Lynwood football tops Millikan

LONG BEACH >> Lynwood controlled most of the first half of Friday night’s game against Millikan, and that carried to the rest of the game.

The Knights’ use of old-school power football sprung a few big runs to give Lynwood a convincing 40-6 victory over the Rams.

“The name of this game was payback,” Lynwood head coach Kendric Knox said. The Knights lost at home in last season’s opener to the Rams, but made a strong statement to start the 2016 season.

Knox added: “We wanted to come in and be physical, and I think we were able to do that tonight.”

Lynwood took an early 6-0 lead after recovering a Millikan fumble on the game’s opening play. USC commit Wylan Free, who does it all for the Knights, capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Lynwood quarterback De’quan Lindsey had a productive night ruing the ball, as the junior had over 150 yards on the ground, including a late 80-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach.

“We’re one of those offenses that just likes to take what the defense gives us,” Knox said. “We got that ground game going, and we kept that up in the second half. Our defense played magnificent also.”

The Lynwood defense created four turnovers against a very young Rams offense, including a fumble recovery for a touchdown to put the Knights up 33-6. That came right after Free put an exclamation point on the third quarter with a short touchdown run to carry momentum into the fourth quarter.

The young Millikan team made a few costly mistakes throughout the ballgame, and Lynwood’s physicality wore down the Rams late.

Sophomore quarterback Kijjon Foots passed to senior wideout Garet Vergara for the Rams’ only touchdown of the game.