Unbeaten Lisbon hopes to continue outstanding play against Lone Tree

LISBON - Kent Allison is making no apologies.

He's playing his entire roster. Eleven kids carried the ball last week, 12 the week before.

There is no intentionally running up scores here. His Lisbon football team has blasted its last three opponents by a combined 200-8, but that's just a sign of the level of play he is getting from everyone.

"I'm very happy," said Allison, whose second-ranked team hosts No. 3 Lone Tree Friday night in Class A's top game. "They're playing very hard. Frankly, we've been playing poor competition. But the kids have come out and just rolled them."

Yeah, "rolled them" is an accurate description. Lisbon smoked English Valleys last week, 67-8, and Winfield-Mount Union two weeks ago, 61-0. Three weeks ago, Danville was squashed, 80-0.

Lisbon has the top-scoring offense in Class A (293 points) and its most stingy defense (16 points allowed). EV's eight points last week were scored late against reserves.

There is 6-0, then there's 6 and whoa.

"Our line," said senior I-back/linebacker Tait Simpson, when asked why his team has been so successful. "We've got three three-year starters up there. Those guys know what to do. And our backs are decisive. We see the holes and hit them. It's been a full team effort."

For further proof of that, consider Simpson is Lisbon's leading rusher with 415 yards. Little fullback Nate Jubeck (5-foot-3, 140 pounds) is next at 326.

Ten players have scored touchdowns, led by Simpson's 11. When they have passed, the Lions also have been successful, with quarterback Ben Knake completing 60 percent of his throws.

"We've been predominantly led by seniors this year," said wingback-defensive back Skylar Ellerbach. "The line has been doing a great job. They have been pushing our offense to do well."

Ellerbach said linemen Tyler Smith and Preston Russell are probably Lisbon's best overall players. They join fellow lineman Jake Hendricks and Simpson as three-year starters.

Simpson also played some as a freshman.

"We spread things around," Ellerbach said. "We have a fullback that runs tough up the middle, then we can go outside."

"We do not have one guy that carries the ball 20 times," Allison said. "We've got a wingback who gets some carries, a fullback who gets some carries. We can throw it a little bit. We think we can take advantage of what the opponent gives us."

They all know they won't be given anything by District 5 rival Lone Tree. The Lions also are 6-0 and Class A's second-highest scoring team.

The teams played a 28-22 overtime thriller last season, with Lisbon winning.

"We're pretty pumped for the game," Simpson said. "We know they're playing good. We've just got to stick to our game plan. It should be a real good game."