Johnie Logue
Sports Reporter
The Lincoln Cardinals traveled to Green Ridge on Friday and defeated the Tigers 61-29 to top off a perfect 26-0 regular season.They are now ranked second in the state in Class 2 after going pretty much unnoticed in the pre-season rankings.
The gym was packed with Lincoln bringing a good fan base to fill the stands.
A police escort and a huge gathering of fans greeted the victorious Cardinals as their bus approached Lincoln city limits at approximately 9:30 PM on a rather pleasant February evening after snow showers and freezing temperatures descended on Lincoln the night before.
The 26-0 mark is an unofficial all-time school regular season record.Although, all indications and research lean towards an official record.
The game itself was a mis-match early on as Lincoln rushed out to an 11-0 run and a 27-8 first quarter margin. Green Ridge at 10-15 coming in, looked to give Lincoln a battle but the boys in red came to play as Kaleb Mundy ripped a three to start things off and center Mack Hesse went to work underneath. Hesse had 17 of his game high 19 points in the first half. Hesse also had five blocks.
Kyle Eckhoff had all ten of his points in the first quarter as Lincoln went to their bench early on. It was 41-14 at the half. In the game before at home against Otterville on Tuesday, it was 41-17 at halftime.
Against several good teams this season, Lincoln has trailed early on and have had to play catch up. Not on this occasion as they came out on fire.
However, Lincoln starters struggled scoring some in the third before head coach Tyler Burke pulled his starting five and went to his bench for the rest of the game.
They still led comfortably at 49-24 after three. The fourth frame saw the JV play well with freshmen Riley Sanders and Ben Eckhoff showcasing what the Cardinals have in store for next season.
Coach Burke commented, "This win means alot to me, the community and the school. The kids have worked hard and have earned this. The boys expected this and that is a sign of a good team when you are talented and you also have confidence."
"We played well at times tonight but we still need to improve. The kids are ready for districts," he added.
Senior Kyle Eckhoff also talked about upcoming district play.
"Honestly, if it hadn't been for the hype, I would not even known we were 26-0. The undefeated season is nice, but our real work starts Monday. We want to make a post season run and that has been our main focus all season," he said.
Going undefeated naturally means the Cardinals went undefeated in the tough Kaysinger Conference and therefore, Coach Burke should be named Kaysinger Coach of the Year, hands down.
The district will be hosted by Lincoln and they received a first round bye being seeded first. They will play Wednesday against either Concordia or Green Ridge. A win will probably set up a much anticipated rematch with either Sacred Heart or Tipton on Friday for the district championship. The Cardinals defeated both teams twice already this season. Sacred Heart knocked off Lincoln in districts last season with a come from behind full-court press. They bring to the table the much animated coach, Steve Goodwin and sharp shooter Carter Rice. Tipton has one of the smoothest guards around in Jack Moon. Sacred Heart beat Tipton by one point last Friday in Tipton. Either team will be a challenge.
Lincoln's JV won 21-13 in two quarters of play. They led 9-0 after one.
LINCOLN (61): Hesse 19, Mundy 3, Lynde 6, Young 2, K. Eckhoff 10, Smith 2, Johnson 3, Sanders 8, B. Eckhoff 8.
GREEN RIDGE (29): Crawford 10, Hoos 5, Mason 9, A. Rivas 2, M. Rivas 1.
