Johnie Logue
Sports Reporter
It was 26-6 in favor of Cole Camp after three quarters of play on Friday night in Lincoln. Some of the Cardinals faithful left early and missed possibly the all-time greatest comeback in Lincoln football history with a 28-26 sweeter than sweet victory.
With Lincoln players banged up and short on experienced athletes, this reporter thought going in that the Bluebirds would own the fourth quarter. That assumption couldn't have been further from the truth as the Cardinals controlled the final period.
Apparently, the week off and two players coming off the injured list and five new players from the student body made a huge difference.
Cardinals coach Brad Drehle said, "Cole Camp dominated us for three quarters. The new kids that came out to help us made all the difference in the world. Without them, we don't finish the game like this. We had three weeks with only 12 kids in practice. To be able to scrimmage was a big deal. We have the pieces now."
He wnet on to say, "Riley (Sanders) made the big run and momentum went our way after that. This was a big win for us."
Sanders, who was 12 for 130 rushing for his best of the season, commented, "This was the first time I have been healthy this year. I have been looking forward to this game all season. We are a different team now."
Grant Rodriguez scored first for Cole Camp on a nice sweep to the right side from 14 yards out. Grady Strathman ran in for the two -point conversion and it was 8-0.
Sanders tied the game in the second for a brief moment on a ten yard pass to Cam Everhart. The two pointer failed, but it was 8-6.
The magic arm of Bluebirds' quarterback Gentry Dieckman came into play as he found Rodriguez for a 18 yard touchdown. The PAT failed and it was 14-6 at the half.
Dieckman hit a wide open Matthew Bright from the 41 and the big tight end trotted in for the TD. An incomplete pass failed on the 2 point try and it was 20-6.
Later, Dieckman hit Rodriguez for an 18 yard gain. Strathman, who had a marvelous running game, would go in for the conversion and it was 26-6 after three. The fat lady was warming up to sing but she never did get the chance as Lincoln would steal the show.
Sanders broke one for a 58 yard score on the first play of the fourth at the 11:49 mark. The PAT failed but the scoreboard read 26-12.
An onside kick recovery changed the game. Sanders scored again on a nice run from the eight. He then found Ben Eckhoff on a play action pass for the huge two-point conversion to make it 26-20.
Lincoln's defense held and the Cardinals scored with 39 seconds left in the contest on a fourth and goal situation. Sanders threw a nice touchdown pass to Benham to tie the contest. No overtime was needed in this one though as Sanders ran in the two-pointer to take the 28-26 lead.
Dieckman threw several long bombs but couldn't connect as Cole Camp raced against the clock. The Bluebirds' Reid Harrison sat out nearly the entire game with an ankle injury and came in briefly, but the pass attempt to the speedy senior fell incomplete.
Lincoln got a sack on a scrambling Dieckman to end the game.
Dawson Parrott was 4 for 20 receiving and Everhart was 12 for 47 rushing.
Sanders went 10 for 25 passing for 67 yards with an interception.
On the comeback by Lincoln, Cole Camp coach Kevin Shear said, "They did a tremendous job.. We had lost too many pieces (two injuries) to the puzzle at that point and Lincoln made some big plays and we did not. We had a good scouting report but Lincoln rose to the occasion. We lacked physical toughness in the fourth."
Dieckman finished 4 for 12 passing for 60 yards. Strathman rushed 26 times for 168 yards. Rodriguez, the promising sophomore, was also a problem for Lincoln with 16 attempts for 97 yards.
Lincoln goes to Midway and Cole Camp will host Adrian this week.
Lane Johnson will have all of the Cardinals action this Friday at 7:00 PM on the Lincoln Sports Network.
For the season, Lincoln jumped to 2-4 and Cole Camp fell to 2-5.
