Plenty at stake for Lincoln County, The Meadows
When The Meadows’ football team defeated Mountain View nearly a month ago, some of the Mustangs thought it was the biggest game of the year.
According to The Meadows tight end Dylan Lee, those players might be wrong.
“This is definitely the biggest game of the season, in my opinion,” Lee, who has 418 yards and five touchdowns on 25 catches this season, said of the Mustangs’ game Friday against Lincoln County. “It’s homecoming, and I think this game will determine the state champs, pretty much.
“We’ve been focusing really hard in practice all week, and it should be a good game.”
The Mustangs (5-1, 4-0 Class 2A Southern League) know the winner of Friday's game likely will have home-field advantage in the playoffs, and the game might help decide who plays for the 2009 state title.
The Lynx (5-2, 4-1) won the 2008 matchup between the two teams, downing The Meadows, 38-21. It was the only in-state game the Mustangs lost in a season that saw them go on to win the state championship.
Needless to say, motivation was not a factor for The Meadows in this week’s team preparations.
“We’re all ready for this game. ... We went down there and lost, beating ourselves there last year,” said receiver Austin Brown, a 2008 Class 2A all-state first-team selection who has 323 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2009. “So we’re looking to come back and take the victory this week.”
Mustangs sophomore Garrett Gosse leads the team from under center, having completed 65 of 109 passes for 1,169 yards and 17 touchdowns, with five interceptions. He played safety on last year’s squad and helped The Meadows qualify for the playoffs in basketball and baseball, as well. Still, he knows what Friday’s outcome could mean for both schools.
“It’s a real big game; everybody knows that,” Gosse said. “It’ll determine the league and home-field advantage in the playoffs. That’s big; it really helped us out last year.
“We know what we have to do — we have to go out there and execute.”
Still, The Meadows coach Frank DeSantis insists his squad isn’t motivated by revenge as much as just winning the game.
“I don’t think we circle any games ... before the year starts,” DeSantis said. “We just don’t deal like that. It’s a game we need to win, and then we move on and prepare for our next opponent.
“I think that’s the only way you can do it. 'One at a time,’ as they say in baseball.”
Whether revenge factors into the outcome or not, the Mustangs and Lynx are creating quite the rivalry in 2A football.
“I feel that they're both good programs that are consistently up there in the (standings), and I think that’s what makes it a good rivalry,” DeSantis said. “I don’t think there is any animosity between the schools.
“They’re just two good football programs going head-to-head.”
Even though The Meadows posts an undefeated in-state record, a lot of players are treating this game as a must-win situation.
“It’s a big one for us. We want this win,” Brown said. “None of the games before this week matter now, even if we’re 5-0 (versus Nevada schools). We’re always looking ahead, and this is the big one. We’ve got to take this one.”
