Lincoln High’s varsity football team will play its final game of the season Friday when Colfax comes to town.

The Zebras, 1-4 in the Pioneer Valley League, cannot make the playoffs but the Falcons (2-3) are still alive. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Three PVL teams will make the playoffs and Whitney (5-0) and Bear River (4-1) have already locked up the first two spots. Colfax is tied for third place with El Dorado and Placer.

Placer hosts Whitney Friday and El Dorado will visit Bear River Friday in the regular-season finale for each team.

Placer had to forfeit two league wins for using an ineligible player and it is appealing this decision. A ruling is expected today on that appeal and if the Hillmen win the appeal their league record stands at 4-1. This would eliminate Colfax and El Dorado from playoff contention.

Colfax (5-4 overall) lost 34-28 to visiting Placer Friday night. The Falcons crushed Mesa Verde, El Dorado and Highlands by a combined score of 119-20 in their previous three games.

“We just have to keep up our heads up and come back strong. It’s a tough season but we can’t just give up,” Lincoln running back Tim Bevans said. “We have to play hard and try to win. Colfax likes to throw the ball, and we’ve had trouble stopping the pass – but if we work hard enough I think we can pull it off and have a good game.”

Lincoln head coach Ken Lowe also expects the Falcons to throw the ball a lot.

“Colfax is a big passing team for us,” Lincoln head coach Ken Lowe said. “They’re going to give us multiple looks. It’s a defensive preparation week. If we can get a little bit of pressure on the quarterback that’s really going to help us out. If we can hold onto the ball for a while and control the clock, it helps keeps the ball out of their hands.”

The Bear River Bruins (7-2 overall) devoured the Zebras 44-13 in a one-sided contest that showcased the versatility and power of the Bruin offense Friday night at Lincoln.

Lincoln (1-8 overall) had trouble all night gaining good field position, stopping the run and getting consistent drives going downfield. Bear River got it going from the gate with a 70-yard pass from Tanner Mathias to Garret Barbic to make it 7-0 with ten minutes left in the first quarter.

The Bruins would score again in the quarter, with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Mathias to running back Jason Varni, quickly putting Bear River on top 14-0. The Zebras wouldn’t recover as they eventually went down 30-0 at the half.

Varni rushed for well over 100 yards, including a back-breaking 81-yard scamper down the sideline at the end of the third quarter to shut the door for good on any hope of a Lincoln comeback.

“I was very concerned with Lincoln coming in,” Bear River head coach Scott Savoie said. “They’ve been coming on on offense the last three or four weeks. I’m impressed with some of their kids – they’ve got some big kids that move well and some good skill kids. We came in expecting a brawl.”

Two highlights for the Zebras came in the third quarter after a touchdown was called back (making it a fourth-and-goal from the 25). Tyler Freymond threw a perfect ball to Matt Lippincott in the left corner of the end zone to break the shutout, 37-7.

Then, with a little over a minute left to play, Lincoln struck again with a 70-yard punt return by senior James Stinnett. He fielded the ball on a high bounce and was untouched to the goal line to make the final score 44-13.