Lincoln goes to ground for another title

Ricky Underwood and Jamelle Newman combined for 337 rushing yards and five touchdowns, leading Lincoln to a 54-6 win over Crenshaw-Los Angeles Saturday at Kezar Stadium for its third state championship in five seasons.

After claiming the CIF Division 7-A crown, Lincoln coach Phil Ferrigno offered some advice for the next generation of San Francisco athletes.

“If you’re a young man who likes running the football, you should think about enrolling in Lincoln High School,” said Ferrigno,

whose Mustangs previously won back-to-back state titles in 2018-19. “Because that’s what we do here.”

Aided by the wet and rainy conditions that played perfectly into the Lincoln (10-3) game plan, the Mustangs racked up 437 rushing yards while throwing the ball zero times in taking down the overmatched Cougars, who dressed just 21 players for the game.

Underwood set the tone early with a 37-yard touchdown scamper 2 minutes and 26 seconds into the contest.

Crenshaw (8-7) responded with a long drive that went deep into Lincoln territory, but the Mustangs were able to stop Cougars quarterback Donce Lewis at the 3-yard line on 4th-andgoal.

Lincoln fullback Diego Cristerna later plowed in from 6 yards out with 46 seconds left in the first quarter, and the rout was on.

Underwood was dominant through the first two quarters, picking up 158 of his 171 total rushing yards in the half.

Along with his opening drive touchdown, he scored on runs of 47 and 20 yards, often zipping through massive holes created by the Lincoln offensive line.

In the second half, Underwood gave way to his partner in the backfield, as Newman carried the ball eight times for 115 yards, including touchdown runs of one and 47 yards.

Newman said he was inspired in the second half by some fairly basic instructions from his teammates.

“They told me to hold on to the ball and run fast,” said Newman. “So that’s what I did.”

Junior quarterback Michael Simmons also chipped in for the Mustangs, adding touchdown scores from 49 and 5 yards in the second half.

Crenshaw entered on a sevengame winning streak that saw them average nearly 50 points a contest, but they could never get settled against a stout Lincoln defense.

Lewis threw two interceptions and fumbled once. The Mustangs also blocked a punt that set up Newman’s 1-yard touchdown run.

Crenshaw was unable to get on the scoreboard until the 7:21 was left in the fourth quarter, when Roberto Salazar hauled in a highlight-reel, juggling 36-yard touchdown reception from Lewis.