LINCOLN — It’s not hard to assess the importance Tyler Cummings has had on the Lincoln program.
Just look at the numbers.
In two seasons with Cummings, Lincoln went 18-6 and twice made the playoffs. Without him, the Wolves regressed to 5-5 and missed the playoffs when he was injured his junior year.
Cummings capped a comeback senior year by setting a school record for rushing yards in a playoff victory over Malvern. He is also a multi-sport athlete who contributes significantly for the Lincoln basketball and baseball teams.
Lincoln’s record-setting season in football, when the Wolves finished 11-2, makes Cummings as easy choice for NWA Media Player of the Year for schools in Class 5A and below.
“Tyler’s a warrior,” Lincoln coach Brad Harris said. “He’s a g reat kid and great player. You hand him the football and good things are going to happen.”
It didn’t happen last year, when Cummings suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the season-opener against Westville, Okla. That was a jolt for the Wolves, who faded to 5-5 after finishing 7-4 and making the playoffs for the first time in 2011.
“When we lost Tyler his junior year, that was a big blow, mentally, for our kids,” Harris said. “But he was right there with us the whole year, being a great cheerleader and doing his part for the team. He showed a lot of grit and determination in rehabbing and trying to get back.”
Cummings was the NWA Media Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore, when he rushed for 1,480 yards and 16 touchdowns. As a senior, Cummings rushed for 2,058 yards and 29 touchdowns and set a single-game school rushing record with 415 yards and six touchdowns in a playoff victory over Malvern.
The Wolves finished 11-2 and hosted a playoff game for the first time.
“To come back as a senior and have success, not only individually but as a team, made this a special year,” Cummings said. “Like coach Harris has been saying all along ‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.’ We put in the hard work and used our talent.”
Lincoln started 5-0, including a 71-0 road victory at Dover. The Wolves lost 41-19 to conference champion P rairie Grove, but rebounded to finish second in the league with a 6-1 record. Lincoln then won Class 4A state playoff games against Nashville and Malvern before being eliminated by Booneville.
“We knew we had a chance to be successful coming into the season,” Cummings said. “This (senior) class hadn’t had a losing season since the seventh grade. It was a special year. Seeing the community get behind us, like the churches that feed us before the games, home and away, was great to see.”