The Eastlake Titans passed their first big test within the ranks of the San Diego Section elite by defeating host Lincoln, 42-21, last Friday in a non-league contest for both teams. The Hornets were coming off an impressive 61-14 thrashing of Long Beach Cabrillo the previous Saturday and sat 15th overall in the weekly rankings.
The Titans retain their No. 3 section ranking.
Jude Isbell rushed 23 times for 182 yards and scored on runs of 18 and 15 yards to give the visitors a 28-7 lead in the second quarter. Zach Bannon opened scoring in the game on a one-yard run and closed out scoring on a 56-yard scamper to put an exclamation mark on the reigning CIF champions’ victory.
As a team, Eastlake rushed 61 times for 434 yards with five touchdowns via a crushing ground game and added another TD via a 14-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Hines to Travis Gardner.
Hines completed four of eight passes for 53 yards as the Titans rolled up 487 yards in total offense.
“We still made some mistakes but our guys played tough and were aggressive,” EHS coach John McFadden said. “Lincoln has some incredible athletes, so it was a good victory.”
Chris Fletcher rushed 12 times for 76 yards and scored on a 12-yard run as the Titans reeled off three consecutive touchdowns to snap an early 7-7 deadlock on the scoreboard.
The Hornets (1-1) scored in the final minute of the first half and opened the second half with another score to trim Eastlake’s lead to 28-21. But there were no signs of a Titan let-down after that as the visitors closed the game with two unanswered TDs to win going away.
Tyree Robinson (31 yards) and Tyrell Robinson (32 yards) each hauled in TD passes to provide Lincoln’s highlights.
Marcelo Urrutia booted six extra points in the game for the winners.
Defensively, Kiki Fejeran led EHS with seven tackles while Blake Wilson recorded three sacks, Fernando Cabico and Fletcher each had one interception and Zeke Ganzon recovered a fumble. Ganzon also had one sack, as did Sergio Esparza. Adrian Tabula and Gabe Casillas also each recorded tackles for losses.
The Titans host El Camino in a non-league match-up on Friday. The Wildcats (1-1) are coming off a 14-10 loss to Riverside Arlington after kicking off the season with a 36-7 victory against Gardena.
Isbell leads Eastlake with 291 rushing yards through two games while Bannon has rushed for 140 yards and Fletcher has rushed for 114 yards. Gardner has five catches for 72 yards. Hines has passed for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
Wilson has gotten off to a monster start with five sacks in two games. Urrutia is 10-for-10 in PAT conversions with a game-winning 41-yard field goal to his credit in the team’s season opener.
