Lincoln’s D gets an E for performance every time the Hornets play and win – San Diego Union-Tribune

The four-year starter at tackle, the emotional pulse of the defense, is 1.75 meters tall. A linebacker, the team’s leading tackler, goes 5-10. There are DBs that weigh 150 pounds after steak and potatoes.

But as they say, when it comes to Lincoln High School’s defense, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.

The Hornets (11-2) will play for their second state championship in three years and face Pittsburg (12-2) for the 1-AA title on Friday at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo at 8 p.m.

With an average of 40.6 points per game and a quarterback who has thrown 40 touchdown passes with no interceptions (the zero INTs are not a typo), Lincoln’s defense will be tested.

The Hornets’ attitude? Bring it on.

Or as consultant/assistant coach Jared Stutts said, “It’s pretty hard to throw it on your back.”

Last week, Lincoln sacked Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel seven times, so the Hornets, who don’t blitz often, know how to manhandle quarterbacks.

It’s a brash defense that barely allows two touchdowns per game. Head coach David Dunn had such difficulty finding San Diego Section teams willing to play Lincoln that the Hornets’ non-league opponents all came from outside the county.

The Hornets posted a 6-0 record against locals. Average points allowed: 4.5 per game. Lincoln’s defense shut out three teams.

When it comes to appearances, Dunn knows his defense doesn’t scare opponents.

“We are very light and undersized in places,” Dunn said. “But they have big engines. And they are fighters. People see her greatness and underestimate her. They think, ‘We’re going to come out and kick this guy’s ass.’ But these guys are playing with a chip on their shoulder. If they get their asses kicked, it won’t be consistent. They will find a way.”

The player with the biggest chip on his shoulders, about the size of Mount Rushmore, is four-year starting defensive tackle Eugene Rice. He is the Hornets’ second-leading tackler (107). It’s a rare stat for tackles that clog inside and draw double teams.

If Rice were 6-3 instead of 5-9, Dunn would be confident he would have his pick of major colleges. Instead, only Division II schools offer scholarships.

“I’m not the biggest, strongest, fastest lineman,” said Rice, who will be a leading candidate for CIF Defensive Player of the Year, “but if you put someone against me, they’re going to get beaten down.”

“He plays with a whole different engine,” Dunn said. “He doesn’t realize how strong he is. We call him Old Man. He has the strength of an old man.”

In the Lincoln locker room, Rice is spoken of in reverent tones.

Linebacker Dylon Dunn, the head coach’s nephew and the Hornets’ leading tackler with 121, said: “He’s one of those guys, he doesn’t care. He will tell everyone what is right and what is wrong, even if people don’t like what he has to say. It’s said with energy and atmosphere.”

Lincoln’s defense is nicknamed “The D Boyz.”

Rice said, “When you hear ‘D Boyz,’ you know you’re talking about the Lincoln Hornets.”

Two things characterize Lincoln’s defense: speed and willingness. Two games this season embody these qualities. In the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals, Lincoln was pushed to overtime by Mission Hills.

On the first play of OT, from the Lincoln 25, Mission Hills running back Giovanni Hart broke free from left tackle. Hart was alone in space and appeared to be on his way to a touchdown when Nico Ta’a ran over a teammate, causing Hart to fall to the ground and knocking the ball out of his arm just before it broke the plane of the end zone.

Lincoln scored on the next play to advance to the title game.

Dylon Dunn said: “I have thanked Nico so many times.”

The next week, in the title game against Cathedral, Dons running back Jonathan Solomon broke through for a 45-yard gain. But cornerback Isaac Turner sprinted from the other side of the field and knocked the ball out of bounds for a fumble.

Again, Lincoln scored on the next play, the decisive sequence for a 31-13 victory.

“Our coaches always say, ‘Eleven hats to the ball,’ no matter where you are on the field,” Turner said. “Find a way to the ball. Our coaches always say, ‘Effort, effort, effort.'”

That’s how fast Lincoln is in football. After a game in the Open Division semifinals, Mission Hills quarterback Troy Huhn said to a Lincoln player, “I think you have 12 people on the field.”

Turner said: “I started looking around and thought, ‘It looks like we have too many people.’ But I counted. No, we had 11 players.”

Like all teams, the Hornets are not afraid to look for perceived slights. And at halftime of Lincoln’s 34-27 Southern California Regional win over Newbury Park, players said that Newbury Park coach Joe Smigiel quipped during a television interview, “I don’t know who (Akili) Smith is.”

Strange when you consider that Lincoln’s star quarterback Akili Smith Jr. is the son of Akili Smith, the third pick in the 1999 NFL Draft and, like his father, headed to Oregon.

Smith finished the game 18 of 27 yards for 272 yards, three touchdowns and a 29-yard scoring scramble.

“He found out (who Smith was),” Stutts said.

Now the Hornets face Pittsburg and a quarterback with 40 touchdown passes and none picked off this season.

Lincoln is not subconscious.

Dylon Dunn said, “He’s going to get one on Friday.”

Originally published: December 12, 2024 at 11:30am PST