GAME OF THE WEEK : ‘Air Roman’ Leads Lincoln to 25-8 Win Over Hamilton

Quarterback Gerardo Roman of Lincoln knew he had a great game in the Tigers’ 25-8 victory over Hamilton, but when he trotted off the field even he was surprised to learn that it was the best effort of his career.

Roman completed 17 of 34 passes for 390 yards, including three touchdown passes, against a Hamilton defense that was ineffective against Lincoln’s air attack.

“We came in thinking that we were going to pass, but I didn’t know that I passed for that much,” said Roman, a junior. “We saw them in a lot of man-to-man coverage and we liked that.”

In fact, they liked the Yankees’ pass defense so much that the Tigers did not attempt a running play throughout the first quarter.

On Lincoln’s first possession, Roman connected with his favorite receiver, Marcelo Ortega, for a 70-yard touchdown pass to complete a four-play, 85-yard drive.

The Tigers also struck quickly the next time they had the ball, when Roman completed a swing pass to running back Ruben Castellanos, who avoided two Hamilton tacklers and raced 73 yards to give Lincoln a 13-0 lead.

Roman finished the first half with six completions in 14 attempts for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s really improving as a quarterback,” said Ortega, who finished with nine catches for 186 yards. “He has more control out there and is getting better every week.”

Defensively, Lincoln pressured Hamilton quarterbacks Kelvin Moore and Brent Danderidge into five interceptions combined. Juan Andrade and Ortega led the way with two interceptions each.

In the second half, Roman stayed hot as he connected on 11 of 20 passes for 185 yards. His 17-yard completion to Ortega led to Joel Cuevas’ five-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and gave Lincoln a 19-0 lead.

Hamilton got its only score of the game when Brandon Orange ran in from the Tiger 5-yard-line to cut Lincoln’s lead to 19-8 with five minutes left in the game.

However, Lincoln responded less than a minute later when Roman completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Peter Cervantes.

“Sometimes it was easy out there and then sometimes we had to fight for our yards,” said Ortega, a 5-11 senior who also handled the kicking duties for Lincoln. Lincoln improved to 3-0 and now goes on to the Northeastern League part of its schedule. Hamilton, which dropped to 1-2, can only hope to get some of its injured players back for its showdown next week with University.

The Yankees had to play without two of their best players--tailback Anthony Dean, who had an ankle injury, and wide receiver Eric Polk, out with a knee injury.

“We’ll be a much stronger team once we get those guys back,” said Hamilton Coach John Ausbon.

Hamilton 0 0 0 8 -- 8 Lincoln 13 0 0 12 -- 25

L--Ortega 70 pass from Roman (Ortega kick)

L--Castellanos 73 pass from Roman (pass failed)

L--Cuevas 5 run (pass failed)

H--Orange 5 run (Kinnebrew run)

L--Cervantes 30 pass from Roman (kick failed)

Records: Hamilton 1-2, Lincoln 3-0

Next week: University at Hamilton; Lincoln at Verdugo Hills