By Ed Piper
I came for the fireworks, and--much to my surprise--the first one went off before opening kick.
It was a bye week for La Jolla's football team, so I treated myself to watching Lincoln, guided on offense by Offensive Coordinator/Associate Head Coach Jason Carter, the Vikings' head coach for three years, 2013-14-15. The Hornets won the State Championship after winning the Open Division title over Carlsbad in the CIF San Diego Section last year.
In a stunt I'd never seen before, the visiting Inglewood team--home of the Fabulous Forum, where I attended many Laker games with my high school buddy Brian Forcey--ran from their end zone to midfield behind the Sentinel school flag, then took steps toward Lincoln's sideline.
The Lincoln players, irked by the provocation, in turn went out on the field, and for a few moments players from the two teams jawed at each other.
The game officials immediately threw up a flag against Inglewood for unsportsmanlike conduct, to be applied on the opening kickoff. Come to think of it, I wasn't totally surprised, because I taught in the 'hood for 20 years, and I saw plenty of stunts.
Carter had wheeled over on his golf cart when he saw me before the game to say hi. I also said hi to Armon Harvey, a former assistant at La Jolla as recent as 2019 (before the COVID disaster hit). He coaches wide receivers at Lincoln.
Akili Smith Jr., son of the former NFL player of the same name, looked enormous at quarterback for the Hornets at 6'6". He can pass, but in the early going the Lincoln offense looked a little disorganized, maybe partly because of the scene on the field before opening kickoff.
Lincoln scored on its second possession in the opening quarter, going up 7-0, behind small back Donald Reed III. Inglewood shortly responded, scoring on its first full drive of the second quarter, but missing the kick, 7-6. That turned out not to be significant.
The Hornets scored their second touchdown on a run by C.J. Williams, and they were off to the races.
From there, the hosts blew out their guests, 56-6. I'm sure the huge Homecoming crowd was delighted. One thing you don't see at other schools is the majorettes who danced in the stands for Inglewood. (They also had cheerleaders on the track on the visiting side.)
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