In the early 1990s, Lincoln County football was among the elite in the old Class 3A, twice reaching the state championship game (91, 93). And just two years ago, the Patriots made it to the Class 5A semifinals, losing to eventual champion Highlands en route to an 11-3 record.

Those days seem like an eternity ago. Last season, under new coach Mike Settles, the Patriots finished 1-9. This year, the struggles continue, as Lincoln Co. comes into tonight’s game at South Laurel with a 1-7 record.

“We are in a rebuilding process,” Settles said. “When I took the Lincoln Co. program over, I knew that it was going to take four to five years to build it back the right way. We are in year two, making a lot of mistakes and needing to get physically tougher and stronger. To get to the mountain tops, you may have to go down in the valley first.”

You can’t get much further down than last week, when Mercer Co. picked up its first win of the season, beating the Patriots, 35-9. To make things even tougher for Lincoln, they will be without their top running back, Matt Carrier, who is out with a concussion.

“We have a young team that has played inconsistent this year,” Settles said. “We have had several injuries that have caused some chemistry problems.”

For South Laurel, a win tonight means the Cards finish third in the district and assures them of a road playoff game. A loss, and then, according to coach Larry Welch, it gets complicated.

A South Laurel win gives the Cards a 2-2 district record, and would drop Lincoln to 0-4. But should the Patriots win and Mercer Co. lose at Pulaski Co., all three teams would sport identical 1-3 records. But Welch isn’t thinking about that scenario.

“A win,” Welch said. “That’s what we need tonight.”

South Laurel was open last week, and Welch said that gave his team sometime to recharge and get some of the injured healthy and ready to play. In the loss to Pulaski Co., Tyler Vaughn was limping after the game with ice on his ankle, but Welch said he will be 100 percent for the Patriots. Vaughn has rushed for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns this year.

Welch and his coaching staff weren’t happy after the loss to Pulaski Co., and he said they let the team know it afterwards.

“We told them in the second half that we did not play at all,” Welch said. The Cards led 14-13 at the half, only to fall to Maroons, 45-20. “We had too many turnovers, which killed us. That was a must-win for us, and we told the guys to put the game behind them and regroup for Lincoln Co.”

Without Carrier, the Patriots will look toward Deon Shannon and Julian Calhoun to run the ball, along with quarterback Austin Hinds, who has rushed for 218 yards this year.

“We have struggled throwing the ball, and we try to do our best in the running game,” Settles said. He also knows his team faces a tough and hungry opponent in South Laurel.

“South Laurel plays extremely hard,” Settles said. “They have some great players that run the ball hard and block well up front. Their defense is solid and has played well lately. If we have any shot to win, we can’t turn the ball over and make a lot of mistakes, something we have done a lot of this year.”

Welch said his team also has to avoid the turnover bug to be successful.

“We need to play with intensity, and have no turnovers and penalties,” Welch said. “Lincoln has a couple of good running backs and a tight end that can catch.”

For South Laurel, a win means a sure playoff spot. For Lincoln Co., a win will prove they are getting better.

“Every game is important to us,” Settles said. “We are years away from talking about championships. We know that South Laurel will be a good test for us, and if we don’t come out ready to play, then we are in for a long night.”

Denis House can be reached at sports@sentinel-echo.com