Kristina Lloyd – Senior Zach Rowe runs in a touchdown during Lincoln County High School’s 36-0 shutout of Agassi Prep last Friday in Las Vegas.
On Friday, a beautiful Las Vegas evening, Agassi Prep and Lincoln County High School met at Rancho High School to play some football.
The Lynx shut out the Stars 36-0.
Lincoln went 11-2 last year and is the state runner-up. If you were to ask coach Richard Ottley what his goals are for the season, he’ll look at you, chuckle and say, “Always state championship!” The coach believes that his team can do it this year.
Agassi Prep took fourth in the division ranking with a record of 6-3. One of Agassi’s losses was against the Lynx earlier that season.
At Rancho, with the Las Vegas Strip in the background and perfect football weather, the Lynx defense was a wall. Everything Agassi tried Lincoln stopped it. The offense was equally fierce. The team got two easy touchdowns in the first quarter. One of them was a 55-yard run by Derek Mathews, which gave the Lynx an early lead. After that touchdown Agassi got the ball back but went three-and-out. Lincoln quickly marched up the field and straight into the end zone. With two touchdowns and two field goals, Lincoln was up to a quick 14-0 lead.
The defense was stellar, especially in the second quarter. With Agassi being a passing team, the Lynx were always on the lookout for a football zipping through the air. Cornerback Landon Smith knows how defend the pass well. On what could have been a touchdown pass, Smith hurdled into the air for an interception. Back on offense, the Lynx slowly move the chains. At the 50-yard line, running back Zack Rowe took a handoff and swung wide for a 25-yard run. Later in the drive, quarterback Cody Thornock ran it up the middle for a touchdown, giving the Lynx an even bigger lead.
Lincoln ran a no huddle offense throughout the game. Ottley spent much of the week conditioning his players to run it well. “They ran that offense pretty much flawless,” he said. Agassi just couldn’t keep up with them.
Later on, with Agassi driving to the Lincoln 25 yard line, Noah Smith launched himself into the air and grabbed an interception leading to another Lincoln score.
Close to the end of the game, Agassi was still trying to get on the board. Their quarterback threw a bomb and completed the pass to an open receiver. About 10 yards from the end zone, the receiver thought he would run it in for a touchdown, but Noah Smith chased him down and stopped him from scoring. The receiver proceeded to throw the ball at Smith and get a penalty of 20 yards.
Ottley later said, “The game went just as planned. The offensive line was hitting their blocks, allowing the running back to get 3 or 4 yards a play.”
The Lynx (2-0) hosted Lake Mead (1-3) on Thursday and will play The Meadows (2-1) in Panaca on the 30th.
