Lincoln Earns Landmark Win at Sylvan-Lucas
SYLVAN GROVE-Jeremiah Miller accounted for nearly 300 yards of offense and five touchdowns as the Lincoln Leopards defeated county rival Sylvan-Lucas 46-22 in Northern Plains League action and a key District game Friday night at Weatherman Field.
After the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs on their first possession, Lincoln was in business on the Sylvan-Lucas 31-yard line but Miller was intercepted in the end zone on a desperation pass by Vance Dohl, ending the drive.
Sylvan-Lucas then fumbled on its second possession and it took one play for Lincoln to dent the scoreboard first on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Xavier Miller. The conversion failed and the Leopards held a 6-0 lead. The Mustangs' next possession ended when Carter Johnson was intercepted on fourth down by Easton Good who returned the ball to the Sylvan 30-yard line. Four plays later, Jeremiah Miller raced 26 yards for a score and this time the conversion was good to swell the Lincoln lead to 14-0.
Connor Charvat took over at Quarterback for the next Mustang possession and directed a six-play 65 yard drive which culminated on his two-yard touchdown run, set up by a 20-yard pass to Zayne Maupin and the two-point play pulled Sylvan-Lucas to within 14-8 after the first quarter. Lincoln responded on its next possession when Xavier Miller took a handoff and scampered 15 yards to the end zone but the conversion was no good, leaving the score at 20-8 in favor of the visitors.
Sylvan-Lucas pulled to within 20-16 midway through the second quarter on a 60-yard halfback option touchdown pass from Charvat to fellow former Wilson Dragon Cade Brokes who outraced Xavier Miller to the end zone. The Miller brothers then lifted Lincoln to a 34-16 lead by halftime on a pair of touchdown passes from Jeremiah to Xavier of 28 and 31 yards respectively, the second coming just after another costly Mustang fumble.
The Leopards extended the lead to 40-16 on their first possession of the second half when Ben Bell scored from two yards out. However, Lincoln's offense slowed on their next drive which was marred by numerous penalties and they eventually turned the ball over on downs but not before chewing up most of the third quarter.
Sylvan-Lucas had a glimmer of hope early in the fourth quarter when they moved 55 yards in four plays culminating with Charvat's second touchdown of the game, this one from nine yards out but the two-point conversion failed, allowing Lincoln to maintain its three-score lead at 40-22. The Leopards posted their final tally of the night after Sylvan-Lucas' fifth turnover of the game when Jeremiah Miller scored from four yards out to provide the final margin of 46-22.
Jeremiah Miller who had come into the game with more than 1,100 yards passing for the season and 19 touchdowns, added three more to his total while completing 8 of 16 passes for 159 yards despite also throwing two interceptions. Miller also rushed the ball 28 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns as Lincoln (6-1. 4-0) outgained Sylvan-Lucas 381-290. Xavier Miller caught four passes for 81 yards and his three touchdowns while rushing for 15 yards and a score on his lone rushing attempt of the game.
Charvat led Sylvan-Lucas (5-2, 2-2) with 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns while passing for 83 yards and a score.
Lincoln snapped a six-game losing streak to Sylvan-Lucas in the series with their first win over the Mustangs since September 11, 2015 when they won at home 50-12. Friday's victory was the first for the Leopards at Weatherman Field since a 60-14 victory on September 12, 2014. The six-game winning streak is also Lincoln's longest since 2010.
Lincoln will face Clifton-Clyde at home on their Senior Night next Friday, October 25 with the winner claiming the District Championship and the top seed in 8-Man Division l, District 4. The Eagles won easily at home on Friday over Rock Hills 56-8.
Sylvan-Lucas finishes the regular season with a trip to Washington County to take on the winless Tigers who fell to Lakeside in Downs 38-32.