Not only is the Lincoln Lutheran football team having a great season, but it’s also having a season that comes with a lot of satisfaction because the Warriors keep flipping the result on teams that had beaten them last season.
Three times already this season the Warriors have taken down teams that beat them last season — Lincoln Christian, Auburn and on Friday against Raymond Central.
Lincoln Lutheran got tough on defense after the opening drive and beat Raymond Central 24-14 at Aldrich Field.
The Class C-2 No. 8 Warriors are the highest-ranked team in the city and one of just two ranked teams (also Lincoln East).
With a 4-1 record, Lincoln Lutheran has already exceeded its three wins from last season.
Senior Linebacker Kaiser Hannemann said putting in the work in the offseason, and then walking off the field on Friday nights after beating a team that you lost against the previous season is a special feeling.
“Having our seniors push everybody to play as best as they can and make a change, it’s just an amazing thing,” Hannemann said.
The work for this season began soon after the last one ended. The Warriors finished 3-6.
“The guys have been working out since November. They have,” coach Sean Wieting said. “They didn’t like last year. We had the hardest schedule in all classes for high school football in the state of Nebraska. We played eight division I opponents for point standings. The kids didn’t like the feel of that so they got in the weight room and they started doing things for each other.”
On Friday, Raymond Central (3-2) was in control to start the game with a 15 play, 80-yard scoring drive that took up most of the first quarter.
But after that Lincoln Lutheran beefed up its run defense with another defensive linemen, started getting in the backfield more and didn’t let Raymond Central score over the next 22 minutes of game time.
Then the Warriors forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter, the final one being a game-sealing intersection by Trenton Ernst.
“I love my defense because every time we have adversity, and every single time that there’s been a play that gets us, if a team decides to repeat that play we have been able to stop it, shorten it or at least get better at defending it,” Hannemann said. “A lot of little things make for big improvements.”
Lutheran took the lead for good in the second quarter when quarterback Henry Prokop went over the top of the defense for a 26-yard TD pass to Ernst. The Warriors led 10-6.
Prokop rushed for 80 yards, while Evan Holle fought for tough yards in the second half and finished with 68 yards rushing.
Reach Brent C. Wagner at bwagner@journalstar.com or 402-473-7435.
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Brent Wagner
Husker volleyball/women’s basketball reporter
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