Devils beat Wilkinson 28-6, prepare for Warren Co.
By TYLER HINSON

RICARDO NORMAN MAKES A CUT FOR EXTRA YARDAGE The Devils will travel to Warren County this Friday night.

The Wilkinson County Warriors entered "The Bud" Friday night looking to prolong a three-game winning streak. They left harshly disappointed by a geared-up Red Devil team, who pulled off its fourth straight win, 28-6. The victory leaves Lincoln County undefeated in their region and with a standing season record of 6-1.

The bout between the two top teams was complicated by an unusually high number of facemask penalties. Such penalties, even when they are charged to their own team, delight Red Devil fans. After one was charged to Lincoln, a fan yelled out, tongue-in-cheek, "He didn't hold his facemask! He poked him in the eye! Welcome to Lincoln County!"

Wilkinson County had a weak start, completing only a single set of downs before being forced to punt from their own 45-yard line, but was able to keep Devils senior quarterback Brandon Barden adequately covered during Lincoln's first possession.

The Warriors had a more successful second drive, but were eventually stopped cold by Devil defensive lineman Ronell Ferguson and defensive back Ricardo Norman. The Red Devils didn't fare much better, with Barden throwing his hands up in the air in apparent confusion just before a fourth down conversion attempt which didn't pan out.

RED DEVILS SANDWICH THE BALL CARRIER IN TRUE LINCOLN COUNTY STYLE The Devil Defense has allowed only 23 points through seven games so far this year

Wilkinson's next ownership was heavily abbreviated by a punishing sack by defenders Jeffrey Porter, Tyler Beale, and Jatheus Jones, and then a blocked punt and recovery by Jones, who was able to tuck the ball neatly inside the Wilkinson red zone. Senior running back Darrell Norman ran in the Devils' first touchdown of the contest on the next play.

Junior Devils defensive back Carlous Hearst caught a huge piece of a nice pass by senior Warrior quarterback Hershell Hurst during Wilkinson's next possession to stop them short of a conversion.

Time ran out on the first quarter halfway through the Devils' next ownership, but senior fullback Franklin Jones ran the team's second touchdown shortly after the second quarter began.

RONTAE NORMAN ELUDES DEFENDERS IN A RECENT RED DEVIL GAME Lincoln County beat Wilkinson County in the season's fourth region game.

After another chunk of the Warriors' pigskin was claimed by Hearst, the Devils retook control. Barden struggled, but managed a slow drive. "He had him wide open! What was that?" questioned a fan upset when a pass intended for senior Ricardo Norman failed to connect. The Devils' efforts proved not to be in vain, however, as tight end Jatheus Jones put up another six points. Beale and Jones then pulled off a brilliant two-point conversion.

Two possessions later, junior quarterback Austin Goldman completed a long bomb to senior wide receiver Alex Bradford. Red-clad fans were outraged when Bradford was called out of bounds. Later in the possession, Barden called his own number from deep in Warrior territory and tiptoed across the goal line, scoring the Red Devils' final points of the game.

The Lincoln County Pride Marching Band and color guard presented exciting new choreography during their halftime show. The ensemble, which recently placed third in a marching competition, showed off their new moves during the "Nigerian Mambo."

Thirty-three seconds into the second half, disaster stuck. Senior Warrior wide receiver Tommie Wiggins took a hard blow as he moved out of bounds and was down for several minutes. The stands on both sides of the field were mostly quiet, except for whispers of confusion, as the Red Devils held prayer on the field. Finally, the EMTs were brought out, and Wiggins exited on a stretcher with a leg injury.

When play resumed and the Warriors once again took control, they remained distracted by the recent event on their sideline. The weakness was exploited by defensive end Beale and senior defensive back Donnell Wynn, who were able to sack Hurst for a loss and cut Wilkinson's play time short.

The Red Devils ended up sharing the distraction. A pass from Goldman was intercepted by senior Warrior defensive end Charles Thorpe who ran for fifty-seven yards before Ricardo Norman caught up with him. Hurst was unable to capitalize on the play, and quickly turned the ball over on downs.

After a weak double-reverse and a series of penalties at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Devils lost momentum and gave up the ball after two complete sets.

Soon thereafter, Wilkinson kicker Orlandus Carsweel blew a kick that was easily covered by junior Devil tight end Josh Holliman. The Devils fumbled on second down of the possession, however, and Wilkinson took control. With time running out, Hurst finally completed a pass to junior wide receiver Rodrico Todd in the end zone, quashing the Devils' hopes for a four-game shutout streak. The attempted two-point conversion was unsuccessful.

Red Devils head coach Larry Campbell was somewhat surprised with the outcome of Friday's game. "Wilkinson played pretty good defensively. They were not quite as good on offense as what we saw on tape." According to Campbell, the Devils

still have a long way to go to be ready for the playoffs. "We were better while the game was on the line. We slacked off once we were twenty-eight points ahead. There's still no consistency on our offense."

The Red Devils hit the road once again this week to take on Warren County, to whom Larry Campbell's Devils have never lost.