| Lincoln, NE - Lincoln East Spartans sputtered in the first quarter before landing a knockout punch with six touchdowns in 7:31 to defeat Lincoln High 56-14 on parents night. One of the goals of the game was to allow plenty of playing time for the seniors who have spent four years grinding out scout play for the Spartans. A dominating Spartan crowd of 2,608 people watched as the Spartans drove down the field on their first possession to take the lead on a pass from Matt Palm to Drew Sankey to take the lead 7-0.
An uncharacteristic Spartan defense allowed Lincoln High to march straight down the field and Dylan Flinn connected on two long passes before he found Aaron Smith for a 10-yard scoring toss. With the score tied at 7-7 the Spartans once again found themselves in a ballgame. When senior captain Sam Meginnis and his senior buddies set a goal they mean business. Meginnis intercepted a Flinn pass on the Lincoln High 29 yard line and fellow senior Michael Knott finished off the final 9 yards to put the Spartans on top for good with :19 to go in the first quarter.
Senior Justin Burns, school record holder for punt returns, returned a punt 39 yards to start the Spartan fireworks. Knott landed the next blow with a 3 yard scoring dive with 8:53 left in the second quarter. The Spartan defense came alive and held the Links to three-and-out before the Links punter Jeremy Phillippi had to down a snap over his head on the Links 4 yard line. Scott Sunderman came in the relieve Palm and finished off the 4 yards to give the Spartans a 28-7 lead with 7:50 to go in the first quarter.
On the Links first play after the touchdown senior Michael Lau decided he would give the lineman some fun as he took a fumble out of the air and rambled 13 yards to score with 7:43 remaining.
Senior Sam Witherby stepped up and provided two consecutive turnovers for the Spartans with a fumble recovery and an intercepted pass. Sunderman capped off both turnovers with scoring runs of 2 yards and 4 yards. The first touchdown came with 6:41 to go in the second quarter and the second touchdown with 4:48 left. Five touchdowns in 4:05 seconds.
A desire to see that your teammates to get plenty of playing time would prevail on that evening. Josh Palmer, who has provided valuable scout squad quarterback duty, entered the game along with James Ristow, Kevin Meyer, Adam Zillig, Anthony Moss, Shane Baker, Shelby Lewis and Curtis Tebo. When this senior squad were sophomores the football class was very small but, 29 of those kids have remained with the program that has generated a 16-4 record over the last two seasons. Each senior member has contributed to the success of the program. The senior leadership lead a successful week of practice and treated the game as if it were the toughest game of the year.
The second half rolled and the game ended in less than 2 hours as the NSAA rules state the clock will run continually run with a 35 point lead at half-time. East marched straight down the field on it's first third quarter drive and Brice Tyrell polished off the final yard for a 56-7 lead. For the second time this season East unloaded the bench and allowed the juniors and sophomores to get some very valuable playing time. The experience was excellant because Lincoln High was still playing their starters at the end when Flinn hit R.J. Richardson for a 9 yard score to make the final 56-14.
The final week of play was wacky at best. Columbus upset Southwest by three touchdowns and North Star beat North Platte. Those games saw the Spartans fall from a four seed to an eight seed. East has been determined all season in the fourth quarter.
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