Lincoln has gone 4-0 against Wheatland recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Lincoln Fighting Zebras will be playing in front of their home fans against the Wheatland Pirates at 7:15 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated after four-games, but that won't be the case come Friday.
Lincoln is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 63-0 win over Mira Loma on the road. While the Fighting Zebras didn't have the best season last year (they finished 1-9), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Lincoln's win on Thursday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Eli Duff, who threw for 124 yards and four touchdowns on perfect 7-for-7 passing, and also rushed for 31 yards. Another rusher making a difference was Devin Davis, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Lincoln's defense and their five sacks. Mira Loma's QB won't forget Hunter Johnson anytime soon given he sacked him 2.5 times. Another thorn in Mira Loma's side was Brayden Bertozzi, who picked up 1.5 sacks and made seven total tackles (2.5 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Lincoln was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 238 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 172 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
While Wheatland didn't have the best season last year (they finished 3-7), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They put the hurt on Bear River with a sharp 27-7 victory on Friday. Considering the Pirates have won three matches by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
The critical scores for Wheatland came from Joseph Franklin, Jordan James, and James.
Wheatland wouldn't let Bear River keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Wheatland can thank James and Konley Cova for forcing all of them. Cova also set a new season high mark in rushing yards with 91. Isaac Martin was another major factor on D, picking up 0.5 sacks, making nine total tackles (2.0 for loss), and making nine total tackles (2.0 for loss) in addition to snagging an interception.
Lincoln's win bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Wheatland, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 4-0.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Lincoln has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 224.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Wheatland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 192.8. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Lincoln's way against Wheatland in their previous matchup back in September of 2017, as Lincoln made off with a 36-12 win. Will Lincoln repeat their success, or does Wheatland have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
