Cabrillo Jaguars head coach A.J. Luke told us when we interviewed him for our Moore League football preview that he’d boxed up all the film from the previous season (when the Jags went 0-10) and put it away, choosing instead to focus on the future and try to move forward.  Unfortunately, the footage from Saturday afternoon’s 63-14 loss to the Lincoln Hornets isn’t going to look any prettier when he and his staff review it on Monday.

Things started off well enough—after giving up an opening touchdown, Cabrillo’s sophomore quarterback Derek Stewart sparked some offensive production.  He completed a 49-yard pass to Derick Speight, then capped the drive with a seven-yard TD to tight end Jordan Wilson.  In the first quarter, Stewart was 7-for-10 for 112 yards and a touchdown—but when the Hornets’ Collis Hunt picked off a throw he made to the right flat and returned it for a touchdown, the wheels came off the wagon for Cabrillo a bit.  From that point on Stewart was 4-for-12 for 39 yards with two interceptions, and Cabrillo didn’t score again until the fourth quarter, after Lincoln had posted 49 unanswered points.

The Jags’ defense showed positive signs early as well, as Donavan Cruz and Tyrone Swinton both nabbed impressive interceptions—but other than that, Lincoln had their way on the ground, posting 346 yards in rushing production. 

The leaders for Lincoln were Tony Crosland, who finished with 117 yards and three touchdowns on 8 carries, and Davon Dunn, who rushed for 87 yards, and had a 42-yard catch to boot.  For Cabrillo, there wasn’t much to admire in the stat line besides Stewart’s first quarter.  Speight had three catches for 71 yards, but starting running back Tyrone Swinton, who was sure-footed in pass coverage for most of the game, only got 16 yards on the ground in 10 carries.

In other words, the scene was all too familiar for Cabrillo.  “It’s hard for me,” said Luke after the game, “Because it brings me back to last year, and I promised these guys we wouldn’t go back.”  The Jags travel to Paramount next week to try and right the ship.