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Sports - September 2003 |
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Knights prepare to do battle! |
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North faces East in first ever meeting JOHN MARK BROOKS, Staff Writer ———————————— Twenty years from now people will possibly mention the North Lincoln, East Lincoln rivalry in the same breath as Lincolnton, West Lincoln or West Lincoln, East Lincoln. However, the rivalry has to start somewhere. The somewhere for football is tonight at East Lincoln at 8 p.m. Head coach Lonnie Custer knows his young team will have their hands full. However, he feels the Mustangs’ have some holes his offense can capitalize on. “They do a good job of running their system, but opportunities will present themselves. So when they do, we’ll just have to take advantage of them,” he said. Knights’ running back Todd Eaton rushed the ball eight times for 62 yards against Charlotte Catholic. He is averaging nearly 5 yards per carry on the season. On defense, North Lincoln will have to find a way to contain the Mustangs’ explosive passing attack. Custer knows that Hickman will be the key. “Hickman does a good job of leading his team,” he said. Hickman, for East, has passed for 549 yards and eight touchdowns over his last two ball games with no interceptions. Custer feels the biggest x-factor of the ball game could be special teams. “Both of our special teams have room for improvement. I am, however, comfortable kicking with Cavazos from 45 yards or in,” he said. Trevor Cavazos, also a soccer player, handles the Knights’ kicking duties. East Lincoln is coming off a heartbreaking 40-38 loss, so Custer knows the Mustangs will be ready. “Coming off that loss they are going to be totally pumped to play us,” he said. He also believes that there is an extra incentive for both teams. “Some of these guys are still best friends so they want to say they beat the other one. It’s going to be a good environment for a Lincoln county football rivalry game,” he said.
EAST LINCOLN
Head coach Matt Rikard wants to see his team play a more fundamentally sound offensive game. “We’ve got to stop putting ourselves in the hole with penalties,” he said. One area East Lincoln has looked to improve in is achieving balance, Rikard says they are still looking. “We’re still searching for balance between the run and the pass,” he said. On the defensive side of the ball Rikard wants his troops to get back to the basics. “We have to get better at tackling. We had Lincolnton in some favorable 3rd down situations last week, but we couldn’t get the stop,” he said. Explosive offensive plays is part of what did them in against the Wolves. Rikard says ‘they have to eliminate the big play,’ against the Knights of North Lincoln. Rikard also is looking for improvement on special teams. “Our special teams have to get better especially leading into the beginning of conference play,” he said. At 1-2 East Lincoln is looking for a win to add confidence as they start conference play. Rikard says his boys are looking for a win for other reasons too. “The kids are up for this game as much as they were for the Lincolnton game. They get up for all the games, but there’s something different with some games,” he said. He believes the reason why is the close proximity between North and East Lincoln.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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