The Devil Defense was the bright spot at Buddy Bufford Field Friday night as Lincoln County defeated Eagle's Landing Christian Academy 7-0 to advance to Class A's quarterfinal round.
Five times the Devil Defense was called on to stop the ELCA offense inside the Lincoln 20, and the shutout shows what a job the D did. The shutout was the seventh in 12 games this year, including both playoff games.
Other than a 59-yard run by A. G. Middlebrooks in the second quarter, the Devil offense never seemed to be able to get things moving consistently. Six fumbles (two lost) and numerous penalties slowed their progress.
The Devil Defense biggest save came midway the third quarter after the offense fumbled at the LC 5. Alex Ellis intercepted two yards deep in the end zone and returned the pigskin to the ELCA 38. That interception prevented an almost certain score by the visitors.
The final defensive stand came with less than 2 minutes to go. A bad punt snap gave ELCA the ball deep in LC territory. The Defense again did its job, stopping the Chargers on downs and preserving the win.
Thanks to a coin toss in Cordele Saturday morning, Lincoln County will host Wilcox County Friday night in the quarterfinals. This will be a rematch of last year's quarterfinal game in Rochelle, when our Devils jumped out to a 21-0 lead but lost 34-24. Wilcox finished as the runner-up last year, and is undefeated and ranked second this year.