RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, September 29, 2006 7:00 pm
Nick Broers will gladly suffer one slightly embarrassing moment for this tradeoff.
The Lincoln Northeast senior linebacker burst through the line while everyone else stood still early in the first quarter.
But he more than made up for it. Broers and his Rocket teammates corralled Jim Ebke and the Lincoln East offense to earn a 17-7 victory Friday before a crowd of 4,777 at Seacrest Field.
“I was just a little anxious on that play,” Broers admitted. “It was the first play of that drive and I wanted to get at him. After that, everything was all right.”
While the Rocket defense limited East to just 44 yards of total offense in the second-half, the Northeast offense picked up steam.
Tied 7-7, Northeast drove 66 yards in 10 plays to open the second half, taking the lead on a 20-yard field goal by Curt Adams.
East was forced to attempt a 52-yard field goal by Ebke when its ensuing drive stalled. Brinson Steinhauser burst through to block the kick, but Northeast was penalized for having 12 men on the field and Ebke got another chance, this time from 36 yards. But his kick was wide to the right, and Northeast clung to its lead.
“This is a great win. It’s a district win, it’s a city win and it’s a win over a rival,” said Northeast coach Dave Svehla. “In the first half, we probably didn’t go at them enough. They really run to the ball.
“We decided to run right at them and have our line get after them.”
Tyler Collier exploded for 123 of his 145 yards in the second half, including a 60-yard touchdown run midway through the final period to give the Rockets some breathing room.
“Tyler has a nice burst of speed, and he’s learning to run pretty hard between the tackles,” said Svehla. “We know Trent Svehla is tougher than nails, but we were playing a fair amount of man defense in the second half and he was playing receivers man, which is physically taxing. We were happy to be able to use Tyler on offense and have Trent fresh on defense.”
Svehla erased any possibility of a Spartans comeback when he intercepted a pass with 2:14 left in the game and East out of timeouts.
Svehla said the defensive effort was crucial to limit Ebke, who finished with 79 yards rushing after racing 38 yards on the Spartans’ only touchdown.
“We wanted to get pressure in the backfield. You can’t let Jimmy run around because he’ll run all over you,” said Svehla. “No matter what your defensive plan, he’s going to have some success. If you corral him, maybe he won’t do it too much.”
Northeast squandered an early opportunity. On the second play of the game, Broers pounced on a loose ball at the 32-yard line. But the Rockets made little headway and Adams’ 41-yard field goal attempt came up short.
The Rockets struck first, after Tory Berks returned a punt 29 yards. Will Highfield capped an eight-play drive with a 3-yard burst over the right side, and Adams’ conversion kick made it 7-0.
East responded immediately. After marching for a pair of first downs on six plays, Ebke took off around the right side. He broke a tackle at the Northeast 25 and another at the 15 before pulling away on a 38-yard scoring run. His kick tied the game.
The Rockets threatened early in the second quarter when Tyler McManaman caught a pass at the Spartans’ 12. But after a pair of holding penalties, Northeast faced second-and-44 and Justin Burns intercepted for East.
Ebke picked off a Rocket pass late in the second quarter and returned it 20 yards, but time ran out as Ravi Mahapatra was stopped after a 31-yard reception.
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.