5 takeaways from Lincoln's Division III football clash with Classical

LINCOLN — Lincoln’s 42-0 win in its league opener turned some heads. So did Classical’s victory over Middletown, last year’s Division III runner-up.

Those results gave some heft to Friday’s matchup between the teams, and the Lions won the early showdown, 35-26.

“We talked about how we were going to need all 11 on both sides of the ball tonight,” Lincoln head coach Sean Cavanaugh said. “We executed. We knew they were going to be athletic and tough. Proud of them for finishing the job.”

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Tyler Durang had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving score. Jayden Rodrigues and Sean Clifford also found the end zone. The Lions surged in the second half, turning a 15-12 lead into a 35-12 advantage with three touchdowns in a span of about 13 minutes.

The Purple made a late push with a kickoff return touchdown by Jordon Duke, a successful onside kick and a touchdown by Tyler Lee, but ran out of time on the comeback path.

Here are five things that stood out from Lincoln’s victory:

Stopping Tyler Durang is a tall task

This is not a new takeaway — especially for the players who have tried to tackle Durang the last two years — but the Lincoln senior remains one of the toughest players to stop in the state. A bruising runner, he’s hard to bring down, and you have to catch him first.

“He’s a combination of size and speed, but he’s a consummate team player,” Cavanaugh said. “Hard work pays off when it comes to Tyler Durang.”

Durang showcased his rare blend of size and speed on Lincoln’s third offensive play of the game, bursting through a hole and accelerating through the Classical secondary for a 48-yard touchdown run. He broke a 37-yard run on Lincoln’s next drive and powered into the end zone from 3 yards out soon after. At that point, he had already piled up 108 rushing yards on just five carries.

Classical managed to close down some inside running lanes in the second half, but the Lions found another way to get Durang the ball. Quarterback John Nicoll found him on a short pass early in the fourth quarter, and Durang blasted his way through a tackle, then raced 57 yards for a touchdown.

He finished with 128 rushing yards on 11 carries.

A year after bursting onto the scene, Durang is primed to be one of the top running backs in the state this season.

“My freshman year, I got in for some varsity snaps against Mount Pleasant and ended up tearing my ACL and my meniscus,” Durang said. “And that was the spring season so I was out for the fall after my surgery. I got in the weight room and came out junior year, had over 1,000 yards. Just trying to do better this year.”

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Lincoln has weapons

The Lions are certainly lucky to have Durang, but the best news for them is that he’s not alone in the backfield. Their Wing-T attack has two strong runners flanking him in Jayden Rodrigues and Sean Clifford.

Rodrigues showed off his speed with two long runs at important times. Classical had just made it a 15-12 game midway through the third quarter, when Rodrigues busted loose for a 28-yard run on the first play of Lincoln’s next possession. He scored from 20 yards out three players later.

Rodrigues and Clifford led Lincoln’s final scoring drive in the fourth quarter, churning up 77 yards on the ground. Clifford’s 8-yard touchdown run capped it off.

Rodrigues totaled 80 yards rushing on 10 carries, while Clifford finished with 72 yards on five carries. Nicoll also chipped in on the ground, rushing for 32 yards.

“As you saw on that last drive, I didn’t get the ball one time, and we were able to get a great drive going,” Durang said. “Sweep left, sweep right. Those guys did a great job.”

The Lions know that they can’t stop here

Last season, Lincoln was the talk of D-III when it started 5-0 in league play. Then came two straight losses and a quarterfinal exit in the playoffs.

That experience is in the back of the Lions’ minds amid another strong start. A schedule that feels a little more balanced should help in their quest to stay the course and sustain their success.

“It’s always about us and not the opponent, but tonight, we knew this would kind of be a checkpoint for us, to see if we’re progressing the way we need to. We had a lot of positives to take out of it,” Cavanaugh said. “A few negatives we’ve got to work on. But I couldn’t be prouder of the effort and the attitude that they played with.”

Next week brings a test as the Lions travel to face a Tolman team that has been impressive thus far.

It was a sea of Purple — on both sides

Classical fans weren’t the only ones wearing purple at Ferguson Field. The school staged a “Purple Out” in support of senior football player Mitchell Murtha, who suffers from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a condition that causes the immune system to attack platelets in the blood, leading to bruising and clotting difficulties.

Murtha was diagnosed during the spring 2021 season. He wasn’t sure he would play football again, but with treatment, he was given clearance to play in the fall of 2021. He’s been on the field ever since as a starting lineman on both sides of the ball.

This was the second year in a row that his team rallied around him for a fundraising effort. Many fans wore purple shirts bearing the words, “Tackle ITP.”

“This is really special,” Cavanaugh said. “The kids rally up and they understand it’s bigger than them. It wasn’t just to come out and be rah-rah about it. They really took it to heart and supported their teammate. They know he’s overcoming adversity in real life, so how can you not give 100 percent effort? And he didn’t come off the field tonight. He battled.”

Classical was right there on a tough night

The Purple didn’t have their best performance. Turnovers and some struggles defending the run were the biggest issues. Despite all of that, Classical was within range throughout, particularly in a stretch run that turned a bit nerve-racking for the Lions.

Lee did damage with his arm and his feet, while Duke ran the ball well and had the highlight-reel kickoff return, where it seemed he would be brought down multiple times but just kept going.

The comeback showed some resilience, too. Lincoln’s surge was decisive but not demoralizing for the Purple, who kept pushing. It’s a good sign for Classical as it tries to remain in the mix in Division III-A. Perceptions of the Purple shouldn’t change much.

LINCOLN 35, CLASSICAL 26

First quarter

L - Tyler Durang 40 run (Ravi Kapadia kick), 8:43

C - London Vincent 9 fumble return (run failed), 2:02

Second quarter

L - Durang 3 run (John Nicoll run), 11:56

Third quarter

C - Tyler Lee 18 run (run failed), 6:04

L - Jayden Rodrigues 20 run (Kapadia kick), 3:42

Fourth quarter

L - Nicoll 57 pass to Durang (Kapadia kick), 11:08

L - Clifford 8 run (Kapadia kick), 2:27

C - Jordon Duke 85 kickoff return (kick failed), 2:12

C - Duke 7 run (Lee run), :54

TEAM STATISTICS

RUSHING - Lincoln 31-314, Classical 25-136. PASSING - Lincoln 1-2-57, Classical 13-24-95. TOTAL OFFENSE - Lincoln 371, Classical 231. FIRST DOWNS - Lincoln 11, Classical 10. FUMBLES-LOST - Lincoln 2-2, Classical 1-1. TOTAL TURNOVERS - Lincoln 2, Classical - 2.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Lincoln - Tyler Durang 11-128-2 TD; Jayden Rodrigues 10-80-TD, Sean Clifford 5-72-TD; John Nicoll 4-32; Kyle Dussault - 1-2. Classical - Tyler Lee 11-91, TD; Jordon Duke 10-53-TD; Larry Gailloux Jr. 4-(-8).

PASSING: Lincoln John Nicoll 1-2-57; Tyler Lee 13-24-95.

RECEIVING: Lincoln - Durang 1-57-TD. Classical - Gailloux Jr. - 5-50; Jacoby Tavares - 3-20; Enzo Gomez - 3-18; Oluwadamilar Adebayo 2-7.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lincoln High School beats Classical in Division 3 high school football