By Keith D. King
On Friday, Nov. 10th, the #4 ranked Lincoln Hornets (9-2) hosted the #12 ranked Vista Panthers (3-8) in a CIF playoff showdown.
Both teams started out a little bit slow, with neither team scoring in the 1st quarter. But the Hornets began to take control of the game capitalizing off of the visiting team’s mistakes. The Hornets took a 14-0 lead into halftime, and added another 12 points in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln went on to defeat the Panthers 40-21 in the Division II matchup.
The Hornets balanced attack seemed to be too much for the one dimensional Panthers throughout the game. Quarterback Asante Hartzog went 18 for 23 for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns, including one a piece to Jamahd Monroe (4 rec. 122 yards) and Da’Jon Thomas (6 rec. 98 yards). The Hornets also had a big game on the ground lead by senior running back Kenyon Sims, who added 164 yards and 2 touchdowns on only 12 carries. Sims also surpassed the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the season.
This was only the 3rd meeting ever between the two schools, and the first in 45 years.
“Wow, it’s been 45 years. All that meant for us was they didn’t know how good those old Vista teams were. The key for us was having fun, the looser we are the better.” Said Lincoln Coach, David Dunn.
The Hornets will now go on to face the #4 ranked Otay Ranch Mustangs (7-3) in the quarterfinals this Friday the 17th, 7p.m. at Otay Ranch High.
