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CHATSWORTH — The USC Trojans and Sierra Canyon Trailblazers had parallel storylines coming into Friday night. Each football team was one win away from a bigger game.
For USC, a win over Utah in the Pac-12 Championship would put them in the College Football Playoff. For Sierra Canyon, a win over San Diego Lincoln would put them into the CIF State championship next weekend.
Both games started with promise. Both teams were seemingly favored. Both teams lost in lopsided fashion.
Sierra Canyon fell to Lincoln 37-14 at home in the CIF State Division I-AA Southern California Regional Bowl at home after lifting the CIF Southern Section Division 2 crown on the same field a week ago.
As USC was being diced up by Utah quarterback Cameron Rising to an eventual 47-24 loss, Sierra Canyon had no answer for Lincoln running back Roderick Robinson, who ran for 160 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries.
The Georgia commit was everything as advertised and then some. He showed power in short yardage and showed speed on two huge runs for 47 and 74 yards. The 74-yarder was for a touchdown to give Lincoln a 30-7 lead with 4:16 left to play in the third quarter.
Lincoln celebrates. Hornets are headed to the CIF State championship. pic.twitter.com/SaKLkoOdvp
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) December 3, 2022
Sierra Canyon took a 7-3 lead after a Dane Dunn touchdown at the 9:04-mark in the second quarter. But a Robinson touchdown later in the quarter gave the Hornets a lead it never gave back for the rest of the night.
Dunn finished the game with 87 yards. The lowest rushing total the entire postseason for the sophomore.
The Trailblazers’ season ends with a 10-5 record after Friday night’s loss, which marked the program’s first regional loss ever. Sierra Canyon was one win away from its fifth CIF State final appearance.
More to come on this story …