Last night, Cheeto witnessed one of the most exciting high school games he’s ever seen. Monterey Trail (#2 seed) hosted Lincoln of Stockton (#7 seed).
The game was tied 72-72 end of regulation. Still tied 80-80 end of first OT. Lincoln prevails in double OT, 93-88.
The last time Lincoln has advanced this far in the section playoffs was 1980.
I’ll never forget that day. I was in 1st grade. I was in my room wearing my red “I (heart) Trojans” t-shirt (the Lincoln mascot, not the condom), pensively memorizing the lyrics to “All out of love” by Air Supply.
Papa Cheeto walked in and said, “Young Cheetito, Lincoln just won two section playoff games. You should write that down in your journal or something because it may not happen again for a while.”
I gasped, “Wow! Good lookin out, Papa Cheeto. Are we referring to Lincoln of Stockton or Lincoln of Lincoln?”
“Stockton”, he bellowed.
Here are some of the night’s highlights …
• Ralph, Lincoln’s most exciting fan and best dancer. His enthusiasm for the Trojans helped the players when they were tired and needed him to come through the most.
• Samantha, Lincoln’s unofficial videographer who puts all of Lincoln’s games on Facebook live. Her announcing skills and clever wordplay are reminiscent of Kings announcer Mark Jones.
• For this game they inexplicably brought in two celebrity referees. Seemed like a strange time to have two referees with no prior refereeing experience. But guest referees Kurt Angle (former wrestler) and Clay Fontenot (Denzel Washington’s stunt double) ended up officiating this big event. Admittedly not the most top-notch celebrities to bring in for such an important high school playoff game. But hey, this is the SJS. Not some rich people section like the NCS.
• Quentin Thompson, AKA Q-Tip, Lincoln’s 6-foot-6 silky smooth wing. 29 points, 13 rebounds. It looked like MT was going to blow the game open as they took a 47-36 third quarter lead. But Thompson almost single-handedly kept Lincoln in the game with his 16 third-quarter points. Thompson is bringing his talents to Atherton to play at Menlo College next year.
• Zeke Davis, AKA Z-Roc, Lincoln’s 6-foot-5 sharpshooter. When he gets into a groove on the court it’s like he’s on a stage spittin lyrics like his pops E-Roc. 28 points including 12-16 from three free throw line.
• Anthony Moore, AKA AntMan, Lincoln’s unflappable 6-foot-6 Jack-of-all-trades guard. 18 points and 15 rebounds. Huge block at the buzzer of regulation.
• Donez Lindsey, AKA The Gibson Stopper, Lincoln’s floor leader and the best on-ball defender in Northern California. His second-half defense on MT’s Brandon Gibson, Jr was a turning point in the game.
• Brandon Gibson, AKA Brandon Gibson Jr, MT’s crazy athletic in-your-face scorer. What a force this young man is on the court. One of the most electric and exciting players in NorCal. When he fouled out everyone in the gym knew that MT was going to have a tough time winning that game.
• After fouling out, Gibson looked at the ref with intense eyes, as if to say, “Do you know who I am? You guys had better switch that foul call to someone else or else we’re gonna have words after the game.” The referees did not give in to Gibson’s glare. No word on how it turned out for the celebrity referees after the game.
• Cheeto’s bold prediction …. Lincoln over MC for the section championship on Wednesday.
The game was tied 72-72 end of regulation. Still tied 80-80 end of first OT. Lincoln prevails in double OT, 93-88.
The last time Lincoln has advanced this far in the section playoffs was 1980.
I’ll never forget that day. I was in 1st grade. I was in my room wearing my red “I (heart) Trojans” t-shirt (the Lincoln mascot, not the condom), pensively memorizing the lyrics to “All out of love” by Air Supply.
Papa Cheeto walked in and said, “Young Cheetito, Lincoln just won two section playoff games. You should write that down in your journal or something because it may not happen again for a while.”
I gasped, “Wow! Good lookin out, Papa Cheeto. Are we referring to Lincoln of Stockton or Lincoln of Lincoln?”
“Stockton”, he bellowed.
Here are some of the night’s highlights …
• Ralph, Lincoln’s most exciting fan and best dancer. His enthusiasm for the Trojans helped the players when they were tired and needed him to come through the most.
• Samantha, Lincoln’s unofficial videographer who puts all of Lincoln’s games on Facebook live. Her announcing skills and clever wordplay are reminiscent of Kings announcer Mark Jones.
• For this game they inexplicably brought in two celebrity referees. Seemed like a strange time to have two referees with no prior refereeing experience. But guest referees Kurt Angle (former wrestler) and Clay Fontenot (Denzel Washington’s stunt double) ended up officiating this big event. Admittedly not the most top-notch celebrities to bring in for such an important high school playoff game. But hey, this is the SJS. Not some rich people section like the NCS.
• Quentin Thompson, AKA Q-Tip, Lincoln’s 6-foot-6 silky smooth wing. 29 points, 13 rebounds. It looked like MT was going to blow the game open as they took a 47-36 third quarter lead. But Thompson almost single-handedly kept Lincoln in the game with his 16 third-quarter points. Thompson is bringing his talents to Atherton to play at Menlo College next year.
• Zeke Davis, AKA Z-Roc, Lincoln’s 6-foot-5 sharpshooter. When he gets into a groove on the court it’s like he’s on a stage spittin lyrics like his pops E-Roc. 28 points including 12-16 from three free throw line.
• Anthony Moore, AKA AntMan, Lincoln’s unflappable 6-foot-6 Jack-of-all-trades guard. 18 points and 15 rebounds. Huge block at the buzzer of regulation.
• Donez Lindsey, AKA The Gibson Stopper, Lincoln’s floor leader and the best on-ball defender in Northern California. His second-half defense on MT’s Brandon Gibson, Jr was a turning point in the game.
• Brandon Gibson, AKA Brandon Gibson Jr, MT’s crazy athletic in-your-face scorer. What a force this young man is on the court. One of the most electric and exciting players in NorCal. When he fouled out everyone in the gym knew that MT was going to have a tough time winning that game.
• After fouling out, Gibson looked at the ref with intense eyes, as if to say, “Do you know who I am? You guys had better switch that foul call to someone else or else we’re gonna have words after the game.” The referees did not give in to Gibson’s glare. No word on how it turned out for the celebrity referees after the game.
• Cheeto’s bold prediction …. Lincoln over MC for the section championship on Wednesday.
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