Points were at a premium when the Westmont Warriors traveled to Lincoln on Friday night in a game that can only be described as textbook smash-mouth football. Both teams struggled to get anything going through the air, and relied heavily on the ground game as Lincoln prevailed 21-6.
It was the Blossom Valley Athletic League-Santa Teresa opener for both teams.
The first score of the game came after an interception thrown by Westmont quarterback Trevor Flint set Lincoln up deep in Westmont territory. Lincoln capitalized to make it 7-0 early in the first quarter and never trailed thereafter.
The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth battle for field position, until Mario Hidalgo managed to break through and score with 3:15 left in the half to make it 14-0. That's the way the half ended.
The third quarter played out much like the first half did, with each team struggling to establish an upper hand as they exchanged short drives. Again it was Lincoln who finally managed to find the end zone, this time on a 70-yard sprint by Jacob Avery to give the Lions a 21-0 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game.
After a failed Warrior possession and a muffed punt, Westmont had the ball back again, this time on the Lincoln 25. That led to Tommy Ly's eventual 1-yard run as Westmont closed to within 15.
After getting the ball back with 5 1/2 minutes left, Westmont moved to the Lincoln 39. Westmont then tried to narrow the lead with a double pass, as Flint dumped the ball off to Mitchell Sancier, who then heaved a long pass intended for receiver Keanu Phillips.
The pass never found its target, as Lincoln defensive back Chris Ortez made a leaping interception and then returned the ball 70 yards, into Westmont territory.
Westmont managed to stop the Lions and get the ball back with a more than a minute to go, but a midfield interception silenced any hope of a comeback.
Westmont had plenty of opportunities to win the game, but could not capitalize on three fumbles forced by their defense, giving the ball up itself three times on interceptions. The Warriors also had difficulty sustaining drives.
Said Lincoln coach Kevin Collins said: “I’m very proud of our defense, they were stout all night long and did a great job. We have a few things to work out on offense, but overall I’m very happy with the team right now.”
Added Lincoln defensive back Francisco Cruz who had two interceptions: “It felt great, coming out in our first home game and getting to make some big plays in front of our home crowd.”
