Rose Garden Resident
Sports
Season to remember for Lincoln volleyball
By Kevin Sparrer
The season may be over, but time will remember the Lions. The Lincoln girls volleyball team has been added to a long list of champions. The Lions won the championship in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this year to win a place in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
The lady Lions fought their way to a record of 18-11 throughout the course of the season, but unfortunately that 11th loss came against Palo Alto in the first round of the CCS playoffs.
The 12th seeded Lions lost three straight games to the No. 5 seeded Vikings, Paly taking the match 25-18, 25-17, 25-12. To the defense of the Lions, there is no shame in losing to the best, and Palo Alto had a chance to prove it is just that. The Vikings defeated Los Gatos in four games in the CCS quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals on Nov. 15. A win there would have put Paly in the CCS Division II title match.
Lincoln was led this fall by senior sensation Alex Scoffone. While the Lions will miss her next season, she is one of only three players they will lose to graduation. Scoffone, Trish Do and Amber Wyman were the only seniors on the squad this year for the Lions.
Juniors Rachel Nolan, Tarah Herning, Breanna Lane, Silvia Aguilar and Alex Von Raesfeld, sophomores Charlettle Murray, Trishna Kumar, Alexz Waters and Kayla Young and freshman Ileana Juarez will all be welcomed back next fall by head coach Hanah Kim.
Lions roar past Bruins
While the volleyball team won the championship, the football team made a statement. After moving up from the Santa Teresa Division to the Mount Hamilton Division, Lincoln hoped to make it known that the Lions belonged in the top league, and that's just what they did.
Lincoln finished the season 4-3 in league after defeating Branham 41-30 on Nov. 9 to tie for fourth place with Pioneer and Piedmont Hills ahead of Independence, Live Oak and Branham.
The Lions jumped ahead early against Branham with Michael Fleet scoring on a 2-yard run with Miguel Ramirez kicking the extra point to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.
Lincoln struck again when Chris Mendoza broke an 85-yard run for a touchdown followed by a Ramirez kick to extend the lead to 14-0.
Branham was able to boot a field goal from 35 yards out for its first score in the second quarter, but Lincoln added to its lead with Ramirez scoring on a 10-yard run and then kicking the extra point himself.
Mendoza added to the score when he caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Tarik Hakmi. After the kick failed, the score was 27-3.
The Bruins were able to put the ball in the end zone before the half and then once again right after the half to bring the score to 27-17, but Lincoln answered back.
Mendoza scored again on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to extend the lead again with Ramirez knocking the extra point through.
Branham scored again in the fourth, but Mendoza added another six points from five yards out with Ramirez adding another extra point.
Branham scored again, but it was too little too late and the Lions took the game 41-30.
Lincoln now has a week off before the school's biggest game of the season when the Lions renew their rivalry with San Jose Academy in the Big Bone Game.
Each year on Thanksgiving Day for the past 63 years, Lincoln's varsity football team forgoes CCS to meet the Bulldogs in a grudge match and rights to take the "bone" back home. Lincoln is 33-25-5 in the contest and hopes to better that record by one.
San Jose was 4-5 overall this year and very eager to end a losing streak that has been going on since 1998.
Polo teams fall
Unfortunately, not all seasons can end on a happy note. Both the boys and girls water polo teams at Lincoln fell in the first round of CCS by large margins.
The boys lost to Serra 16-4 with Aaron Gough scoring two goals, Brock Williams tossing in one and Chris Smead firing in another. Lincoln finished the season 8-13.
The Lady Lions ran into powerhouse Archbishop Mitty and lost 12-1. Kelly Hendrickson scored the lone goal for the Lions. Lincoln finished the year with a 16-9 record.
