams at the Spartan 4 for an interception late in the second quarter.

The Spartans cashed in on an opportunity at the start of the second half when Northeast had a bad snap on a punt. Two plays later, Zachary Smith caught a 28-yard scoring toss from Palm. Porter Groves blocked the extra-point kick to preserve the Rockets’ 7-6 lead.

Adams added a 34-yard field goal before East took its first lead of the game. Palm scored on a 3-yard run, but it was his arm the Spartans relied on for 80 of the 85 yards in the drive. Palm found Taylor Maas for a 13-yard pickup, then hit Drew Sankey over the middle for a 34-yard gain. Palm then hit Clark with a 33-yard strike to the 3.

The Rockets regained the lead on a 51-yard run by Tyler Collier. The senior running back broke a tackle at the East 46 and sprinted to the end zone.

Two 15-yard penalties tacked onto a 30-yard kickoff return gave East the ball at the Northeast 27. Seven plays later, Palm dove over from the 1 to put the Spartans back on top 20-17.

Northeast went back ahead with one minute left in the game. Burt scrambled 19 yards for the score, setting up East’s last-minute drive.

SPARTAN STARS: Palm passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 24 yards and two scores. Clark finished with three catches for 69 yards.

ROCKET STARS: Collier had 97 yards on 17 carries and Burt threw for 148 yards.

NEXT WEEK: The long bus trip to Norfolk will be a little easier for East to take after this win. A tough place to play, it would have been much tougher after an emotional city loss. The Rockets must rebound to face Lincoln Southwest.