Pittsburg falls to Lincoln-San Diego in the Division I-AA state title game

MISSION VIEJO – Pittsburg’s magical season came to a heartbreaking end Friday night.

The Pirates did their best but couldn’t finish the job as they lost 28-26 to Lincoln-San Diego in the CIF Division I-AA state championship game at Saddleback College.

The Pirates had a chance to tie the game late but couldn’t convert a two-pointer into overtime.

Running back Jamar Searcy had his best game in a Pittsburg jersey, scoring four touchdowns.

Lincoln took it to Pittsburg early.

The Hornets scored their first points when Akili Smith Jr. found Courtney Miller-Thompson with a six-yard swing pass into the end zone.

The Hornets held Pittsburg’s offense scoreless in the first quarter as the Pirates could only muster 62 yards.

Pittsburg’s offense got going in the second quarter.

On the first play of Pittsburg’s third possession, Searcy stormed down the sideline for a 47-yard score that tied the game at 7-0.

Lincoln briefly retook the lead after wide receiver Ty Olson made a spectacular catch in the right corner of the end zone, giving the Hornets a 14-7 lead with less than two minutes left before halftime.

But Pittsburg finished the half strong, going 63 yards in just over a minute and a half to tie the game with a 2-yard plunge from Searcy into the end zone.

At the end of the first half, Searcy accounted for 194 of Pittsburg’s 212 yards of offense.

After Lincoln forced a stop on Pittsburg’s first possession of the third quarter, the Hornets struck again as Smith threw his third touchdown pass of the game, this time to senior receiver Isaiah Grant for a 77-yard score and Lincoln’s 21 brought -14.

But Searcy remained loyal to his team. On third-and-long in the red zone, the Washington State commit caught a one-handed pass at the goal line and capped the drive with his third touchdown of the game on a one-yard rush. Pittsburg missed the extra point but cut the lead to one with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.