'Proud of that kid': Bollen, Lincoln Southeast get back on track with win vs. Norfolk

Lincoln Southeast played complementary football on Thursday.

The Knights showcased all three phases of the game in a 28-17 victory over Norfolk at Seacrest Field to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Mauriel Bradford had two interceptions on defense, Tre Bollen finished with two passing touchdowns and Dane Omel added two touchdowns of his own, including a 98-yard kick return for a score to begin the second half.

"I thought we played complementary football," Lincoln Southeast coach Ryan Gottula said. "We want to play better special teams for sure. We weren't happy with that in the first half, but offensively and defensively, I thought we did a lot of nice things and played off of each other."

The Knights opened the scoring on its opening drive with a 48-yard Bollen touchdown pass to Omel and ended the opening frame with a 7-3 lead.

Lincoln Southeast took an eventual 14-10 lead into halftime after Cash Buettenback took a 9-yard run into the endzone to restore the Knights' lead.

But it was Omel that ignited Southeast right away out of the locker room with his 98-yard kick return, putting the Knights ahead for good.

"Our special teams wasn't great in the first half — we didn't get any punt returns or kick return," Omel said. "(Gottula) was just real hard on us in the locker room and cleaning that up. That's one aspect of the game. All three aspects — offense, defense, special teams. We came out and did just that."

Bradford added his second interception of the game in the second half and Bollen connected with sophomore Mason Mehta on a 16-yard pass to put the Knights ahead 28-10 in the third quarter.

"That's just all three phases of the football game," Bollen said. "We knew special teams were going to have to come in big. As far as defense goes, two key interceptions and whenever you can win the turnover margin it's a big deal in Class A football."

Knights could be in for big year: Only two of Lincoln Southeast's final five opponents have a winning record. The Knights next opponent, Millard South, and Lincoln East, both sport a 2-1 record. Lincoln East, the Knights final regular-season opponent, also played Thursday. Lincoln Southeast's regular-season opponents are a combined 10-18 before Thursday's contest.

With all three phases back on track and Bollen commanding the offense, Lincoln Southeast has a potential special season down the stretch.

"I'm really proud of that kid," Gottula said. "I know last week, Creighton Prep, we didn't do some of the things we wanted to do offensively. He really came out and led our offense well. I'm really proud of that young man."

Lincoln Stars/Lincoln Saltdogs reporter