The Fighting Irish of Aquinas played our Red Devils tight for the first half of the Region 7-A opener for both teams before giving up 20 points in the third quarter.
The win extends Lincoln County's winning streak to 16 games and region winning streak to 23 games.
A. G. Middlebrooks led the Devil ground attack with 78 yards on 6 carries with 1 touchdown. Carlous Hearst scored twice with 47 yards on 8 runs.
Austin Goldman had a great night at QB, completing 6 of 8 pass attempts for 111 yards, and scored from the 1. Wilkes Goolsby was his primary receiver with 3 catches for 86 yards.
The Devils forced an Irish punt on the visitors' first possession, with Alex Ellis busting a 38-yard return to the Aquinas 19. Hearst gained 18 before Goldman sneaked in from the one. Vance Tarver's kick put the Devils up 7-0 with 9:18 left in the opening period.
Early in the second quarter, Jeremy Mason sacked the Irish quarterback for a 5-yard loss to end a scoring threat. Two plays later Goldman connected with Goolsby for 43 yards, to the Aquinas 17. Hearst scored from there with 8:26 left in the half.
With the opening second half possession, Hearst ran 11 yards to give the Devils a first down at midfield. Middlebrooks then went right, but saw his path closed in. He reversed field, went wide left and was stopped just shy of the endzone. One play later he scored from the 1 with 9:18 left in the third.
It was back to the air for the Devils on their next drive, with Goldman-to-Goolsby gaining 34 yards to the 2. Hearst scored from there with 7:43 left in the third.
After another Irish punt, the Devils faced a 3rd-and-14 at the Aquinas 32. Goldman kept the pigskin himself and scampered 19 yards tot he 13. DeChane Willis went around the left side for the remaining yards to pay dirt with 3:05 left in the third.
Ronell Ferguson blocked the next Irish punt attempt, with LC recovering at the 11. Two plays later Jafabian Green scored from the five with 11:53 left in the game.
The remainder of the contest was played under GHSA's mercy rules, with the clock running. Aquinas drove 73 yards on 15 plays before losing the ball on downs with 45 seconds left.
Our Red Devils will host Monticello this Friday night at 7:30.