Wyandotte Beats Lincoln, Advances to Play Southgate

survived a first-round playoff scare at home Friday night and knocked off Ypsilanti Lincoln 28-21. 

With the win, advances to the Division 2 district final next week against , setting up a Week 9 rematch with the Titans.

Early on in Friday night’s contest, however, it looked as if Lincoln (6-4) might have been the team moving on, not the Bears.

Playing without senior running back , who was out with an illness, Wyandotte found itself down early in the first quarter–and stayed down for a majority of the game.

The Lincoln Rails went nearly 80 yards in three minutes to take a 7-0 lead on the game’s first possession. 

Roosevelt was barely able to move the ball in the first quarter, but got a break when junior Kyle Campbell recovered a Lincoln fumble at the Rails’ 35-yard line.

On the first play of the ensuing possession, junior quarterback Kevin Matejko hit junior receiver Devan Stewart with a touchdown pass. Sophomore Jacob Simpson nailed the extra point and tied the game with 4:35 to go in the first quarter.

Lincoln answered quickly, however, and needed only three plays to travel about 60 yards for a touchdown and take a 14-7 advantage.

Following that score, the Rails made several mistakes, including throwing two interceptions and committing several penalties. Unfortunately for the Bears, they could only capitalize once, settling for a field goal to make it 14-10 midway through the second quarter. 

Near the end of the half, Lincoln recovered its own punt at the Bears' 24-yard line after it bounced off a Roosevelt player. Two plays later, the Rails scored and went up 21-10, a lead it took into the locker room at halftime. 

To start the second half, Roosevelt had the ball first, but was forced to punt. Stewart, handling the punting duties, buried a 53-yard kick and left the Rails inside their own 1-yard line

That poor field position proved costly for Lincoln, which had to punt from deep in its own territory, allowing Wyandotte to get the ball at its 31-yard line. 

Sophomore Kyle Matejko, helping to fill in for Dunn, took off for a 20-yard gain on the first play of the drive.

Three plays later, senior barreled into the end zone from three yards out at 6:50 of the third quarter. A two-point conversion try failed, but Matt’s score cut the deficit to 21-16. 

With the ball back near the end of the third quarter, Matejko and Stewart hooked up for two big catches during a key drive. The first time the talented receiver went up high for a catch, then barely kept one foot in bounds as he landed along the sidelines at the Lincoln 23-yard line.

“In practice, we work hard on footwork and keeping our feet in bounds,” Stewart said. “I knew Tyler Dunn was out, so when my number was called, I knew I had to step up and make big plays to help our team win.”

Stewart’s other grab came two plays later at the 9-yard line, a catch that helped set up a 4-yard touchdown reception from senior Edge Jelsemeno as the fourth quarter began. Once again a two-point play was foiled, but the Bears took their first lead of the game 22-21 at 11:08 of the fourth quarter.

The Bears defense stepped up and big stops by players such as senior Blake Lukasik and junior Aaron O’Meara halted the Rails as they tried retaking the lead.

With a little more than six minutes left in the game, Roosevelt went on an 85-yard drive that was capped by a Matt touchdown run and blocked extra point. The drive took more than four minutes off the clock.

“We were able to control the line of scrimmage,” Wyandotte coach Ron Adam said of the final scoring drive. “We took it right down the field. You could see that our offensive lineman were doing a great job of moving the line of scrimmage.”

Down 28-21, the Rails hoped to tie the game and were able to get deep inside Wyandotte territory. However, a lack of timeouts and a tough Bears defense ultimately ended their 2011 season.

“We knew going into this game it was going to be a battle,” Adams said. "I’m obviously very proud of our players.”

Game Leaders

Matt rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Stewart had three catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Matejko was 10-18 and threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns.

A Look Ahead

Wyandotte will host rival Southgate Anderson next week in the Division 2 district final game. In week nine of the 2011 season, , the team’s first regular season loss in two years.