By JON BAKER

Staff writer

LINCOLN  ---  With the opening kickoff just seconds away, Lincoln High mentor Dave Waycott stood on his sideline, grinning ear-to-ear. When asked the reason for his unusual countenance – a grimace is more often the norm – he mentioned how well his team had practiced the previous week.
“I kept hammering home that this was our Super Bowl; that’s how I billed (this holiday contest against Johnston),” Waycott said. “Actually, to keep them loose, we got out of practice early on Tuesday, went inside the gym and had a full-pads game of dodgeball. The kids had a terrific time.”
Maybe his Lions should opt for an impromptu dodgeball fest before every contest. Not only did his defense yield the Panthers a scant 86 yards in total offense, but sophomore quarterback Ryan O’Dell caught, threw and ran for paydirts (while playing less than three quarters), propelling Lincoln to a stunning 55-7 Thanksgiving triumph before an estimated crowd of 500 at Ferguson Field.
In the process, it avenged a 30-20 loss to Johnston last fall, and tied the series at 2-2.

All told, O’Dell completed eight of 11 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, scrambled twice for 16 yards and another score and, for good measure, caught a 19-yard aerial from backup signal caller Brian Larocque. It’s the first time since 2004, when Matt Paradis (who played three years at Hartford’s Trinity College) led the charge, that a Lions’ player achieved such a feat.
Offensively, he had plenty of help from senior running back Gary Tingley, who on 17 handles garnered 108 yards and scored twice. Senior receiver Daniel Reddington snagged five passes for 70 yards, while classmate Harry Oakley notched 51 more on three catches.
On the other side of the pigskin, Johnston manufactured only nine ground yards on 16 carries, while Waycott’s defense forced a whopping seven fumbles, four of them lost.
“We just came out relaxed,” Waycott, whose club finished 6-4 overall, acknowledged afterward. “Honestly? This is the first time I’ve been this relaxed all season. You could sense the confidence in practice. The defense was ready; it’s been causing fumbles and muffs all year. They seek out the ball carrier and make something happen. I’m really proud of the guys, especially our two seniors (Reddington and Oakley), who have worked so hard.”
Stated Reddington: “Coach kept telling us this was our Super Bowl, and it sunk in. I’ve been thinking a lot about this being the last time I’ll put on my helmet and pads in high school, and I desperately wanted to go out a winner.”
Lincoln exhibited that tenacity at the outset, when Travis Rossi recovered a muff on the opening boot at the Johnston 38. It converted on one fourth-down situation, but couldn’t do it again from the Panthers’ 4.
When Waycott’s crew got the ball back, however, it moved 61 yards on 10 plays ending on Tingley’s two-yard sweep on the second snap of the second period. Adam Chapian converted the PAT for the 7-0 advantage.
Four plays later, junior Chris Conti fumbled a punt snap, and – with help of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty – the Lions needed only two plays to make it 14-0, courtesy of Tingley’s one-yard plunge.
At that point, Johnston head coach Joe Acciardo chose the air, and it worked. Quarterback Brandon Parillo completed three of four aerials on the drive, the last a 31-yard floater to Pigatore in the back section of the end zone with just over seven minutes before the break.
What ensued baffled Acciardo and thrilled Waycott. Lincoln maneuvered 75 yards on nine snaps, culminating on a four-yard screen pass from O’Dell to Oakley with 3:26 remaining, and that initiated a three-score flurry that put the tilt on ice.
On Johnston’s third play from scrimmage, Bret Simas fumbled, and – following O’Dell’s seven-yard scamper to the 19 – Waycott sent in backup QB Larocque, who promptly found O’Dell open down the right sideline. O’Dell leaped over a Panther corner, grabbed the ball at its zenith and fell back into the end zone.
Lincoln, 28-7.
“We’ve been working on trick plays most of the year, but this is the first time we’ve been able to use them,” Waycott smiled. “The kids call that the ‘Crazy Waycott.’”
Johnston then muffed the ensuing kickoff, and O’Dell took the next snap nine yards for the paydirt to make it 35-7 with 29.7 left.
Thanks to Anthony Palombo’s 49-yard kick return to start the third quarter, the Lions took four snaps to move the last 36, courtesy of O’Dell’s 11-yard strike to Reddington. And, following another special-teams miscue, they needed only 10 seconds for Rossi to bull five yards for another TD.
The result: Lincoln had tallied five scores in the span of 6:55 late in the second and early in the third stanzas. Alex Tedesco sealed the game with an 11-yard sweep with 1:56 left.
“Nothing against those guys, but we knew we were in limbo as we have a playoff game Tuesday (a D-3 semifinal against Narragansett at Chariho Regional), so we had a few things to worry about,” said Acciardo, whose team fell to 7-4 overall. “We came out playing our starters, but they were beating us so badly, we made a decision to put in our subs midway through the second quarter. We also had an injury, which didn’t help.
“No doubt about it, though,” he added, “they beat us up.”
Stated Waycott: “I did some research on Lincoln football the last 45 years, and looked at won-loss records and stuff. You know we’re in eighth place in Lincoln history, when it comes to success? That’s something of which to be proud.”
***
LINCOLN, 55-7
Johnston   0 7 0 0 -- 7
Lincoln   0 35 13 7 -- 55

LINC – Gary Tingley 2 run (Adam Chapian kick)
LINC – Tingley 1 run (Chapian kick)
JOHN – Joe Pigitore 31 pass from Brandon Parillo (Michael Beaumier kick)
LINC – Harry Oakley 4 pass from Ryan O’Dell (Chapian kick)
LINC – O’Dell 19 pass from Brian Larocque (Chapian kick)
LINC – O’Dell 9 run (Chapian kick)
LINC – Daniel Reddington 11 pass from O’Dell (Chapian kick)
LINC – Travis Rossi 5 run (kick failed)
LINC – Alex Tedesco 11 run (Will Hagerty kick)

     JOHN   LINC
First downs    4   14
Rushes-yards   17-9   37-190
Comp-Att-Int-Yds   4-10-0-77  10-14-0-152
Sacks by    0-0   2-5
Net passing    72   152
Punts (avg.)    3-20.7   0-0
Fumbles-lost    7-4   2-1
Penalties    7-38   8-65
**

Individual leaders
Rushing: J – Nick Pistacchio 3-16, Mike Branca 6-11, Mike Conti 2-8. L – Gary Tingley 17-108, Alex Tedesco 5-37, Billy Tower 4-11, Ryan O’Dell 2-16, Travis Rossi 5-8, Max Lee 2-8, Brian Larocque 1-3, Harry Oakley 1-(-1).
Passing: J – Parillo 4-7-0-77, David Bubar 0-3-0-0. L – O’Dell 8-11-0-130, Larocque 2-3-0-22.
Receiving: J – Pistacchio 3-46, Joe Pigitore 1-31. L – Daniel Reddington 5-70, Oakley 3-51, O’Dell 1-19, Anthony Palombo 1-12.