Zebras offensive and defensive lines struggle against Casa Roble

The Lincoln High football team suffered their first loss of the season on alumni night in a 29-21 game against Casa Roble High on Friday when the Zebras were unable to contain the Rams-run game. Despite only one of the Rams' four touchdowns being a rushing touchdown, players such as Josh Taylor were able to run for big plays to keep drives alive. "It was terrible and we had no push from anybody up front," Lincoln coach Allen Berg said. "They dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball." Casa Roble got things going early in the first quarter with a 65-yard connection between sophomore quarterback Connor Campbell to Cole Owens before the Zebras answered back with an 8-yard run by Ryan Henning to even the score at 7-7. On the ensuing kickoff, Owens returned the ball 98 yards to put the Rams back in the lead. Lincoln finished the first quarter with another equalizer, this time a 46-yard connection between senior quarterback Thomas Mukai to Hayden Dotson. The Zebra defense started the second quarter with a bang as Peyton Raper forced a fumble that was recovered by Dylan Fear inside the Rams 30-yard-line. Two Zebra penalties would prevent any points being put on the board as Lincoln would punt. Lincoln had multiple other opportunities to score as they forced a turnover on downs and Raper got a sack on fourth down late in the half but the Zebras were unable to move the ball and it was 14-14 at halftime. Lincoln also had a strong start to the second half with a Kyle Klein interception on the first defensive possession. This led to a 36-yard connection between Mukai and senior Isaac Gomez putting the Fighting Zebras up 21-14. The Rams took the lead following an eight-minute drive that resulted in another Campbell to Owens connection and a successful two-point conversion attempt. The Rams scored again to open the fourth quarter with an eight-yard run by Taylor, making the score 29-21. On the Zebras next offensive drive, Mukai appeared to connect with Gianni Faria for a first down but the ball was stripped and intercepted by sophomore Elijah Huddle. Lincoln once again gave themselves other opportunities after recovering two fumbles but those drives resulted in a punt and an interception that put the game to bed. Zebras senior running back Ryan Henning had a solid first half with a touchdown and roughly 75 yards on the ground but only carried the ball three times in the final 24 minutes of action. "Teams know that we want to run the ball, so they stack the box, which is OK," Berg said. "We have to adjust and get those short routes or find ways to get Ryan in space but tonight, they dominated our offensive line too and we got pressured immediately." On the defensive side, senior Sean Cotten led the way with 11 tackles and a pressure while Peyton Raper totaled 6.5 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. "My conditioning is a big play in how well I do," Cotten said. "I feel fresh for every play and the thing that worked most for me was using my speed to be able to rush, as I'm a smaller defensive end. Our mindset going into next week needs to be that it is a new week and a new team. We need to put this behind us and focus on watching film so that we can read our keys on the field." The Zebras will have a short turnaround as they travel to Roseville High on Thursday, another run-heavy team led by senior quarterback Brandon Graydon. "We have to rebound and get back to where we were at the end of last week," Berg said. "We have a lot of stuff to clean up, so we're going to coach them hard and get them ready." Casa Roble 29, Lincoln 21 Casa Roble&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;0&emsp;&emsp;8&emsp;&emsp;7 Lincoln&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;0&emsp;&emsp;7&emsp;&emsp;0 Casa Roble - Cole Owens 65 pass from Connor Campbell (Kevin Curry kick) Lincoln - Henning 8 run (Zac Giles kick) Casa Roble - Owens 98 return (Curry kick) Lincoln - Hayden Dotson 46 pass from Thomas Mukai (Giles kick) Lincoln - Isaac Gomez 36 pass from Mukai (Giles kick) Casa Roble - Owens 8 pass from Campbell (Josh Taylor 2 pt conversion) Casa Roble - Taylor 8 run (Curry kick)