FULLERTON — It couldn’t have been any closer.
Lincoln-San Jose had just gone up by six points with 1:47 to play and needed one stop to win its first state football championship in school history.
Valley Center would have none of it. The San Diego-area school got the ball back at the 22-yard line with 1:42 left and drove 78 yards in five plays and 70 seconds.
The all-important extra point, which Lincoln had missed moments earlier, gave Valley Center the 36-35 win.
Lincoln advanced the ball to its own 40-yard line, but no further. On the final play, Valley Center’s Casen Dunham intercepted the Lions’ desperation pass to seal it.
“We played well as a team,” said Lincoln senior Kyan Phillips, who scored the go-ahead touchdown late and had four scores overall. “We’ve competed all the way to the end of every game. One point away from winning this game, just like all the other games. That’s all I can say.”
Lincoln (11-3) opened the scoring with a 1-yard run by Phillips, taking a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Valley Center (8-6) responded with a 5-yard rushing score by Joeisha Ryan Tirado, giving the Jaguars a 7-6 lead later in the frame after a successful PAT.
The Lions retook the lead when Leo Molina nailed a 31-yard field goal.
Lincoln advanced to the 6-AA state title game after coming back to beat Gridley in a thrilling 28-20 win. No dramatic fourth-quarter comeback was needed in the Lions’ Central Coast Section Division IV championship win over top seed Branham, when Lincoln won 49-21.
Earlier in the CCS D-IV playoffs, the third-seeded Lions beat No. 6 Scotts Valley 24-21 and No. 2 Willow Glen 49-14.
Check back for updates to this story.
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