SAN JOSE — Before his Lincoln High team took the field for a Halloween evening clash with visiting Christopher, coach Kevin Collins knew this would be a dogfight.

“Every team in the league is good,” he said. “We’re all battling.”

And when Christopher emerged with a 31-29 victory in a game in which the lead changed hands six times, the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton Division was more muddled than ever.

Santa Teresa (9-0 overall, 4-0 Mount Hamilton) has clinched the Mount Hamilton title, but all five of the rest can claim at least an outside shot at one of the division’s four automatic Central Coast Section playoff bids going into the final weekend of the regular season.

Christopher (5-4, 2-2) needed to beat Lincoln (7-2, 2-2) to remain in contention and did so to force a three-way tie with Live Oak and Lincoln for second place.

Kordell Crocker’s fourth-quarter interception and 51-yard return was the pivotal moment in the back-and-forth contest, swinging the momentum to Christopher for good. Adrian Leon’s fourth touchdown run of the game, and 14th of the season, was the go-ahead score with 5:10 in the game.

Christopher High’s Adrian Leon (23) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their football game against Lincoln High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 

But Lincoln countered with a quick touchdown, on a 47-yard deep throw from Luca Papoulias to Michael Whitelaw with 3:33 left to cut the deficit to 31-29. It was the second such scoring combination of the game for the Lions. Whitelaw finished with six catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted a pass.

A two-yard tackle for loss by Lincoln’s Lucas Martinez put Christopher into a hole on its next possession and the Cougars went three-and-out, giving Lincoln, which took over possession with 2:53 left, one more chance. And a 26-yard pass to Kyan Phillips placed the ball on Christopher’s 35-yard line.

Christopher High’s Ethan Vernon (2) makes it interception late in the fourth quarter of their football game against Lincoln High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 

However, a bobbled snap led to a broken play on second down and an incompletion and illegal procedure penalty forced Lincoln into a fourth-and-14. The Lions last-gasp play was a deep throw that Ethan Vernon intercepted with 1:02 left to clinch the victory. It capped a fine night for Vernon who had nine catches for 99 yards on offense, with quarterback Dylan Robinson completing 16 of 29 passes for 177 yards.

“I’m old fashioned,” Christopher coach and alum Michael Pirnik said. “I always say the only thing you need on a football team is toughness and discipline. If you’ve got a tough and disciplined team, there’s not a whole lot that can beat you. And if you combine toughness and discipline together into one word, that’s ‘grit.’ Grit is toughness and discipline built into one word. That’s what this team has. They fight all the way to the end. They never want to lose. And that’s probably the biggest thing I love about them.”

Christopher lost 32 seniors from last year’s Mount Hamilton title team, but Pirnik said the example and standards set by those seniors remains alive today in the younger players who emulated them.

That seemed evident early in this game when Christopher dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, holding Lincoln to seven first-half rushing yards and 59 yards in all. Christopher relied on a two-pronged running attack, with Leon and quarterback Dylan Robinson picking up a handful of yards on each play. They combined for 109 yards on 37 carries.

But when the Cougars got into close range, they pulled out the Extreme One Ton formation, with right guard Siasosi Vai lining up in the backfield and leading Leon, who took the direct snap in the shotgun formation, with running back Jacob Castro flanking Leon in the fullhouse backfield.

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Christopher scored its final two touchdowns, including the eventual decider, on fourth-down plays out of that formation. Leon’s 1-yarder from the 1 gave the Cougars a 25-22 lead with 10:25 left and his two-yarder with 5:10 left put Christopher ahead, 31-22.

“I call that a star play, because that’s all effort right there,” said Vai, a two-way line standout and a senior transfer from Los Banos. “I know on that play right there, on fourth down, you go full out. Why not? Lay everything on the line. Win or lose, lay everything out on that field.”

For Lincoln, Kyan Phillips scored on runs of 4 and 41 yards for his 27th and 28th touchdowns of the season, breaking the Lincoln record of 26 by Chris Mendoza in 2005. Phillips, who averaged 95 yards rushing and 152 all-purpose going into the game, rushed for 56 yards on eight carries and had 127 all-purpose yards. He entered the game ranked No. 1 in the CCS and No. 5 in the state in touchdowns.

Christopher High’s Damian Merabian (13) tries to tackle Lincoln High’s Kyan Phillips (21) as he runs for yardage in the first quarter of their football game against Lincoln High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 
Lincoln High’s Kyan Phillips (21) and Michael Whitelaw (7) walk off the field after lossing their football game against Christopher High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 
Lincoln High’s Michael Whitelaw (7) tries to get past Christopher High’s Elijah Coleman (14) in the fourth quarter of their football game in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 
Christopher High quarterback Dylan Robinson (5) runs for yardage in the fourth quarter of their football game against Lincoln High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 
Lincoln High’s Jonathan Medina (9) runs for a first down in the second quarter of their football game against Christopher High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 
Christopher High’s Dylan Robinson (5) throws a pass in the first quarter of their football game against Lincoln High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 
Christopher High Head Coach Michael Pirnik celebrates after winning their football game 31-29 against Lincoln High in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 
Lincoln High’s Sabastian Garcia (5) and Lincoln High’s Kyan Phillips (21) tackle Christopher High’s Adrian Leon (23) in the first quarter of their football game in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)