Zebras O-line strong in Thursday night win over Pondo

Despite an unanticipated week off from football, the Lincoln High School Fighting Zebras picked up where they left off in a rare Thursday night varsity game. After a season-opening 54-41 win over Placer on March 12, Lincoln was set to play at Oakmont on March 19. But a positive COVID-19 test within the Vikings' program nullified that matchup and left Lincoln without a Week 2 opponent. The idle week gave the Zebras extra time to prepare for Ponderosa, a game played on Thursday night due to a shortage of officials in an abnormal spring season that's crammed in several sports at once. Lincoln looked like it hadn't missed a beat with a 35-13 win over the Bruins. The Fighting Zebras, like every other football team playing right now, hopes to be able to play out the rest of their schedule. There have already been several football cancellations or alterations due to team quarantines in Placer County alone. "Hopefully we all just come out and get our games, we all test negative, we all start playing football," Lincoln senior Ethan Rappa said. "I just really hope these (final) games are there." Rappa kept his focus on the present during Thursday night's game. His 80-yard kickoff return with 17 seconds left in the first half gave Lincoln a 28-6 cushion heading into the intermission. "I knew if they were gonna kick it to me, I called that I was gonna go to the crib," Rappa said. "Once that ball was rolling, I saw (blocker Terrance Wright) in front of me and I was sprinting all the way." Rappa's return was one of five scoring plays that were set up by key blocks that opened up running lanes. Lincoln coach Chris Bean said the game was decided by his offensive line, which includes Nathan Pellegrino, Sam Polkenhorn, Jackson Archuleta, Jackson Daugherty and Cole Alva. "Four of those guys are juniors with one senior (Pellegrino)," Bean said. "The offensive line is probably the most complex part of what we do… Just getting to be able to move people off the ball right now is something that we're gonna keep winning football games if we do that." The O-line also opened up holes for two 6-yard rushing scores from Gabe Burns and a 40-yard scoring burst from Brennen Burlew that put Lincoln up 21-0 at the 6:08 mark of the second quarter. Quarterback JT Willis dumped a short pass off to sophomore Ryan Henning, who followed blockers and broke several tackles on his way to a 48-yard touchdown that ended the first quarter with Lincoln up 14-0. Tyler Adams had an interception and Jordan Wagner made some big hits in the defensive backfield for Lincoln. "We knew what we had (defensively), and tonight we got to show that and flex their muscles a little bit," Bean said. "Right now, we're as balanced as can be on offense and defense." And speaking of balance, Willis and Rappa are two players balancing time between football and baseball. Rappa started in center field while Willis started in right field and drove in a pair of runs in Wednesday's season-opener against Whitney. Then they both produced in Thursday's football win. They'll both be available again for Friday's baseball game against Pleasant Grove. "I have a baseball game (Friday) morning, I had a baseball game yesterday (Wednesday) and I had to leave practice 30 minutes early," Rappa said. "But football is my priority. I love this sport. I love this game. Baseball is amazing, but football, there's nothing better than it."