Sports - October 2003

North faces tough test

Published October15, 2003

By JOHN MARK BROOKS, Staff Writer

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After a landmark victory, the North Lincoln Knights are going to have to come back down to earth quickly. The Knights will need to be focused as they face a Polk County team that is undefeated and ranked eighth in the state in 1A football.

OFFENSIVELY

Since Polk County possesses so much talent, head coach Lonnie Custer knows what his offense will have to do to be successful.

“We have to hold the ball. Opponents have had some success running the ball against them the past few weeks,” he said.

The head coach would also like to see his team cut down on mental mistakes that have plagued the Knights all season.

“We have to limit penalties and turnovers. They have been killing us all year long,” Custer said.

North Lincoln will need a tremendous effort from their offensive line to accomplish the task at hand.

“The line needs to continue to block well. They have to be physical upfront and control the line of scrimmage and open up some holes,” Custer said.

The Knights will also need another big night from their freshman leader Trent Hopkins. Hopkins was a reckoning force on offense and defense in their last game versus Highland Tech as he rushed for over 100 yards and picked off two passes on defense.

DEFENSIVELY

The Knights will face a stiff task of containing quarterback Jim Ollis and tailback Daniel McEntyre. Custer believes that the leader of the option attack is where it all starts for his opponent.

“He is one of the best in the state. He is being recruited by a lot of division one schools; he’s just a great athlete,” he said.

The other weapon, McEntyre, is blessed with exceptional speed according to Custer.

“He has legitimate football speed. He probably runs in the 4.5 range. I have yet to see anybody catch him when he turns the corner,” he said.

X-FACTOR

Custer feels the biggest factor will be how well his special teams unit plays.

“We need to do a lot of directional kicking to keep the ball out of their good athletes’ hands,” he said.

The unit has been a bright in the last couple of ball games, Custer just hopes that solid play continues.

“We’ve played well lately on special teams. We’ve done a good job of staying in our lanes and making tackles. That’s what we’ve been working on in practice a lot this week,” he said.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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