September 11, 2010
Lincoln rolls past Ferris
Lincoln's Tyron Stevens (left) stiff arms Ferris' Darian Royster on a 1st quarter run.
Click Here for more photos from Ferris at Lincoln.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – For most of the past decade the title of Jersey City’s best public school program had resided at Ferris. In one game, Lincoln eliminated any doubt which holds that crown in 2010.
The Lions were simply dominant last night in a 46-0 dismantling of the Bulldogs last night at Caven Point.
“It’s the first time we’ve beaten Ferris High School in 10 years,” head coach Robert Hampton said. “It’s a great thing for a lot of kids out here who paid the price at Lincoln High School, trying to rectify this.”
“People said they were going to beat us because we’re the same Lincoln,” QB Ronald Butler said. “It’s not the same Lincoln any more.”
Known for its explosive offense, Lincoln (1-0) set the tone from the start with their defense. On just the second play from scrimmage Harun Bethea sacked Ferris (0-1) QB Emmanuel Thomas for the first of several big plays by the Lions defense.
“I think that we play a very aggressive scheme and we’re going to go after them,” Hampton said. “We’re a gambling defense. We live and die by the big play.”
Edwin Celestin returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 just six minutes into the game. The senior middle linebacker also added half a sack in the shutout performance.
In the first half alone, Lincoln had four sacks (led by Bethea’s 1.5) and limited an overwhelmed Bulldog offense to -9 yards of offense. In total the Lions held Ferris to just four first downs and 23 yards of total offense while forcing two turnovers. With nine new starters on defense, it was a performance that even Hampton was surprised by.
“Defensively I was a little concerned because we lost so many starters from last year,” Hampton said. “I thought our defensive tackles played extremely well.”
While the defensive performance may have been unexpected, the duo of Butler and Tyron Stevens lived up to their billing as two of the county’s most explosive offensive players.
Stevens scored a pair of touchdowns and the opening quarter, including a 21-yard pitch down the right sideline on a fourth down to make it 20-0. He would later add his third touchdown of the evening in the final minutes of the first half.
The senior running back finished with 116 yards on 15 carries.
Butler added 66 yards and a touchdown of his own on the ground on just seven carries. Primarily a wide receiver before this season, Butler showed why he was moved over to quarterback as he completed 3-of-4 passes for 83 yards. He tossed a pair of touchdown, including a 38-yard bomb to Deshawn Goodwin. Between running, receiving and kick returning, Goodwin combined for 106 all-purpose yards in the victory.
Shamoir Griffin led the Bulldogs with 30 yards rushing on 10 carries. Jamonte Pryer added 49 all-purpose yards as Ferris looks to recover from a disastrous debut.
“You’ve got to be ready for the next one,” head coach Rich Glover said. “It’s another opportunity next week.”
The Bulldogs will look to even their record on Friday night when they host Nutley. Lincoln will be home again on Thursday night against Hanover Park.
Shamoir Griffin led Ferris with 30 yards rushing in defeat.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferris Bulldogs (0-1) | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Lincoln Lions (1-0) | 20 |
14 |
12 |
0 |
46 |
| Lin: Tyron Stevens, 3 run (run fail) | |||||
| Lin: Edwin Celestin, 21 interception return (Anthony Jackson pass from Ronald Butler) | |||||
| Lin: Stevens, 21 run (pass fail) | |||||
| Lin: Butler, 7 run (pass fail) | |||||
| Lin: Stevens, 2 run (Butler run) | |||||
| Lin: Kashawn Fuller, 2 pass from Butler (run fail) | |||||
| Lin: Deshawn Goodwin, 38 pass from Butler (pass fail) | |||||