November 15, 2009
Lions silenced by Orange
Tyron Stevens was limited to 30 rushing yards against Orange.
Click Here for more photos from Orange at Lincoln.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – For most of the season, Lincoln had been one of the best stories of the football season, winning their first eight games for their best start since 1973.
But the feel-good story of the year came crashing down in a span of 11 minutes.
A series of miscues by the Lions resulted in four Orange touchdowns en route to a 41-18 Tornadoes victory last night at Caven Point that has Lincoln head coach Robert Hampton re-evaluating the way he runs his team.
“I have to make some serious changes in how I conduct this program next year,” Hampton said. “I just can’t understand what happened to this team in the last month. We were way better than that and we just fell apart.
“It got away so fast from us. There was a lack of focus.”
Trailing 7-6 late in the opening quarter, things started to fall apart in all facets of the game for third-seeded Lincoln (8-2). With 2:36 left in the quarter Orange’s Marquise Goods recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown that resulted from a botched snap that went past the Lion punter. Earlier in the game, Goods had scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Contrez Hunter.
Things would only get worse for Lincoln. After Hunter connected with Malcolm Bagley on a 24-yard scoring strike, the Lions fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The Tornadoes would capitalize on the turnover five plays later when Hunter threw his third touchdown of the game, this one a 6-yard pass to Ryan Lingham.
Orange’s Daivon Johnson capped off the stretch and dashed any hopes of a Lincoln comeback, when he turned a fumble 70 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-6 with 3:34 left in the first half.
The self-inflicted wounds by Lincoln continued into the second half as Goods blocked a punt inside the Lions 10 yard line to set up a rushing touchdown by Hunter. The Tornadoes would force two more turnovers in a second half to finish with four in the game.
Hampton hopes that the errors serve as a reminder that despite this year’s success, there is still a long way for his team to go.
“We’re not an established program yet,” he said. “We’ve only been winning one year. We’re not there yet. We’re not Prep, we’re not even Hoboken. We’re just a nice team with a nice story that’s trying to get better.”
Lincoln added a pair of touchdowns runs by Deshawn Goodwin and Lamar McKnight in the fourth quarter, but by then the damage had already been done.
Goodwin also scored on the game’s opening drive when he hauled in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Ronald Butler to give Lincoln an early 6-0 lead.
Butler was a multi-dimensional threat for the Lions in the loss, catching three passes for 104 yards, rushing five times for 42 yards and completing all four of his pass attempts for 30 yards.
McKnight completed 6-of-15 passes for 162 yards. Orange’s defensive front was successfully able to contain standout running back Tyron Stevens, limiting the junior to just 30 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Hunter completed passes to four different receivers, totally 127 yards and three touchdowns on just seven attempts and Spencer Drice had a game-high 52 yards rushing on 12 carries for the Tornadoes.
While changes may be in store for Lincoln, many of their top skilled players will return for 2010, led by Butler (who will move to quarterback), Stevens, Goodwin and receiver Jamichael Torres. Stevens in particular is a player that Hampton believes “has the tools to be the best leader I’ve ever had at Lincoln High School.”
“Realistically, next year is my best team,” Hampton said. “I’ve got 30 kids coming back including my two best athletes. All of my linebackers, all but one in my secondary and every one except for one on the offensive line are back.
“I think the kids that are coming back next year are the key kids coming back. It bodes well for us.”
Jamichael Torres caught two passes in the first half against Orange.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange (6-3) | 14 |
21 |
6 |
0 |
41 |
| Lincoln (8-2) | 6 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
18 |
| L: Deshawn Goodwin, 9 pass from Ronald Butler (run failed) | |||||
| O: Marquise Goods, 60 pass from Contrez Hunter (Bernard Fanor kick) | |||||
| O: Goods, fumble recovery in end zone (Fanor kick) | |||||
| O: Malcolm Bagley, 24 pass from Hunter (Fanor kick) | |||||
| O: Ryan Lingham, 6 pass from Hunter (Fanor kick) | |||||
| O: Daivon Johnson, 70 fumble return (Fanor kick) | |||||
| O: Hunter, 5 run (run failed) | |||||
| L: Goodwin, 7 run (pass failed) | |||||
| L: McKnight, 3 run (run failed) | |||||