Tallahassee Fl- At the start of the fourth quarter and leading 17-7, Lincoln(3-1) hoped to mount a drive to bring them within one score of the Bears. Yet Bartram (4-0) wasn’t having that as Senior Shane Armstrong pressured the Lincoln quarterback batting the ball in the air, which fell into the arms of 6 foot 4, 240 pound defensive tackle Arion Stith, who rumbled 60-yards for a touchdown. The play sealed any thought of a comeback for the Trojans, as Bartram’s defense shut down Lincoln on thursday night 24-7.
Lincoln had come into the contest demolishing teams, (71-6 over Godby, 78-0 over Palm Beach Lakes, and 33-0 over Gasden County). However, on Thursday, Bartram’s defense held them to just 7-points. Said Coach Darrell Sutherland after the game, ” They’re seeing just how good of a team they can be”. Bartram jumped out early on Lincoln with a field goal by Liam Padron in the first quarter to make the score 3-0.
Bartram would close out the quarter with a Lython Biddle touchdown run to go up 10-0. That was Biddle’s fifth rushing touchdown of the year.
Lincoln would draw closer before the end of the quarter when Demetric Stephens ran it in for a short touchdown to make the score 10-7. Lincoln was opstimistic about a comeback, and a potential go ahead score after stopping Bartram’s offense on the ensuing drive after the score.
Yet before the half, Bartram’s defense would step up again when Florida commit Sharif Denson intercepted Lincoln’s quarterback Ayden Fryar before halftime. It was a pick party for the Bears, as Bartram took a 10-7 lead into intermission.
The second half saw Bartram pull away with more dominant play on defense. Jacob Kallner would catch a touchdown pass from Riley Trujillo to make the score 17-7 with 8:40 to go in the third quarter. The defense would do the rest.
Bartram completely shut down the Trojans on Thursday Night, as Jack McCabe would intercept a pass late in the third quarter to hault another Lincoln drive. That play was only foreshaddowing what was to come, when Stith took it the distance, and Bartram took home the win. In all Bartram had three interceptions on the night, leading them to victory.
Bartram improves to 4-0 and will face St Augustine at home next week, while Lincoln looks to regroup against Colquitt (Ga) on the road.
