The Lincoln Hornets earned the unanimous distinction as the San Diego Section’s No. 1 football team during the 2024 season and did so while playing all their games on the road and attending off-campus practices.
The Hornets lived up to their billing by winning this year’s Division I-AA state championship title in their 14th road game of the season after defeating Pittsburg, 28-26, last Friday night at Saddleback College.
Lincoln, which finished the season 12-2, proved the ultimate road warriors and made the coaching staff, headed by David Dunn, extremely proud of the determined effort.
That grit and determination went right down to the wire with UC Davis-bound senior Aden Jackson (1,462 rushing yards, 20 touchdowns) out with an ankle injury. In stepped senior Donald Reed II, who rushed for 127 yards in last Friday’s state final.
The Hornets never trailed but the Pirates kept it close, twice tying the game (7-7 and 14-all) and moving the score to 21-20 before missing a two-point conversion that could have sent the high-profile contest into overtime.
Sophomore Courtney Miller-Thompson (four catches, 30 yards), senior Ty Olsen (two catches, 41 yards) and senior Isaiah Grant (two catches, 119 yards) all recorded touchdown catches while Oregon-bound senior quarterback Akili Smith Jr. scored on a seven-yard run. Smith passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 40 yards and one TD.
Washington State-bound Jamar Searcy (196 rushing yards, 67 receiving yards) scored all four Pittsburg touchdowns as the game’s dominant player.
