Rose Garden Resident
Sports
Lions roar in lopsided 75-27 win over Cards
By Kevin Sparrer
Lions aren't generally known for trampling their prey, but there is no better way to describe what the Lincoln Lions did to Mt. Pleasant last week. The Lions trampled the Cardinals 75-27 on Sept. 15 in their first game of the 2006 football season.
"Our defense played very well in this game," said Lincoln head coach Kevin Collins. "They forced four fumbles, picked off a pass and always gave the offense a short field to work with. All in all it was a solid defensive effort."
Lincoln jumped out early, outscoring Mount Pleasant 21-6 in the first quarter. Senior Chris Mendoza led off the scoring for the Lions with a 5-yard run for his first score of the day with junior Javier Reyes kicking the extra point.
Mendoza scored his second touchdown shortly thereafter from a little farther out. Mendoza broke a 25-yard run for a TD and Reyes kicked again. Mendoza had only five carries in the game but picked up 178 yards.
Junior Tevita Mendoza came up with the next score. T. Mendoza caught a pass from senior quarterback Tarik Hakmi for a touchdown from three yards out, and Reyes kicked again.
After the first Mt. Pleasant score, Lincoln added another 27 points in the second quarter beginning with sophomore Alex Ortega. Ortega broke open a run of 34 yards and the score and Reyes kicked another extra point.
Junior Jagjeet Sidhu scored on a 30-yard pass from Hakmi and the kick failed. Sidhu caught three passes from Hakmi for 47 yards in the game. Hakmi ended up hitting of 5 of 11 passes for 66 yards and the two scores.
Ortega then went on a scoring spree with two touchdowns, one on a 60-yard run and the other on a 17-yard run. Reyes kicked the extra point each time. Ortega only carried the ball six times in the game but finished with 122 yards and three touchdowns.
After another Mount Pleasant score to end the first half, senior Michael Fleet found his way into the end zone from five yards out for the only score of the third quarter and Reyes kicked the extra point. Fleet took the ball 13 times for 217 yards and one score.
Junior Bacilio Monterroso scored the next touchdown for Lincoln on a 15-yard run with Reyes again on the extra point.
After that it was senior Justin Kirksey who broke away from the defenders on a 60-yard run for a score.
Lincoln's final touchdown came from senior Jonathan Moreno, who found his way in from five yards out, and Reyes converted.
Mount Pleasant went on to score two more times, but it wasn't near enough to catch Lincoln.
Lincoln finished with an incredible 574 yards rushing in the win and ended up with 640 yards of total offense.
The Lions host the Westmont Warriors on Sept. 23 in a 1:30 p.m. game before hosting Independence on Sept. 30, 1:30 p.m., to open their first season in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Lincoln and Westmont share a long-standing rivalry. The two clubs tied for the Santa Teresa Division championship in each of the past two seasons before the Lions made the move to the Mt. Hamilton circuit.
