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NICHOLASVILLE — The Lincoln County Patriot football team overcame a 7-point first-quarter deficit to West Jessamine Friday night, scoring six straight touchdowns en route to a 42-15 victory over the homestanding Colts.

“We have to get off the bus in the first quarter. I challenged them after the first quarter and we stepped up to the challenge,” Lincoln coach Spencer Crutchfield said. “Definitely proud of these guys and happy for them coming off a tough loss. It was a week that could have easily gone in the tank but we were ready to go to work and had a good week of practice. And we came out and got the win.”

Lincoln (2-1) found itself battling from behind early as West Jessamine scored a pick-6 on the Patriots’ first possession. Jackson Green intercepted Patriot quarterback Nick Harris and returned the ball 59 yards to give the Colts (0-3) a 7-0 lead.

The Patriots had a chance to score around the 5-minute mark after moving the ball to the Colt’s 32. Loren Melton, who went 6-for-6 on point after kicks, was sent on the field to attempt a 39-yard field goal before a holding penalty pushed the Patriots back. He then attempted a 53-yard field goal, but the kick was short.

Lincoln did not get on the scoreboard until the 7:26 mark of the second quarter. Levi Daugherty helped move the 12-play, 91-yard drive inside the 20 with a 19-yard run then capped the possession with a 1-yard score to even the game at 7-all.

Daugherty would get back in the end zone with just 1:02 left in the first half on a 2-yard scoring run. The touchdown was the culmination of a short drive. Lincoln got the ball at the West Jessamine 16 after a muffed punt and Daugherty scored four plays later to make it 14-7 at the half.

Four other Patriots factored in Lincoln’s next four scores.

Midway through the third quarter, Nick Harris hit Clayton Davis for his only completion (1-for-6) of the night, an 18-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-7 and Zack Hazlett made it 28-7 at the end of the third quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run. The Hazlett TD was the first play of a drive that was set up by a short punt.

Early in the fourth quarter, Lincoln was at the West 10, again, after another short punt and Harris capped off that abbreviated drive with a 2-yard score. With just 2:37 to play, Rodney Alcorn scored Lincoln’s final TD. Alcorn’s 33-yard score came at the end of a 4-play, 92-yard drive, with Alcorn moving the play quickly downfield on first-down runs of 38 and 15 yards.

“You can’t come out flat against teams and expect to play well. We came out flat and we didn’t do the things we needed to,” said Crutchfield. “In the second quarter, we kind of got it picked up. The third quarter, we had some things go our way and some things happen. Definitely felt like we were physical up front. We wanted to get back to being physical up front and running the ball. We kind of struggled those first two games but we had a little success tonight.”

Lincoln had more than a “little success” in its run game. After posting rushing totals of just 61 and 95 yards in their first two games, the Patriots were on the move Friday, amassing 330 yards and five touchdowns on 50 carries. Alcorn and Dylan Burchfield led the rush with 92 yards each. Alcorn had 10 carries and Burchfield, 11. Hazlett rolled up 78 yards on 12 carries, Daugherty ran for 65 yards on 12 carries and Harris got three yards on five carries.

“We do a good job of spreading the ball around,” Crutchfield said. “We kind of got in a different set that we’ve not shown all year and kind of got in a more power run game. Definitely I think it’s going to benefit us down the road and hopefully we’re able to add that into our arsenal.”

West finished out the night’s scoring with its only offensive touchdown. Quarterback Haden Rowland connected with Green for the 59-yard touchdown pass and Jveontae Emerson added the two-point conversion run for the 42-15 final.

The Colts finished with 239 yards total offense. The team rushed for 102 yards on 24 plays and Rowland completed 11 of 28 pass attempts for 137 yards. Bryson Scott led West with 51 yards on seven carries. Green was Rowland’s top receiver with three receptions for 72 yards.

at West Jessamine

Lincoln 0 14 14 14 – 42
West Jess. 7 0 0 8 – 15

Scoring

1st Qtr

West Jessamine: 7:23 – Jackson Green 59-yard interception (Solomon Smith kick).

2nd Qtr

Lincoln: 7:26 – Levi Daugherty 1-yard run (Loren Melton kick).

Lincoln: 1:02 – Daugherty 2-yard run (Melton kick).

3rd Qtr

Lincoln: 5:49 – Clayton Davis 18-yard pass from Nick Harris (Melton kick).

Lincoln: 1:03 – Zack Hazlett 10-yard run (Melton kick).

4th Qtr

Lincoln: 10:26 – Harris 1-yard run (Melton kick).

Lincoln: 2:37 – Rodney Alcorn 33-yard run (Melton kick).

West Jessamine: 1:57 – Green 57-yard pass from Haden Rowland (Jveontae Emerson run).

Game Stats
LC WJ
Rushing 50-330 24-102
Passing 1-6-2 11-28-0
Yards 18 137
Total Off./Yds 56-348 52-239
First Downs 15 10
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 1/0
Penalties 7/68 8/59

Individual Stats
Rushing

Lincoln
Rodney Alcorn: 10 carries, 92 yards, TD.
Dylan Burchfield: 11 carries, 92 yards.
Zack Hazlett: 12 carries, 78 yards, TD.
Levi Daugherty: 12 carries, 65 yards, 2TDs.
Nick Harris: 5 carries, 3 yards

West Jessamine
Bryson Scott: 7 carries, 51 yards.
Jveontae Emerson: 2 carries, 24 yards.
Haden Rowland: 8 carries, 15 yards.
Will Sanchez: 2 carries, 8 yards.
Kane Lathery: 5 carries, 4 yards.

Passing

Lincoln
Nick Harris – 1-6-2, 18 yards, TD.

Receiving
Clayton Davis – 1-18 yards, TD.

Passing

West Jessamine
Haden Rowland – 11-28-0, 137 yards, 1 TD.

Receiving
Jackson Green – 3-72 yards, TD; Kane Lathery – 4-28; Ernest Stanfield – 1-20; Bryson Scott – 2-13; Willy Milfort – 1-4.