HobbsDailyReport.com
DENVER, N.C. – East Lincoln High’s Mustangs are finding Gaston County foes to be a tough start to their first football season under a new head coach.
NORTH GASTON 28
EAST LINCOLN 7
Visiting North Gaston wiped out an early East Lincoln lead on Friday night and whipped the Mustangs 28-7.
East Lincoln dropped to 0-3 under new head coach David Lubowicz after falling 7-6 at Forestview and 18-3 at Ashbrook to open the season.
The Mustangs close their non-league schedule next Friday night at 7:30 p.m. with a game at East Gaston. They open the South Fork 2A schedule on Sept. 2 at home against Lake Norman Charter.
East Lincoln had an early 7-0 lead on Friday night after Chandler Jones scored on a 9-yard run but the Wildcats (1-2) did the rest of the scoring.
A 12-yard TD run by Isaiah McNeil with seven minutes in the first quarter helped North Gaston gain a 7-all tie.
McNeil threw 15 yards to Arthur Kennedy for a go-ahead TD and a 30-yard scoring run by Bryce Cobb in the third quarter extended the Wildcats’ lead to 21-7.
The game’s final TD, on the ground, came with about two minutes to play.
East Lincoln is off to a 0-3 start after going 11-3 last season under head coach Mike Byus, who left after last season and is now coaching in West Virginia, and the Mustangs were 41-4 in the previous three seasons.