A man’s man kind of football team, those Lincoln Lynx.

The Lynx flexed their 6-Man muscle in steady, sometimes spectacular fashion, muscling past the Red Devils 56-0 Friday in Noxon in the regular season finale for both teams. Lincoln improved to 7-1 while the Devils fell to 5-3.

For their part, coach Lucas MacArthur and his Devils had their chances to score on several possessions early but just barely seemed to miss connecting on a few good-looking plays that could have changed the flow of the game, and eventually went down to defeat.

The bonus part for the Red Devils is that their season is not over yet as Noxon still earns the No. 3 seed from the Western conference and will open play in the Montana 6-Man playoffs against the Grass Range/Winnett Rangers, the No. 1 seed from the Southern conference and the No. 1 6-Man team in Montana in the latest state power poll, Saturday at 1 p.m.

As the top seed from the west and the No. 5 rated team in Montana last week, Lincoln earns a home playoff game with Custer/Hysham/Melstone, the No. 3 team from the south, also at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Coach MacArthur says his team is excited about the playoff opportunity. “A lot of our guys never played football until this season, so it’s great that we are getting this chance in the playoffs,” he said. "I couldn’t be more proud of this group for what they have accomplished.”

MacArthur said several missed opportunities hurt the Devils early in Friday’s game with Lincoln. “We had some things working, were knocking on the door a few times but just didn’t manage to convert,” he said. “And you cannot do that against a team like Lincoln, you need to capitalize on opportunities against an experienced team like that.”

Senior quarterback Kayden Riddle led Lincoln to the win, throwing for four touchdowns, running for two and catching a pass for yet another.

Justice Kayser played a great game for Noxon on both sides of the ball, be it from his quarterback position or with his hard-hitting play on defense, he played a leading role for the Big Red all night long.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s trip to Grass Range, which MacArthur described as being “two and a-half hours east of Great Falls,” the Devils are optimistic but realistic.

“Grass Range is good, they are No. 1 for a reason,” he said. "We will play our hardest and see what happens; we sure aren’t going over there just to lose. We’ll give it our best shot.”

    NOXON SENIOR Eli Sly runs with the ball after making a pass catch against Lincoln at Jenny Lampshire Memorial Field in Noxon Friday. Devils play at Grass Range/Winnett in the first round of the 6-Man playoffs Saturday. (John Hamilton/VP-MI)
  

    ALMOST A TOUCHDOWN – Under pressure from Lincoln defensive back Dylan Jakushak, Noxon junior Shane Hatchel couldn’t hold onto this pass from Justice Kayser in Noxon Friday. (John Hamilton/VP-MI)