Monday at Qualcomm Stadium Dons football took their fourth straight CIF San Diego Section III championship with a final score of 24 – 7 against Lincoln High School. The offense scored early and continued throughout the rest of the game bringing the audience to their feet in excitement.  But it was the defense that stole the show on Monday afternoon.

After Lincoln quarterback Ta’Jon Mondy left the game early in the first quarter due to a foot injury acquired 4 days earlier in the semifinals, the Dons’ defense harassed replacement Erick Jones by sacking him five times and getting three interceptions. Jones completed only 7-of-24 passes for 58 yards.

Cornerbacks Kale Evans and Corey Garcia were put to the test against Lincoln’s twin-brother receivers, Tyrell and Tyree Robinson, both holding a 9-inch height advantage. The Dons’ corners stepped up to the challenge as they held the brothers to a combined 46 yards on four receptions.

“If you look at the sizes, heights and weights of all our players on defense outside of  Mustafa Jalil, you wouldn’t know whether you were looking at the volleyball team or the football team,” Dons defensive coordinator John Montali said in this morning’s North County Times. “These kids are not big, and they’re not necessarily all that strong, but they play fast, they play hard. I’m proud of them. By no stretch of the imagination did I think we would hold Lincoln to seven points.”

With 3:54 left in the second quarter, Lincoln had its best opportunity to make it a game when safety Dominic Freeman intercepted a pass by Garrett Bogart and returned it 23 yards to the Cathedral Catholic 26-yard line.

However, the Hornets’ offense managed only 4 yards on three plays. On a third down-and-4, Dons linebacker Tony Johnson stopped Lincoln running back Sheldon Martin for a 2-yard loss, forcing the Hornets to attempt a 40-yard field goal that was blocked by Cathedral defensive end Nick Balelo.

Cathedral Catholic’s defense held Lincoln’s attack to 105 yards rushing and less than three yards per attempt. Jones threw three interceptions, with free safety Eric Sapp grabbing two of them.

Sophomore quarterback Garrett Bogart hit J.J. Stavola with a 20-yard touchdown pass to get the Dons on the board with 5:42 to play in the first half, and Jacob Roman booted a 28-yard field goal as Cathedral Catholic took a 10-0 lead into halftime

“We had a great team effort,” Sapp said. “We had 11 guys flying to the ball every play. I can’t do anything without the defensive line holding it down, and our linebackers and everybody else doing their part.”