The Lincoln East football team continues to prove that defense wins games.
The Spartans already knew that fact heading into Friday’s ranked matchup — East had allowed a total of three points across a recent three-game winning streak — and they still turned in their best defensive performance yet to earn a season-altering victory.
Class A No. 10 Lincoln East forced six turnovers and got a late spark from its offense during a 17-10 victory over No. 5 Kearney at Seacrest Field.
Getting into the end zone was a difficult task in a matchup where both teams traded punts, turnovers and field goal tries.
East (4-1) launched a successful scoring drive on its opening possession, a 28-yard field goal which stood as the game’s only score until late in the second quarter.
A low-scoring contest was no issue for East, however, given its defensive track record.
“Our defense is the strongest part of our team,” senior defensive lineman Elijah Gutz said. “We had a little bit of a rough start, but after the first half, we just had an explosion of toughness; we were killing it out there.”
Kearney’s (3-2) first six drives of the game ended in two punts, two interceptions and two fumbles as the Bearcats went the entire first quarter without gaining a first down.
Defensive backs Dominic Velasquez and Caleb Wilcox came down with the interceptions for East, while Gutz’s big evening included a fumble recovery.
Gutz, who entered the evening as the Class A leader in sacks, tacked another onto his season total as the Spartan pass rush forced quick throws from Kearney quarterback Zach Atchison.
“Those guys are big, so I couldn’t bully them around like some other guys, so I really had to use my speed to get to the quarterback,” he said.
While East wreaked havoc at times by blitzing defensive backs or linebackers, it generated consistent pressure with a base four-man rush, which totaled three sacks.
Leading the way was Gutz, who shed block attempts and crashed the backfield with regularity.
“He’s a freak,” East head coach John Gingery said of Gutz. “He’s the guy for us and he’s got a motor; he started getting tired by the end of the game because they double-teamed him and he had to work twice as hard.”
Despite having controlled the football for most the first half, East still entered the break right where it started — tied with the Bearcats.
Facing a fourth down near midfield, Kearney successfully converted a fake punt to set up a 42-yard field goal which produced a 3-3 halftime score.
As the Seacrest Field lights flickered and the Spartan roster jumped up and down on its sideline ahead of the second half kickoff, East’s energy powered a late surge.
The recipe for Lincoln East’s offensive success was mostly the same as it’s been all year — a steady dose of passes combined with scattered rushing attempts — and sophomore quarterback Turner Wilkie’s favorite target was junior wideout Sam Sutko.
Sutko caught nine passes for 60 yards, though Kearney mostly neutralized his big-play ability as sophomore Najee Brown also had a productive evening catching the football.
“Those guys did a great job and Turner spread the ball out,” Gingery said. “We were running it pretty well, and that opened up the passing game a little bit.”
Brown caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Wilkie in the fourth quarter and running back Kyle Campbell added a 4-yard touchdown run as the Spartan advantage stretched to 17-3.
It took a late stand from its defense to seal the victory for certain — Kearney tacked on a 1-yard rushing touchdown then had an opportunity at a game-tying drive — but East held strong when it mattered most.
The Spartans forced a turnover on downs, then intercepted a pass as the game clock expired, sealing a key win over a Kearney team that is among Class A’s best.
“They played great today and I loved it,” Gingery said of the Spartan win. “(Kearney) is always well-coached, well-disciplined and in the playoffs, so that’s a big win for us.”
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Luke Mullin
Husker football/baseball reporter
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