By Bill Nestor
Practice makes perfect and that has been taking place in Shinnston as Lincoln gets set to make another run at school history. Last year, the football team made the playoffs for a program best third season in a row. This year, veteran mentor Rob Hawkins is looking to extend that mark.
The recent success has brought additional focus from the student body, resulting in an impressive turnout for the upcoming campaign. A total of 41 players came out for the squad, including 13 newcomers, with 10 of those being freshmen. The roster will once again be well-balanced with plenty of senior leadership (double digits in seniors) and a strong returning sophomore class that tops out with 16 strong.
The preseason has been a bit of a roller coaster for the Cougars with the changes in classifications. There have been several schools that have been involved in the multiple moves of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletic Commission. Some schools were not happy with their classification and felt that they could not compete, thus petitioning the WVSSAC for a change. There has been plenty of shuffling going on, which has caused a distraction to players and coaches as they prepare for the start of the season.
The most recent moves dramatically affected Lincoln, moving them from Class AAA in football competition to Class AA. “Last week, the WVSSAC moved some of us up. That was common sense winning out,” explained Hawkins. “You can’t put teams that are above us in the formula in the class below us. We went from being the smallest in AAA to being the AA with the toughest schedule.”
The Cougars have just three Class AA opponents scheduled, (Nicholas County, Phillip Barbour, and Liberty) the remainder is all AAA!
It has taken some time, but Hawkins does feel that the WVSSAC has his program in the right place. “I don’t think we are misclassified. We have lost some enrollment over the years and we are a lot more similar to the Class AA teams than the Class AAA teams.”
With the classification issues put to bed, the Cougars were able to focus on their scrimmage opportunity.
The varsity locked up with AAA power Spring Mills while the junior varsity faced familiar foe North Marion. It is the only scrimmage on the docket for Lincoln before the season opener. “We cut the second scrimmage six years ago because no one wanted to play their starters a week before the opener. I would hold my starters and they would hold their starters. It would look like a preseason NFL game.”
The scrimmage opportunity for both the varsity and JV squads served the purpose of a pair of scrimmages in terms of plays. Each team was afforded a whole game, not just a couple of quarters, providing maximum reps. Spring Mills posed a tough task and a true measuring stick for Hawkins and his coaching staff to evaluate players and to pinpoint areas of improvement needed prior to the season opener at Nitro. As the scrimmage moved forward the Cougars’ play improved, which can only help to build momentum as camp moves on.
Early on in practice, a trio of linemen had injuries, but they have now found better health and are back on the field. After the scrimmage, there were no major health issues either and that was key for Hawkins. “The only way to judge success (in a scrimmage) is that everyone is healthy.”
Next up for this year’s edition is the start of the season.
That will do it for now. Until next time . . . take care and God Bless!