Lincoln cardinals

It was quite a year for Lincoln last season as they went 11-2 and were a Class 1 quarterfinalist, they won their conference and they won their district. Head Coach Brad Drehle enjoyed the ride saying, “We were led by a large, hardworking group of Seniors. It was a fun year.” Fun for sure, winning 10 games in a row after an early season loss to Tipton and averaging 42 points per game along the way. With that outstanding season in the past the Cardinals will be facing harsh reality of graduating that many seniors. It means there will be many new faces on both sides of the ball. The good news is many young players received playing time throughout last season. “We return several kids that saw significant minutes as subs and filling in for injuries,” stated Coach Drehle. “We will be young and athletic. We are excited to see how this team comes together and competes.” This year the Cardinals will not have the benefit of the upperclassmen as the lineup will be made up almost entirely of juniors and sophomores.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals will utilize their 3-4 alignment again. They only allowed teams 120 rushing yards per game and 100 passing yards per game last year, which is why they only allowed a min-

Class: 1

Conference: Independent

Head Coach: Brad Drehle

Years at School: 3

Record at School: 20-10

Overall Coaching Record: 142-89

Returning Lettermen: 13

Returning Starters Offense: 0

Returning Starters Defense: 2

Last Year’s Record: 11-2 iscule 17 points per game. Only two starters return on defense including junior Camden Everhart (5-10, 185) who is back at linebacker after registering 109 Tackles, 9 Sacks and 12 TFL and earning All-Conference and All-District accolades. He will be joined by sophomore Anthony Srader (5-10, 190) at backer this season. In the secondary, sophomore Riley Sanders (6-0, 160) returns to his free safety position. He recorded 75 Tackles, 1 Sack, 4 TFL and 3 INTs last season. He will be counted on to continue that outstanding output being both a great run support player and a ballhawk. Sophomores Riley Sanders (6-0, 160) and Dawson Parrott (5-10, 160) will also be in the secondary along with junior Chase Young (5-9, 150). With good speed and athleticism look for these three to contribute right away. The defensive line will be made up of sophomores Ben Eckhoff (6-3, 230), Isaac Komm (6-0, 250), Ashton Wolfe (6-1, 180) and junior Matthew Cook (6-2, 250). This line has good size and will be a big key in the Cardinals success on both sides of the ball, as all four will pull double duty on the offensive line as well. With lower numbers out this year, nearly every player will be playing both sides of the ball. Also, on the offensive side sophomore Anthony Srader will be at running back and sophomore Riley Sanders will be at the quarterback spot. The Lincoln receiving crew will feature sophomore Dawson Parrott and junior Chase Young. It will be very challenging to replicate the Cardinals offensive power last season where they were able to average 275 yards rushing and 147 yards passing last season enroute to averaging 42 points per game. Those are outstanding numbers and the main reason why they earned those 11 wins last season. “We will be young and athletic,” explained Coach Drehle. “We have several kids who filled in and started at times for injuries and are ready to play. We feel like we have a good group of skill kids and will improve weekly throughout the season. We are excited to see what these young men can do.” Every player, including incoming freshmen, will have the opportunity to see what they can do. Training camp will decide a few of the starters and it may take a little longer for this team