Lincoln High can't corral Bulldog QB

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BY GENE COTTER / For the Lincoln Journal Star

North Platte senior quarterback Corey Serrano knocked Lincoln High down in the first half.

He wasted no time in knocking the Links out in the second half.

Serrano ran for 233 yards and five scores — 100 yards and two touchdowns coming on his first two carries of the second half — to lead the Bulldogs to a 42-7 win Friday night at Beechner Field.

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“He’s a great football player,” Lincoln High coach Mike Fultz said of Serrano. “When he broke those two that hurt. That broke our back.”

Although the Links (2-5) opened with game with some fireworks, their threat quickly fizzled three plays later when North Platte’s Jake Wright fell on a loose ball inside the Bulldog 10-yard line.

Dylan Flinn hit RJ Richardson on the first play of the game and Richardson bobbed and weaved 72 yards, setting up the Links at the Bulldog 8. An incomplete pass and a 2-yard run from Gabe Smail set up a third-and-goal from the 6 before Wright’s fumble recovery ended the opportunity.

And North Platte wasted no time in making the most of its good fortune.

Serrano carried the bulk of the load for the Bulldogs — as he did all night — leading North Platte to a score in just eight plays. He gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead by scampering into the end zone from 9 yards with 7:12 left in the first period.

Then Jon Nielsen went to work for North Platte, picking off a LHS pass on the first play of its next possession to give the Bulldogs the ball at the Link’s 23. He then blocked a punt on Lincoln High’s next possession to give North Platte the ball at the LHS 39.

Nielsen finished with 87 yards rushing and added a fumble recovery to his interception and punt block.

“We have playmakers all over the field so if I’m not working we have someplace else we can go,” Serrano said.”

Although the possession following the interception ended when a 25-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide-right, the second ended in another Serrano touchdown run and the Bulldogs were out in front 14-0 just 10 seconds into the second quarter.

North Platte rolled to 158 yards of total offense in the first quarter while controlling the ball for 9½ minutes and running 19 plays to just eight for the Links. Serrano racked up 111 yards, 88 on the ground, a total that would pale in comparison to his third-quarter performance.

Serrano called his own number on two of North Platte’s first four offensive plays in the second half. Touchdown runs of 71 and 29 yards resulted, and the Bulldogs were way out in front. Serrano also added an interception and had a 74 yard punt return for a score nullified because of a penalty.

“We have to find a way to overcome those,” Fultz said of the Serrano’s second-half scores. “We need to put two halves together.”

Flinn paced the Links with 201 yards of total offense, 146 coming through the air. Richardson ended the night with 88 yards on three catches, and John Kingston hauled in four passes for 45 yards, including a 21-yard  touchdown.