The Lions completed a 9-1 season by trampling the Bulldogs 47-7 in the 61st annual Big Bone game at San José City College on Nov. 25.

"The Bone stays home" was the chant heard round the field after the game, a chant that the Lions have become accustomed to over the last few years since they have not lost a Big Bone game since 1998.

Still, Lincoln was not taking this game lightly.

"We were pumped up for this game," said senior D-lineman Eddie Juarez. "We wanted to keep the bone home."

"Our motivation was to prove we were a good football team," said Lincoln head coach Kevin Collins.

The Lions more than proved their point with 310 yards rushing and 98 passing yards on the day. "We knew if we played to our potential we would be happy with the outcome," added Collins.

Senior Raul Figueroa led the Lions to victory one more time this year, gaining 94 yards on six carries and 48 yards on one reception for a touchdown. Figueroa also scored twice on the ground for the Lions, including a 37-yard TD run and a 5-yard score.

Senior Jason Silva carried the ball only five times, all in the first half, but still was able to gain 44 yards and score twice for Lincoln, once on a 1-yard run and the second on a 31-yard breakaway.

Sophomore quarterback Tarik Hakmi completed all of his four passes for 98 yards.

Though he failed to make it into the end zone, junior Jose Ramirez' performance was more than worthy of recognition. Ramirez ran the ball only four times, but gained 70 yards to average an impressive 17.5 yards a carry.

Another runner for the Lions was senior Norberto Romero, who carried four times for 44 yards. He scored on a 2-yard run.

Aside from the heroes of the offense for Lincoln, many of the Lion defenders came up with some big plays. The most noteworthy of the defensive stars was Juarez, who had seven tackles--five of them quarterback sacks. He stripped a Bulldog running back once and picked up another fumble and ran it 40 yards for a Lion touchdown.

Along with Juarez, senior Jacob Deleon had 12 tackles with a sack and senior Patrick Yanez had nine tackles with one sack and an interception for Lincoln.

The Lions wasted no time in the game. In only four plays, they marched the ball right into Bulldog territory and handed it to Figueroa, who ran 37-yards for the first touchdown of the day with 10:36 left in the first quarter. The extra point attempt was blocked, but Lincoln was up 6-0 in a hurry.

Lincoln's defense held strong in its first appearance of the day, allowing one first down and then getting the ball back on a failed fourth-down conversion.

The Lions had a slight malfunction when they fumbled the ball and San Jose recovered it on the Lincoln 45-yard line.

A few plays and 18 yards later, the San Jose quarterback went to the skies, but Yanez picked off the pass and ran it back 23 yards before he was caught.

Lincoln's offense regained its composure and drove the ball 63 yards in only seven plays with Figueroa taking it in from five yards out for the second score for the Lions. Hakmi connected with Yanez for the two-point conversion, and with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter the Lions led 14-0.

The defense came up big for Lincoln again when Juarez stripped the quarterback at the line of scrimmage, getting the ball back for the Lions.

In only four plays, Lincoln went 51 yards. Silva crossed the goal line from a yard out to put more points on the board. Senior Chris Garcia kicked the extra point and with 19 seconds left in the quarter, Lincoln led 21-0.

San Jose still couldn't move the ball against the defense of the Lions, but found a little luck when a Lion dropped a punt and San Jose recovered at its own 40-yard line. On the first play of their newfound hope, San Jose's running back fumbled and Juarez picked up the ball and ran 40 yards for the fourth Lion touchdown. Garcia converted again to up the score to 28-0 with less than two minutes gone in the second period.

After that, San Jose mounted its best drive of the day. Going 60 yards in 12 plays, the Bulldogs scored their first and only touchdown with 5:04 left in the half. After a successful extra point, San Jose cut the score to 28-7.

The Lions didn't sit by and allow San Jose to gain momentum, though. They struck right back again with a three-play, 41-yard drive for another touchdown. The TD came on a fantastic run by Silva. With a host of would-be attackers close on his heels, Silva dove out of bounds and reached his arm in around the pylon to complete a 31-yard touchdown run with 3:36 left in the half. The kick was blocked again, bringing the score to 34-7.

Lincoln's defense wouldn't give up any big plays. As soon as the Bulldogs reached midfield, the Lions held their ground. Juarez came up big with a sack for a 6-yard loss on second down to give San Jose a third and 16 from the San Jose 45. The Bulldogs were able to gain seven yards on third down, but were stopped by junior Pierre Ramos on a sack for a one-yard loss.

Lincoln took over on downs and wasted no time. Hakmi connected with Figueroa for a 48-yard touchdown pass with exactly a minute remaining in the half. Garcia split the uprights to stretch the lead to 41-7.

In the third quarter neither team was able to take over on offense completely. Lincoln found themselves inside the Bulldog 10 once, but due to a 5-yard penalty on fourth and goal at the 3, were unable to come up with a score.

It wasn't until their first drive in the fourth quarter that the Lions regained their composure and marched the ball down the field again. It took almost the entire quarter, but Lincoln went 79 yards on 15 plays for its final touchdown of the day. Romero finished off the drive with a 2-yard TD run with only 53 seconds left in the game.

One final drive by the Bulldogs ended in only five plays when San Jose decided to pass and senior Christian Damian picked it out of the sky with no time on the clock.

"Coach Collins has always been there for us, both on the field and off," said Juarez. "Our coaching was great; if not for him, we wouldn't have won as many games this year." The Lions finished in a three-way tie for the championship in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with Santa Teresa and Westmont.

When asked to comment on the season, Collins said simply, "Everyone did their jobs. We had good senior leadership and our younger players stepped up to fill some holes. We had a fantastic season."