FanPost

High School Game of the Decade......or at least of the week

*    Preamble
Us, We, "The Good Guys" ...............Wilcox County Patriots

Them, They, "The Bad Guys"............Lincoln County Red Devils

Us...........Good program since the mid-80's
Them......Great program since the late 50's

Us...........0 State Titles
Them......13 State Titles and defending back to back champions. Coach Larry Campbell is Georgia's winningest coach @ 414-70-3 with 11 of those championships.
Did ya think Valdosta's Hyder & Bazemore had good records?

Head to Head Series record (Each game was a playoff game)
Us...............0
Them..........4

Former players of note
Us........Alfred Rawls (3rd in SEC rushing yds for Kentucky as a senior) early 90's
Them.....Garrison Hearst, current Dawg Jarius Wynn, & a host of other D1 scholarship players.

This year both teams enter this game with 11-1 records & who knows how either has lost a game. Wilcox is the big play team having won a playoff game 48-18 while running only 17 offensive plays for the game. Lincoln County is........well they're Lincoln County.
Date: 11/30/07
Game Time: 8:00pm

It's a 2 1/2 hour drive from Columbus to the ole hometown. It's gonna be crowded. I squirm into a seat at 7:15. There's 4000+ expected to be at the game which is huge by Class A standards.

A little pre-game posturing by both teams, lots of noise, & a UNC Tarheel recruiter wading thru the stands to talk to the local phenom's mom and we're ready for kickoff.

We win the toss & get the ball. Go 3 & out.......snap rolls to the punter, kick is blocked, they have the ball on the 8. Three plays later it's Lincoln 7-0.

That's ok, we average 40 points a game. We start the next series from the 25. Reverse to the phenom for a 75 yd TD......oops, clipping, back to the 12 yd line. They pick a pass on the next play and return it to the 2. 1 play later it's Lincoln 14-0.

Ok, that's not good. We start the next series from the 30. 3 & out, we punt, they return it for a TD. Lincoln 21-0

Did I mention it's a 2 1/2 hour drive to get here. It's also 2 1/2 hrs back.

Our guys have to keep their chins up. We start the next series at the 12 after another penalty. 1st down....nuthin. 2nd down.....sacked at the 2. Illegal motion, back to the 1. We're down 21-0. It's 3rd & 21 from our own 1. They have absolutely stuffed every play that we have tried (with the exception of the called back TD, and to their credit, the clip was the block that allowed that to happen). They're Lincoln County. It's a long drive back hom......

The pass was for 38 yards.

I don't have stats to back this up, but I'll bet that in the last 50 years, Lincoln County has not lost after being up 21-0.

It should be noted that Lincoln had 21 points on 10 yards total offense. That's still a ton of points to try to overcome though.

The pass was for 38 yards.
If the pass is dropped, we're punting from our own endzone and if you've paid attention, punting is not what we do best. A sack for a safety is better than having to punt. We're staring down the barrell of 28-0.

The pass was for 38 yards.

The legend lives on. This is Lincoln County. They live for this time of year. Who the hell do we think we are, even remotely entertaining the thought of winning this game.

The pass was for 38 yards

Our receiver has a step, the ball hits him in stride, on the sideline, a little juggling act and.......it's a catch.

The pass was for 38 yards.......complete ........first down. I have just watched the highlight again. You can see the scoreboard with the down and distance from the camera angle. Unbelievable.

 We're out of the shadow of our own goal line. The rest of the yardage comes in chunks. We have our first TD, of course the kick is blocked but it's 21-6.

END OF FIRST QUARTER

We kick off, it's a wonder it wasn't blocked and stop 'em in 3 plays. They punt & stop us in 3 plays. We punt......well, we tried. On a good day, our punter can probably reach a snap that's 9' high, this one was 12. They recover on the 10. The defense stiffens, they lose yardage and settle for 3. Lincoln 24-6 on 10 yards total offense.

We start the next series from the 35.

Domination: da-mi-nay-shun\

  1. To Dominate
  2. supremacy or preeminence over another
  3. exercise of mastery
After one first down it's a 57 yd strike for the TD. 2 point conversion good.
Lincoln 24 Good Guys 14

Another 3 & out from them. We get a couple of 1st downs & a 31 yd strike for the TD.
2pt conversion good. Lincoln 24 Wilcox 22.

HALFTIME

Momentum buster. I hate having to give them a chance to re-group. Well coached is an under-statement for these guys. And they get the ball first.

(Small schools are great. They open the gates and the surrounding school buildings in order to relieve the lines at the restrooms. Bless them for saving my life.)

Halftime stats (un-official)
Total Offense
Us..........300
Them.....70

START OF 3RD QUARTER

They get the ball on the 25. One first down to the 40. One, two, three plays and it's 4th and less than 1 at the 49. Here's where I have a problem. They punted. I wouldn't have. Was it respect or fear. Whatever, it was a bad move. We have the ball and the chance to take the lead.

The drive was methodical. The kind that de-moralizes a team. A time consuming drive. Running backs gashing, quick slants, option plays, 5-6 yds per play. They couldn't stop anything. Except the 2pt conversion. It was called back on a penalty to put us on the 8. They got us at the 1.

The clock reads 3:21 left in the 3rd.

The score reads
Wilcox 28
Lincoln 24

The game is over.

I know, I know. It's never over till it's over. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. That's why you play 4 quarters. I know. But, they have not had a drive of more than 20 yards, we can't be stopped. It's over. I hope the fans that traveled from Lincoln know it's over. I'd be shocked if they get another first down and damned......

They start passing. 1st down.
1st down. They're on our side of the 50. Who do they think they are, Lincoln County?

Oh. Anywhoo, it's now 4th & 1 from our 35, they have switched to the Wild Hog formation, direct snap to the tailback and.....he slips, untouched, loss of one. Our ball.

Another long time consuming drive, 4th & 1 from the 4......2 yard gain. 1st & goal.
1 play later it's Wilcox 34 Lincoln 24

Fast foward to another long drive ending in the red zone with 13 seconds to play and we have a classic come from wayyyyyyyy behind victory over arguably the most storied program in the state.
Lincoln County's a class act. Congratulations to my Patriots. There was no way it could happen, but......

The pass was for 38 yards.

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