Hokes Bluff (0-3, 0-2) at Lincoln (2-1, 2-0)
Series record: Hokes Bluff 6, Lincoln 4
Last meeting: 2007 Hokes Bluff 15, Lincoln 14
Last week: Alexandria 21, Hokes Bluff 7; Lincoln 20, Anniston 7
By Gene Stanley/Messenger Sports Correspondent
Mike Robertson sees week-to-week improvement in his team, yet a victory is still eluding Hokes Bluff.
Last week against Alexandria, the Eagles played a solid game except for a couple of backbreaking big plays.
“I’m disappointed that we can’t seem to stop giving up big plays,” the Hokes Bluff coach said. “That’s been a trend for us the past couple of years.”
Alexandria scored on the first play from scrimmage last week, then went ahead 14-0 before the Eagles got it going.
Behind by double digits, the Green Machine had to go to the air more than usual.
Senior quarterback Brad Robertson completed 18-of-30 passes for 200 yards, but it wasn’t enough.
“We were in their territory five times and only scored once,” Mike Robertson said. “That’s another area we’ve to go improve on. The defense played well except for those big plays, and the offense played well except wasn’t able to punch it into the end zone.”
Late in the third quarter, the Valley Cubs put the final nail in the coffin with another big play that posted the final score.
Lincoln is a big-play team. Last week, T.J. Truss ran for 87 yards on only 10 carries.
Also in the Alexandria game, Charlie Reed had seven catches for 99 yards, while Dylan McKee caught six passes for 24 yards.
Chase Beggs rushed 11 times for 45 yards.
Chase Pope had 16 tackles, followed by McKee and Logan Latronico with nine each, Alex Hawk with eight and Adam King with seven.