HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Point Loma Jumps on Lincoln Early

A bad omen for any football coach: Your team receives the opening kickoff, then receives another kick only 17 seconds later.

The only reason to put your kick-return team back on the field so soon is that there has been a turnover, then a touchdown.

That’s what happened to Lincoln Saturday afternoon at Point Loma. And, yes, it was a sign of things to come. When it was over, the Pointers had their second consecutive shutout, 17-0, and Lincoln had lost its third in a row for the first time since Coach Vic Player’s first season in 1974.

This one was over only seconds into the game. Marvin Green caught the opening kick at the 10, took it to the 24 and was hit by three Pointers. That’s when he dropped the ball, and Point Loma’s A.J. Turner jumped on it.

On the first play from scrimmage, Martin Manassa took the handoff from Tobin Gault on a misdirection play, went right, turned upfield and did not stop until he reached the end zone.

Although Point Loma started well by taking advantage of a Lincoln mistake, the Pointers failed to do the same most of the rest of the way.

Point Loma began its second possession at its 41 and its third at its 44. The Pointers could go nowhere on either drive, giving the ball up on a punt and a fumble.

It was 10-0 at the half, mainly because Lincoln kept a 74-yard Point Loma drive going with a personal foul penalty that tacked 15 yards onto a 12-yard gain by Manassa. That put the ball at Lincoln’s 42, from which Gault hit Alex Gresja with a 29-yard completion.

The drive stalled four plays later, and kicker Bobby Oliveira came in to get three points out of it.

Gault scored Point Loma’s second touchdown on a keeper from the one. A good call, considering that on the previous play, a fourth-and-inches from the 5, Gault had also kept and followed his left guard for four yards.

After a poor start, Gault finished with 142 passing yards, going eight for 15 with one interception. Manassas finished with 93 yards on 18 carries.

Lincoln turned the ball over four times, twice on fumbles and twice on interceptions. The Hornets also lost possession on downs twice.

The Hornets, it appears, are being stung by their past.

“It’s kind of hard on the kids,” Player said. “They’re so used to winning, and we have such a tough schedule. It’s just one of those years when things just don’t jell.”