Lincoln Christian Practice Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3A's #2 Lincoln Christian has arguably their toughest district game of the year this week when they'll go on the road to face #7 Checotah. With the way this district has played out so far, we could be looking at this game deciding who wins the district championship. But there's a lot of football left to be played. The Bulldogs are 5-0 on the season and are coming off a much-needed bye week after another tough non-district slate that saw them playing three ranked opponents and a powerhouse from Arkansas. But now, they set their sights on another district championship and a possible return trip to Edmond in early December. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And when it comes to district play, the Bulldogs have been among the best in Oklahoma. Lincoln Christian hasn't lost a district game in over five years. You have to go back to late September in 2018 to find the last time the Bulldogs dropped a game against a district opponent. Now, that might change starting next year when the Bulldogs move up to Class 4A and find themselves in the same district as 4A powerhouse and defending champion Wagoner. But it's not 2024 yet so we won't go further into that. Last season, Lincoln outscored their six district opponents 280-14. This season, they've only played one district game against Berryhill and that was a 49-13 win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs beat Checotah 63-0 last season and that began a stretch of three straight shutouts and four out of five to finish off the regular season. But this is a Checotah team that is much improved from last year's forgettable 3-7 season. First off, they have one of the best players in the state at wide receiver so the Bulldogs will need to be aware of where he is at all times. But Lincoln Christian is no stranger to match-ups against teams that have some outstanding playmakers. And this is a program that simply reloads at this point. They only had nine starters back from last year's team but between the starters that did return and some of the young talent they have, the Bulldogs are once again right there in the mix in Class 3A. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below, we put a spotlight on several players to watch for Lincoln Christian, not only this week, but for the rest of the season. From offensive playmakers to some of those standouts on a stout defense, we have the names you need to know. The showdown with Checotah this week could very well decide the district championship and we won't be surprised if any of these players end up shining bright on Friday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LINCOLN CHRISTIAN'S PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1030447"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"This week on Prep Redzone Oklahoma we're putting out several midseason articles and one of them was on breakout stars. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='979658' first='Malakai' last='Dillard'] made that breakdown and u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/midseason-breakout-stars-2/u0022u003eyou can check that out right hereu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e. Another young standout that's in the middle of a breakout season is younger brother [player_tooltip player_id='1030447' first='Kailib' last='Dillard'] on the defensive side of the ball. When we saw Lincoln Christian in person earlier this year, Dillard was a freshman that head coach Jerry Ricke was very excited about. He had a good game against Jones in week one and has had a solid start to his varsity career. We can see why there's plenty of excitement about Dillard as he leads the team in forced fumbles with four on the year so far. And with Lincoln going up against a talented Checotah passing attack, Dillard and the Lincoln secondary will need to be on top of their game.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["127357"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"When you think of the programs that produce the best quarterbacks over the last decade, Lincoln Christian has to be at or near the top of the conversation. Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='127357' first='Luke' last='Milligan'] is one of the best in Class 3A and one of the better QB prospects in the state's 2024 class. He had a breakout season last year in his first year at QB1 and he's continued to build on that this year. He's thrown for well over 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. Milligan is also coming off arguably his best game of the season against Berryhill. He threw for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and completed over 70 percent of his passes. The match-up with Checotah features two very good quarterbacks that have been able to light up scoreboards so far this season. Milligan looks to come out on top in this one.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["867298"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"When you look at the defensive side of the ball for Lincoln Christian, it's hard not to be excited about the future. Five of their top six tacklers are not seniors and one of those standouts is [player_tooltip player_id='867298' first='Mason' last='Torres'] at the linebacker position. Torres is second on the team in tackles with 28 on the year. Torres has had several outstanding games this season, including in their season opener against Holland Hall when they shut out the Dutch. When we look at this game on paper, the secondary will obviously be important against Checotah's passing attack but Torres an the Lincoln front seven will look to put pressure on the Checotah backfield. This front seven for Lincoln Christian has absolutely reloaded from a season ago and Torres is part of a linebacker group that's one of the better units in Class 3A. But they will certainly be challenged this week against Checotah.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["621291"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='621291' first='Moses' last='Fullingim'] was a player we were excited to see coming into this season. Last year, he was known more for his defense as a defensive end but with the graduation of John Washington, he's moved over to the running back role and has had a solid season so far. He ran for two touchdowns in each of Lincoln's first three games this season and he comes into this week with over 550 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. In their closest game against Shiloh Christian, Fullingim ended up being a workhorse. He had 25 carries for 144 yards in the 20-14 win. The Bulldogs take a lot of pride in being balanced on offense and Fullingim packs a punch at the running back position. But he's not alone in the backfield. Fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='1091729' first='Sawyer' last='Brooks'] is also doing a good job of toting the rock when Fullingim is out of the game.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-651daaaeb2e8f"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->