Back to the big dance

Heimuli and Ngalu were sophomores on that M-A team. And after dominating the top awards in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division this season, the tandem returns to the Division 3-AA State Championship Bowl stage, this time with a simple theme — redemption.

“They’ve wanted to get back for this moment and they’ve worked hard to get here,” M-A head coach Adhir Ravipati said of his many juniors and seniors who played for the 2016 state championship. “They’re excited and have got a lot of great experience.”

In addition to fielding plenty more State Bowl experience this time around, the Bears will enjoy another keen advantage. While they won’t exactly play host, they won’t be forced to travel as the Division 3-AA state championship will be held at neighboring Terramere Field at Sequoia High School, Saturday at 6 p.m.

M-A will welcome one of two teams with the Lincoln namesake playing for a state championship this weekend. Not M-A’s opponent: Lincoln-San Francisco, an undefeated small school that will play Orange Glen-Escondido for the Division 6-A title at City College of San Francisco Saturday at noon.

Lincoln-San Diego will be the Bears’ opponent, which boasts a fitting mascot in the Hornets, seeing as the first thing that jumped off the scouting film was their team speed, according to Ravipati.

“One thing with this team is they’re really fast … so the one thing is getting used to their speed,” Ravipati said.

The Hornets, led by head coach David Dunn, will be making their first-ever State Bowl game appearance. Since Dunn took over the program in 2011, Lincoln has won two San Diego Section championships, the first coming at the Division III level in 2012, and the second this season at Division II.

In four wins through the SDS Division II bracket this season, Lincoln has proven an explosive first-half offense. The Hornets outscored those four opponents 146-58 overall, including 99-37 in the first half while taking leads into halftime and holding them in every game.

The Hornets’ victory in a battle with Culver City in the CIF Division 3-AA Southern California regional championship game took plenty more moxie. Lincoln trailed 42-34 going into the fourth quarter, but rallied back with 20 unanswered points in the game’s final eight minutes.

Junior receiver Keyshawn Smith proved the hero, catching the two key fourth-quarter TDs, one from each of Lincoln’s two situational quarterbacks. He produced a 50-yard TD reception from Chris Davila to close the deficit to 42-40, then a 60-yard reception from Raymond Spriggs Jr. to give Lincoln a 46-42 lead with four minutes to play.

M-A knows something about what a big comeback can do to propel a team going forward. In the Central Coast Section Open Division I championship game Nov. 30 against Wilcox, the Bears overcame a 21-0 first-half deficit to claim the CCS crown with a 33-28 victory.

“I think it gives you a lot of confidence,” Ravipati said of the comeback. “And mental confidence and grit is what you’re going to need if you want to win a state championship game.”

Smith had a similar week as the Bears’ star wide receiver Troy Franklin. The M-A sophomore went for a season-high 190 total yards with three touchdowns in a 27-20 win over Eureka in the CIF Division 3-AA Northern California regional championship, including a go-ahead 70-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

At 6-foot, 155 pounds, Smith went for a season-high 180 total yards — all via the air on six receptions — with three touchdowns, including the go-ahead catch. On the season, however, Smith has been Lincoln’s second most productive receiver, with 6-2, 205-pound Jamahd Monroe totaling 1,254 receiving yards this season.

Last week’s go-ahead TD throw put Spriggs over 2,000 passing yards. The 5-10 sophomore is 110-of-188 passing for 2,067 yards with 20 touchdowns. Davila is 55-of-166 for 874 yards with 12 touchdowns. Senior running back Carlito Nothaft is Lincoln’s best rushing weapon, averaging 7.3 yards per carry with 1,273 ground yards.

The Hornets have gained 5,595 yards of total offense this season.

M-A will look to answer with its defensive depth, with Heimuli and Ngalu bringing the star power. Heimuli, a lightning-fast 6-2, 220-pound senior linebacker, has been proving the mettle that earned him PAL Bay Division Defensive Player of the Year by playing the most inspired football of his four-year varsity career this postseason. Ngalu, a 6-2, 280-pound two-way lineman named PAL Bay Division Most Valuable Player, has helped provide the one-two punch.

“What it really comes down to is stars playing like stars, the seniors stepping up and playing as a team,” Ravipati said. “So we’re going to have to play at a high level if we want to win.”