Mission, Stancil make big plays and win big in 91st Turkey Day victory

SAN FRANCISCO — Lincoln (San Francisco) brought the pressure, which brought nothing but a smile to the face of Jerrel Stancil.

The Mission (San Francisco) quarterback loves to run and improvise and he was at his best during Thursday's 36-12 victory in the 91st Turkey Day Game at Lowell.

Stancil, an elusive and in the words of Lincoln coach Phil Ferrigno "wily" senior, completed 17 of 23 passes – mostly on the run – for 318 yards and four touchdowns.

For good measure, the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder, also rushed for two touchdowns, accounting for all of his team's points en route to an ninth straight victory and second San Francisco Section championship victory in four years.

Before an overflow crowd of 2,500 — regular title-game venue Kezar Stadium was unavailable due to track reconstruction — Mission (9-3) won its seventh SFS championship overall while dropping Lincoln to 7-5.

"When they blitz and bring the heat I get a little more excited," Stancil said. "And when I get excited I actually focus a little more.

"My line gave me the time, our receivers got open and made the plays. This feels great because all of our hard work paid off."

It paid off on defense also.

The Bears, led by linebackers Rasool Sohan and Bran'Den Rodriguez, held the sections' leading rusher Jacquez Williams-Chish to 149 yards on 28 carries and a 2-yard touchdowns. Other than a short stint in the third quarter, Mission kept the slippery junior tailback in check.

He came in with 1,472 rushing yards and 18 scores.

"I thought our defense played great," Mission coach Joe Albano said. "Holding No. 6 (Williams' number) in check was definitely a big key. He broke that one long one, but luckily for us they called a penalty."

If there was a key moment in Mission's wire-to-wire win, it was early in the third quarter after Williams scored on a 2-yard run to cut Mission's lead to 18-12 (all eight conversions after touchdowns failed in this one).

Held to just 41 yards and 15 carries in the first half, Williams seemed to be finding a rhythm and had 45 yards on six carries during that touchdown drive.

Stancil, like he did all day, answered with a 16-yard run and three completions, the last coming on a 25-yard touchdown strike to sophomore Niamey Harris, his second TD of the day making it 24-12.

"Give that (Stancil) credit," Ferrigno said. "He can really make some plays. And he has a lot of great athletes around them. Mission earned that win. They were the better team. I applaud them."

On Lincoln's next possession, Ferrigno was applauding wildly after Williams broke a half-dozen tackles, scooted outside and scored on what looked to be a beautiful 73-yard touchdown. But at the Mission 15, a Lincoln lineman was called for a push in the back.

Albano called it lucky for his team. Ferrigno called it a young mistake. And the team's last hope.

The ball got pushed back, Mission held on downs and Lincoln, making its eight title game appearance in 13 years, never really threatened from there.

Meanwhile, helped by a interceptions from David Jack and Sohan, Stancil scored on runs of 3 and 1 yards to put this one away.

"It's a great day and great event for these kids to be a part of," Albano said. "They play hard and make plays. They should feel proud."

Mission made plays from the start.

On the game's first play in fact, as Stancil fired a quick wideout screen to Rodriguez, who turned it into a 62-yard TD and a 6-0 lead. Rodriguez was a standout on both sides of the ball with three tackles for losses and another key catch a run to set up a touchdown.

Stancil made it 12-0 on Mission's next possession with a pretty 26-yard TD floater to Harris with 4:18 left in the first quarter.

Lincoln cashed in on a bad Mission punt snap to travel just 19 yards, capped by an 8-yard touchdown run from Chris Peacock to close to 12-6 with 10:09 left in the half.

The Mustangs would never get closer than that.

"We played super hard but just didn't take advantage of all our opportunities," Ferrigno said. "That's all right. It's just an honor to get these kids back here to play in this setting. We'll be back."