SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : Today’s Playoff Preview : Grossmont Is Just a Big Step Away : Only No. 1 Lincoln Stands in Way of Berth in 2-A Final

What is Grossmont High School doing in the San Diego Section 2-A football semifinals anyway?

Lynn Cole would like to provide an answer to that tonight.

The coach’s little-known Grossmont team meets top-seeded Lincoln at Mesa College at 7:30 with the winner advancing to the championship game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium next Saturday.

Lincoln’s accomplishments this season are already well-documented. The defending 2-A champions are 10-1 and have scored a county-record 493 points. And, they’ve won several games very easily: 71-0 (over San Francisco Wilson), 62-16 (Patrick Henry), 51-0 (Morse), 55-6 (Christian), 70-6 (San Diego) and 57-0 (St. Augustine).

That Lincoln has the semifinals is no surprise. But Grossmont?

“All year, we’ve been hearing how good Lincoln is,” Cole said. “We’ve wanted a chance to see how we could do against them. This is a tremendous challenge for our football team and I know the kids are looking forward to it.”

Grossmont, the champion of the Grossmont League, is 7-3-1. Its defense, led by Jerry Brewer, a Times’ All-County linebacker, has allowed just eight points a game.

Even more impressive than the list of the teams Grossmont has beaten is the list of teams it has not. The Foothillers lost close games to 3-A playoff-bound teams Mt. Miguel (10-8) and Chula Vista (14-13) and tied Helix (7-7). The only team to decisively beat them was Granite Hills (35-5) in the third week of the season.

“Our defense has kept us in games all season,” Cole said. “When the season started that was all we had. We just played not to turn the ball over and hoped our defense could work us into a field-position edge. Lately, our offense has come alive.”

Grossmont’s offense arrived in the second half of last week’s first-round playoff victory over Christian. Trailing, 7-3, at halftime, Grossmont then scored 26 unanswered points to win, 29-7.

Mark Stillwell ran for two touchdowns and passed for one more, hitting 220-pound fullback Rusty Beatty for an 11-yard score. The Foothillers’ other running back, Eric Batson, rushed for 147 yards.