Lincoln Christian Advances to Title Game

Originally Published: Dec 5, 2009 5:54 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

SKIATOOK, Oklahoma – Nothing went well for Pawhuska the first time around when the Huskies played Lincoln Christian in the regular season. The Bulldogs pounded Pawhuska 48-0 to claim the district championship. Saturday, the two met again in the 2A state semifinals, giving the Huskies a shot at redemption and a berth in the gold ball round.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, the playoff matchup was a mirror image of the first go-around.

Lincoln Christian dominated the Huskies on both sides of the football, advancing to the state championship game after a 47-0 win.

“We’ve prepared all season for this,” said Lincoln Christian head coach Darren Melton. “We’re real excited.”

Lincoln Christian scored first on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Cale Grauer to Roman Wilson just before the end of the first quarter. Grauer led the Bulldogs back into the endzone four more times in the first half. Lincoln Christian took a 34-0 lead into the break.

“We knew they were going to throw everything at us,” said Wilson. “We just had to do what we did last time and execute.”

The defense set the tone for the game early on. Scoreless in the first quarter, Lincoln Christian lost a fumble deep in its own territory, giving Pawhuska excellent field position. The defense responded with a momentum-shifting goal line stand on fourth down to give the Bulldogs the ball back.

“Momentum was in the balance,” said Melton. “For us to be able to hold them right there really set a tone for the game. It gave us confidence. It was critical. It was huge.”

Four different Bulldogs scored against Pawhuska. Wilson caught two touchdown passes and Brennen Evans scored another. Running back Matt Lawwill led the way on offense with 202 yards rushing and three scores.

The Bulldogs await the winner of Saturday night’s other semifinal showdown between Millwood and Kingfisher. The 2A state championship will be played at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater on Saturday, December 12.