'I'm proud of them': Lincoln looking to use loss to nationally ranked Colquitt County to its advantage

Despite a similar result to the Trojans' last game, there was a different attitude in the postgame huddle.

Two weeks ago following a 24-7 loss to Bartram Trail, Lincoln head coach Jimmie Tyson expressed that he didn't think his team deserved to win and that there needed to be more of an effort. After a week off, a potential hurricane, and a Wednesday night kickoff, Lincoln was at 27 nationally ranked Colquitt County (Georiga). 

The night ended in a lopsided, 30-7, loss in favor of the Packers, but there wasn't a sense of disappointment held by Lincoln. The score didn't show just how the Trojans pushed one of the top teams in the nation and the fight that was shown through all four quarters. 

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"I'm proud of my guys," Tyson said. "They fought all the way to the end. We knew Colquitt is a really tough team and they have a really good club and do some different stuff I haven't seen on film. We did a good job in slowing that down for the most part." 

The Packers found the end zone four times on the night, driven by Colquitt senior running back and Georgia State commit Charlie Pace. He scored once on the night but powered the rushing game up and down the field. In addition to that, the Packers converted three times on fake punts for first downs. 

Lincoln found ways to adjust to the abnormal rhythm and game day as well. "The obstacle is the way" remains Lincoln's motto of the year and this past week has shown that the Trojans continue to believe in it. 

"I thought we handled some obsticals very well," Tyson said. "Obviously, we're playing in a short week and we flew around a lot tonight. We had some mistakes on special teams but fought through to the end. We pushed a team that's really good and made them come out of what they typically do." 

Following two quick touchdowns in the first quarter to see Colquitt go up 13-0, Lincoln senior running back Joseph Sobeski took a handoff from senior quarterback Ayden Fryar to the house on a long drive, running in the Trojans' only touchdown of the night. 

One of the most active pieces for Lincoln in the midweek showdown was senior running back Raylen Wilson, who will be calling the Peach State his home next fall, committed to Georgia. He not only shut down key Colquitt playmakers but returned a fumble recovery about 30-yards to give Lincoln a late-game boost. 

"He's [Wilson] a hell of a player," Tyson said. "He's standing out against the best competition in the nation and he flashed. He ran people down, made plays, returned kicks, and laid it all out on the line on offense." 

"The thing I like about him is you see him laying it all out on the line on offense. Nowadays, you don't see high recruits doing that cause they're worried about it. That shows his love for his team." 

The goal in this first half of the season was to get Lincoln battle-tested, and so far that's proven effective. They won at Niceville, made a long trip to Palm Beach for a win, went toe to toe with one of the best teams in Florida, Bartram Trail, and competed against one of the best teams in the country. 

The rest of Lincoln's regular season schedule is inside Tallahassee and has a handful of high-callibar opponents lined up. Rickards, Dillard, and Florida High remain on the Trojans' schedule before even thinking about the playoffs. Leon is next week and Lincoln is looking to apply its experience coming back to Cox in a week. 

"The good thing is that our competition makes us better and it shows," Tyson said. "We wanted to test ourselves against the best, our guys fought and we competed really well." 

Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.