There were stretches Sunday when it looked like Lincoln might pull away. Cumberland had given up some big plays, the sideline was flat, and the Clippers needed something to get going. They found enough to make it a game—and kept it that way right down to the end.
With about four minutes left in the first quarter, Lincoln broke a roughly 40-yard run that brought the ball down to Cumberland’s 20. The Lions went back to the jet sweep and finished the drive with a touchdown.
Give Lincoln some credit on the conversion, too. The quarterback rolled left against the grain of the defense and dropped a touch pass into the back corner of the end zone, where his receiver made a great catch. One point on the board, but worth a lot more in effort. It was a really nice throw and catch, and Lincoln led 7–0.
Cumberland had some trouble with the big plays early, but there was still a lot of football left. As the first half wound down, the Clippers started settling in and playing more sound football. Lincoln added another touchdown before halftime, missed the conversion, and took a 13–0 lead into the break.
Early in the third quarter, Lincoln got outside again for a big run down the sideline. That edge was giving Cumberland problems, and it was another moment when the game could have gotten away from them. But the Clippers were able to rein it in. Lincoln’s lead stayed at 13.
Cumberland got its spark from Connor Messier, No. 7, who scored on a running play to put the Clippers on the board. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful, leaving it 13–6. Now Cumberland was back within one score.
With nearly three minutes left, the Clippers faced fourth-and-long around Lincoln’s 41-yard line. A run up the middle gained roughly eight yards, but came up short of the first down. Cumberland turned it over on downs and had to find another way to get a chance.
They got one. With about 30 seconds left, a long run down the right sideline looked like the kind of play that could change the finish. A penalty brought it back. That hurt. Instead of the big gain, Cumberland was working out of a long-yardage situation with time running out.
Trailing 13–6, the Clippers faced third-and-about-20 with 13.6 seconds remaining. A throw into the middle of the field fell incomplete. Cumberland was unable to complete the comeback and ultimately fell 13–6, a seven-point defeat in a hard-fought game.
The big plays hurt early. The missed conversion left work to do, and the late penalty took away a real opportunity. But Cumberland also showed it could settle down, get back into the game, and keep fighting when the first half had not gone its way. There is talent in this group. Sunday, they gave themselves a shot right to the end.