Week 9 00

Coach Burnett Talks About Week 9, 2000

October 29, 2000

Lincoln Game

The Lincoln game was a real important game for us to win. Number one, it keeps us alive as far as a playoff contender. Number two, we needed a win. We've had a lot of faith in what we're doing and how we're playing, but haven't been able to come up with a big win. From a mental aspect, we had to win a big game, and we did.

As far as naming one kid or two kids who had a big game, it's hard to do. Every kid took responsibility for the team and making something happen. You could feel it as the game progressed. There's a saying, "If it's to be, it's up to me." That's how you win big games. Our kids hustled and didn't let the ups and downs of the game distract them from their goal. It was a great night to be an Indian.

For this time of year, it was a big win for us. We had times where we were in control of game, and just didn't do it. The game reminded me of the playoff team of last year. We played as hard we could go.

I tell them there's a fine line between being in control and going all out. It's called a "controlled rage." I think our kids have finally figured that out. Lincoln has a fine ballclub, but we had an answer for everything they did.

We made plays when we had to make them. We had faith in what we were doing. Faith is a hard thing. They say seeing is believing. We couldn't see, but we kept believing. We finally saw. Believing in it and finally seeing the results. We talked about that all week. Seeing is believing. It was pretty neat

We're just as happy as you can be.

On LC-M

LC-M does a great job of coaching. They're going to be the most prepared ballclub we've faced this year. They will have a game plan that's perfect--it always is. We have to come up with a game plan to win. We have a great deal of respect for their coaching staff. Every time we play the LC-M Bears, Coach Williams has his team prepared.

They run an option attack and different formations and blocking schemes. Defensively they run an eight-man front and put fellas in different gaps and run a bunch of things to try to stop you.

Injuries

No injuries were reported.

Defensive Leaders

Defensive leaders against Lincoln were:

	DE Justin Mercer--8 first contacts, 2 assists, 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback pressure, 2 sacks
	DB Adam LeDoux--6 first contacts, 5 assists, 2 tackles for loss
	DB Keegan Swann--5 first contacts, 1 assist, 2 interceptions
	LB Cody Clark--6 first contacts, 4 assists
	LB Tracye Boudoin--4 first contacts, 4 assists. 1 caused fumble, 1 deflected pass, 1 quarterback pressure, 1 sack

--Matt Burnett, Head Coach