Lincoln Scores Early, Holds On to Beat Garfield

Lincoln High might have entered Friday night’s City 3-A football quarterfinal game against Garfield as the underdog, but Tiger Coach Randy Rodriguez never wavered. “I’ve never ever doubted this team in big games--they just never quit,” Rodriguez said after Lincoln beat host Garfield, 13-10, to advance to the semifinals next Friday against Belmont, a 17-15 winner over Sylmar.

The Tigers’ victory didn’t come easily. Lincoln defensive back Roland Peters had to knock down a fourth-down pass by Garfield quarterback David Castillo in the end zone with 51 seconds to play to preserve the victory.

“It was man-to-man coverage and I didn’t know what to expect,” Peters said of Castillo’s final pass to the left corner of the end zone. “All I knew is I wanted to take my man (Jamie Lopez) good. I saw the ball all the way and I got my whole palm on it. It was a great feeling.”

Lincoln (8-3-1) took a 13-0 lead into the third quarter. Garfield, The Times’ eighth-ranked team, cut the Tiger lead to 13-3 in the third quarter on Jimmy Carapia’s 30-yard field goal.

Garfield (10-2) made it 13-10 with 6:52 to play when Phillip Contreras caught a 60-yard slant pass from Castillo, who completed 14 of 32 passes for 179 yards, with three interceptions.

Garfield’s final drive started at its 21-yard line with 3:35 remaining. The Bulldogs drove to the Tiger 22 with 1:40 left, but Castillo was sacked by Lincoln’s Fernie Delgadillo for a 15-yard loss, setting up a fourth-down pass attempt.

Roland Peters’ first-quarter 13-yard touchdown run capped a five-play, 60-yard drive, giving Lincoln a 7-0 lead. The Tigers’ second touchdown--a seven-yard scoring pass from quarterback Gaspar Ortega to Juan Vidal--was set up by Lincoln safety Joey Aguayo’s second interception of the half, return it 30 yards to the Garfield 10.