HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Lincoln Ends Winless Streak by Beating Madison in City Central Opener

Lincoln High’s football team entered Friday’s homecoming game against Madison winless in five games, and not having won a game in about 11 months. At Lincoln, that might be some kind of record.

Yet the Hornets, who have had only one losing season since 1974, figured to be a lock to beat the Warhawks, a City Central League opponent. Lincoln doesn’t lose to league opponents.

Led by quarterback Akili Smith’s four touchdown passes, Lincoln (1-5, 1-0) beat the Warhawks, 31-17, coming back from a 10-point deficit in the second quarter.

The last time the Hornets won? You guessed it, a league game, mid-November. Final score: 35-3 over Madison. The Warhawks (2-4, 0-2) were the last league team to beat Lincoln. The occasion? You guessed it, homecoming at Lincoln two years ago. The score: 20-15. Standing on the Madison sideline that day was Akili Smith.

“When (Madison) went up, 17-7, I started to think about how I was at Madison two years ago, and we beat (Lincoln) here,” said Smith, who transferred to Lincoln last year and passed for over 1,300 yards. “It was weird.”

This time Smith was wearing green, white and black and rescuing the game and a disastrous season for the Hornets--Central League champions five of the past six seasons.

Down by 10 with 1:20 to play before halftime, Smith beat double coverage on a 42-yard bomb to Anuyell Goodwin for a touchdown, completing a three-play, 67-yard drive in 1 minute 15 seconds to pull Lincoln to 17-14. After Madison fumbled the ensuing kickoff at its own 17, Smith scrambled eight yards on first down, then found Rashee Johnson open for a nine-yard score on the next play.

The two touchdowns in 1:45 gave the Hornets a 21-17 lead.

Lincoln’s defense crowned Madison, shutting them out in the second half. The Warhawks went for minus-seven yards on the first drive of the third quarter and Hornet Darran Hall returned their punt 36 yards to set up a 38-yard field goal by Eduardo Garcia to make it a 24-17 game.