Lincoln Head Coach Phil Renforth is in his 16th season.
CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind. – Improvement is the goal for Lincoln as the Golden Eagles begin the 2017 season on the road at Monroe Central on Friday night.
“First off, we want to improve on last year’s record,” Lincoln Head Coach Phil Renforth said. “We expect that we will have chances in every game we play.”
“We have to go into each week with the expectation that we are going to win,” Renforth added. “I am looking forward to starting the season and seeing us get better over the course of the season as some of our younger kids gain some valuable varsity time. We do have a good group of 11 freshmen coming up from an undefeated middle school team.”
If the Golden Eagles are going to get better, the offensive line will be a key component.
“One of our strengths should be our line,” Renforth said. “Returning starters from last year include Devin Mustin at tackle, Nick Anderson at tackle, Noah Hancock at tight end, and joining them will be Chase Hokey at guard and Caleb Mustin at center.”
Hokey is also expected to play an important role on defense at middle linebacker after missing most of last season.
“He spent the first six weeks last year recovering from a broken thumb,” Renforth said. “He should be one of the tackles leaders in the area or state rankings.”
Jeremiah Holder is returning at running back after gaining 212 yards with three touchdowns. He also had nine receptions for 105 yards.
“He played fullback most of last year until Matt Fields got hurt and he moved to running back,” Renforth said. “Jeremiah averaged a little over five yards a carry last year and will get the bulk of the carries.”
Caleb Craig served as a backup quarterback last season with 190 passing yards and a touchdown. Blaine Cowan is the top receiver back as he had 10 grabs for 154 yards.
Logan Harmeyer led the Golden Eagles in tackles last fall with 93, while Caleb Mustin was next with 72 stops.
The Golden Eagles begin play in the Tri-Eastern Conference at Tri on Friday, Sept. 1.
“The TEC should be pretty balanced after the top two or three teams,” Renforth said. “Hagerstown has got to be considered as a conference favorite with Winchester in there near the top. Northeastern has won four straight TEC titles, so you can’t count them out. Several teams should be improved including the Golden Eagles.”