 But defending 4A state champion Rochester -- Lincoln's opponent in
Friday night's season opener -- isn't "most cases."The Rockets
return barely any starters from last season's state championship
squad.
Even Wes Lunt -- Rochester's star quarterback, who will play
college football at Oklahoma State next season -- is expected to
miss Friday's game after injuring his foot during preseason
training.
Still, Lincoln senior linebacker Andy Krusz says Rochester
deserves the Railers' utmost respect.
"Even though they lost a lot of guys, I expect them to be really
good," said Krusz. "The people that will be playing (Friday night)
have scrimmaged against their state champions every day in practice.
They were still there when they won a state championship.
"Even if they all didn't play, there's a select few that got
playing time throughout the season. It's just a good program. You
know they'll come out hard, ready to win."
Regardless of the opposition's personnel, Lincoln coach Andy
McDonald can expect a tall task defensively in his debut as the
Railer head coach.
Last season, the Rockets were able capitalize on a complex
offensive system that emphasizes a lightning-fast pace of play.
Rochester frequently used a no-huddle offense and wasted little time
snapping the ball at the line of scrimmage, which left defenses
minimal time to get properly aligned.
Even without Lunt, McDonald expects the Rockets to maintain their
breakneck pace.
"I would expect they will be pretty similar. I don't expect them
to totally change their offense because their starting quarterback
is going to miss a few weeks," said McDonald. I'm sure whoever they
bring in will be a good, athletic kid, even if he doesn't have the
passing proficiency of Lunt.
"I still think they'll be a very good team. To be practicing
against state champions, it had to make them a heck of a lot better
and tougher. I'm sure they will be extremely hungry to repeat and
show that even though they lost 20 starters, they'll still be good."
[to top of second column] |
Beyond the season-opening hoopla, each team should have no
shortage of motivation to play well.
The Railers will look to take a big step toward their first
playoff appearance in over a quarter-century.
The Rockets will be looking to prove they're capable of repeating
as state champions, with or without Lunt.
It all starts tonight.
"We've got nine opportunities, but they're all one at a time,"
said McDonald. "We've got to have all of our focus on what we need
to do to be the best that we can by Friday. We can't until week
three or four to be at our best. We've got to be at our best Friday
night.
"We've got to play with an aggressiveness and a confidence. We're
going to make mistakes, but we'd rather make mistakes on the
aggressive side than being tentative."
[By JUSTIN TIERNEY]
Article posted
yesterday:
Railer coach McDonald looks to create winning tradition
|
