The Dons, coming off of a first round bye in the playoffs, handled the Lincoln Hornets with ease at Manchester Stadium with a final score of 45-0. This is the Don’s second victory over the Hornets this season after defeating Lincoln 28-3 earlier in the year. The win sends the Dons to the semi-finals of the division 3 playoffs.

The victory started, as most Don’s victories do, with the defense. The Hornets quite simply could not move the football from their opening drive to the closing whistle. Lincoln did not even have a first down until late in the first half. The Don’s front seven seemed to stuff every rushing attempt, and the secondary covered all of the Hornet receivers like blankets. Lincoln ended the game with just 58 total yards of offense.

On the other side, the Dons seemed to move the ball at will on their offensive opportunities. Whether on the ground with senior running back JJ Stavola who ended the night with 158 yards on 24 carries and 3 touchdowns, or through the air, with receivers like senior tight end Andrew Pascale who had 2 receptions for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, the Dons seemed to get at least 10 yards on every play. The Dons had a total of 375 total yards of offense to complement their 45 points.

In the Dons and Hornets previous meeting, Lincoln basically gave Cathedral the game through personal fouls and turnovers; in this meeting it was more like the Hornets were just not prepared for anything. In the previous matchup Lincoln was able to make plays early on but were hindered by their lack of maturity and just could not help themselves.

This time on offense the Hornets simply ran into a wall on every play and could not go anywhere. On defense they could not seem to get set for any snap, and the Dons took advantage by finding wide open receivers and pounding the ball on the ground.

The Dons will next face the Point Loma Pointers for the division 3 semi-finals. The Pointers scored a 45-12 victory over El Capitan Friday night to earn the right to challenge the Dons. Point Loma is 8-2-1 on the year after the win over El Capitan with losses coming from Mt. Miguel and Steele Canyon (who the Dons defeated 27-7). Cathedral has won four straight playoff games against the Pointers. The game will be at Manchester Stadium, next Thursday December 1.

The Dons move to 9-1 on the year after their rout of Lincoln and clinch the best record in the division after rival St. Augustine’s was knocked out of the playoffs Friday night after blowing a 14-0 lead over Mar Vista to lose 42-28.