Abraham Lincoln focused on progress ahead of Dowling Catholic matchup – KMAland

(Council Bluffs) -- Execution and making progress will be the goal for Abraham Lincoln on Friday as they look to move to 4-1 on the year.

The Lynx (3-1) will be traveling to the Des Moines area to take on the Dowling Catholic Maroons (1-3) for a Class 5A Group 2 matchup. Abraham Lincoln is coming off a dominant 55-33 victory over Sioux City West, making up for a shutout loss to Glenwood two weeks ago.

"It was nice to get back on track, it felt like we were still limping a little bit into that game, some of the same things that we saw the week before were showing up that week in the first half," Wolfe said. "Second half we got back on track and got the ball rolling, and it was just good to see some decent progress."

While the Lynx got off to a slow start in the first half, the second half featured a 42-point rally mostly behind the legs of Mikaele Hayes who found the end zone four times.

"He was one of those deals in the first half were we said, 'hey, we know you had a big run here or there, but let's stick to the plan,' and in the second half he stayed tight and followed his blockers and had over 300 yards," Wolfe said. "He's a great senior kid that we've got for us."

Hayes carried the rock 33 times in the runaway victory and totaled 318 yards on the ground. Quarterback Eli Lusajo also toted it 21 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

While his skill players have led the way, Wolfe says the offensive trenches have seen a fair amount of shuffling this year.

"Unfortantely we've had a few injuries, so we've moved kids in and moved kids out," Wolfe said. "The right side of our line has been pretty consistent with our center Daniel Amarillas, right guard Caydn DeSantiago, and right tackle with Zander Hockabout."

Despite the shuffling in the trenches, the Lynx have managed to put together a top-five offense in Class 5A averaging just over 30 points a game.

Turning the attention to this week's upcoming matchup against Dowling Catholic, Wolfe says one focus will have to be the ability to adjust defensively.

"What they bring to the table is they're going to be big, they're going to be athletic, and they're going to be versatile," Wolfe said. "When our defense steps out on the field they're going to see a lot of different looks. So that's something that we're trying to replicate in practice and giving them all the different looks they're going to see."

Dowling Catholic is coming off a close 21-17 loss to Iowa City High last Friday. The Maroons lone win this year came in Week 2 against Waukee Northwest 17-10.

However, Wolfe says the main goal for this game is progress and he wants to see his players execute their roles.

"I just want to see us execute our offense and our defense, and when we turn on the tape, we can say 'hey you guys are stepping in the right direction and you're doing the right thing, and most importantly your effort if phenomenal,'" Wolfe said. "If we do those things, it will be a successful evening for us."

You can hear the full interview with John Wolfe below.

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Abraham Lincoln focused on progress ahead of Dowling Catholic matchup - KMAland