Streak broken.
For the first time since 1998, the Leon Lions have conquered the Lincoln Trojans on the football field.
On Friday, Leon beat its longtime rivals 38-31 in double overtime before a packed-out Lincoln homecoming crowd at Gene Cox Stadium in the Week 9 Florida High School Athletic Association District 2-4A game.
“It means everything,” Leon head coach Ricky Bell told the Tallahassee Democrat. “These kids have been carrying that on their backs. We finally got the burden off of us. Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last.”
It took some drama for Leon (7-0) to beat Lincoln (3-5) for the first time in 28 years and remain undefeated.
After Leon kicker Grayson Meija missed the potential game-winning field goal as time expired in regulation, Cox got some extra football as the game was knotted at 24 all.
The Trojans got the ball first from the 10-yard line, overtime rules. Quarterback Thomas Hutchinson hit running back Jayden Wells for an eight-yard touchdown pass, their second time connecting on the night.
When Leon got its overtime possession, Caleb Knipple scored a one-yard quarterback sneak to even the score. Then the Lions got the football again to start the second overtime.
Knipple scored once more, this time on a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Markeith Buggs to take the 38-31 lead. The Knipple-Buggs tandem scored three times Friday night.
Lincoln had its double overtime shot to score, but a group of Leon tacklers forced the football out of Wells’ hands on the goal line. Defensive back Da’Mon Murray recovered it to secure the Leon win that was 28 years in the making.
“I was praying for a fumble,” Bell said. “The good Lord shined on the line.”
The game-sealing fumble recovery sent Leon players and coaches storming the field.
“That was a gritty game. We worked hard, we knew we could do it,” Knipple said. “I love my boys, I love the crowd. I love everything. The vibe is amazing.”
Friday’s win followed last year’s Leon-Lincoln meeting, when the Trojans posted a 70-0 shutout. It was the largest defeat in the rivalry’s five-decade history.
That embarrassment of a loss simmered in the Lions locker room for 385 days.
“We wrote on the boards in the meeting room ‘70-0’ and don’t forget,” Knipple said. “We just kept that in the back of our minds. It’s disrespectful. We used that to drive us to win.”
Leon enters a challenging stretch of football as the regular season winds down
With its unblemished record, Leon has gradually built up to moments like Friday.
“It’s given them all the confidence in the world,” Bell said of the 7-0 start.
Next, the Lions host Mosley for a district football game next Friday, Oct. 23. As of Week 9, the Mosley Dolphins are 6-0 entering Saturday night’s district matchup against Rickards in Tallahassee.
“They got a big, strong, physical team,” Bell previewed the Dolphins. “We're all beat up. So I hope we can try to get healthy this week.”
After Mosley, Leon travels to Wakulla on Oct. 30, then heads to Rickards for a Hurricane Isaias makeup game on Nov. 3.
“All those can beat us,” Bell said, “But we can beat them too.”
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon football ends 28-year drought with double OT win over Lincoln