Lincoln-Sudbury came into Friday night’s showdown with Wayland possibly expecting its first close game of the season.
Oh, well. Maybe next week.
The visiting Warriors were all over the host Warriors every which way, a fast and furious assault from every angle that has typified Lincoln-Sudbury’s unbeaten season.
The final was 49-14, L-S. It could have been much worse if not for the judicious use of the running clock, which began in the second quarter after L-S increased its lead to 42-0.
“Actually, there were a couple games, Fitchburg and Acton-Boxboro that actually took the opening kickoff, went down the field and scored on us,” said L-S coach Jim Girard whose team improved to 6-0 with the win. “We actually played from behind for a little bit. But I think once our offense gets going and our defense figures out a few things, we have playmakers on both sides of the ball. You saw that tonight.”
Indeed, L-S has playmakers. Leading the way is quarterback Riley O’Connell, who completed 10 of 11 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns. O’Connell also rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on three carries. His two favorite targets in the air were Nolan O’Brien (4 catches for 74 yards, TD) and Jack Napier (4 receptions for 106 yards, 2 TD). Leading the ground game was Thomas Dillon with 61 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
It is an offensive group that no one has been able to stop yet, and the defense allowed next to nothing, as well. One has to wonder if it feels like a special year at L-S.
“It really does (feel like a special year), especially with the seniors we’ve had,” O’Connell said. “The past two years have been kind of rough for the seniors, especially due to Triple-E, and then COVID, obviously. It’s kind of rough. It’s nice to have a normal season under the lights and playing on Friday nights.”
L-S started fast and did not let up on Wayland (4-3). On the game’s opening possession, O’Connell lofted a perfect deep ball to Napier, who ran under it for a 58-yard touchdown.
Wayland’s next drive did not go very far, and O’Connell found O’Brien over the middle for a 43-yard gain to set up the quarterback’s 20-yard touchdown run.
Evan Munuz followed with a 42-yard touchdown run, and O’Connell flipped one to O’Brien for an 8-yard score as L-S boosted its lead to 28-0, and the first quarter wasn’t even over yet.
Thomas Dillon added a 7-yard touchdown run, and Napier caught a 22-yarder from O’Connell to help close out the scoring for the half, as it was 42-0 at the break.
In the second half, Ulysses Lopez-King threw two touchdown passes for Wayland, and L-S tacked another one on off a 62-yard run by Darius Braithwaite.
