Lincoln-Sudbury football shows why it's No. 1 in D1 by shutting out Wayland

WAYLAND - The No. 1 team in Division 1 fit the part.

Lincoln-Sudbury took control in the second quarter Friday at Wayland and never loosened its grip in a 27-0 victory.

"We know that puts a target on our backs, but that doesn't change anything for us," Lincoln-Sudbury quarterback Cooper Tarantino said. "We're still gonna play L-S football, and that's been our goal since the beginning of the season. We want to win the (Dual-County League). We want to play as much football as we can."

Tarantino ran for two touchdowns and threw for another before sitting out the second half with a three-score lead. He punched in the opening score seven seconds into the second quarter after a fake pitch, carrying Wayland defenders into the end zone from three yards out.

His second touchdown run covered even less distance. Tarantino burrowed across the goal line on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 4:33 to halftime. He ran for 72 yards and threw for another 76. L-S running back Rayhan Nserenko led the Warriors with 110 yards on the ground, while Darius Braithwaite picked up another 55.

"Our line are dogs. they're putting their bodies on the line for me and every body else in the backfield every single play," Tarantino said. "They've been playing great this season. It's just a mentality on the O-line and for the ball carriers, we're looking to hit kids, and we're gonna hit them hard."

L-S (4-1) hit Wayland (3-2) in the air late in the first half. Tarantino connected with receiver Jake Haarde on two deep shots late in the second quarter. The first covered 35 yards and put L-S into the red zone.

Two plays later they connected from 18 yards out to go up 20-0. Haarde, a Penn State baseball commit, beat the defender on a slant and go, and Tarantino dropped the ball in over the corner back to his back shoulder.

"He's a great athlete. He's gonna go out there and make a play," Tarantino said. "I have complete trust in him. I'm throwing that ball up."

It wasn't all smooth sailing for Lincoln-Sudbury, though. The L-S Warriors fumbled on their first two offensive possessions.

"We shot ourselves in the foot in the first quarter, put ourselves behind the eight ball," Lincoln-Sudbury coach Jim Girard said. "We have an experienced group of kids that started for us last year. No event is too big, so they can just roll with the punches and get back to playing football."

The first fumble set Wayland up in prime position at the L-S 35. The Wayland Warriors drove to the Lincoln-Sudbury 14 before turning the ball over on downs. The second ended a L-S drive in the red zone.

"Against a good team like that, you've got to be able to capitalize," Wayland coach Scott Parseghian said. "I was hoping that magic number, keeping it under 14, would help us (in the state rankings). It's not going to hurt us playing them."

Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk. 

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Lincoln-Sudbury football shuts out Wayland, showing why it's No. 1