Kevin Lowe could not help himself. His Lincoln High School team was celebrating after last Friday’s 28-21 victory over Woodcreek in Roseville, and the head coach could not resist joining his players.

“We never stop believing,” Lowe bellowed as the players and coaches milked the moment for all it was worth.

Lowe rarely lets his guard down in front of his players. And he rarely raises his voice. The Zebras overcame a 14-point halftime deficit without Lowe delivering the “Vince Lombardi speech of all time.”

“Some kids respond to coaches that are a little more high-strung,” he said, “but I try to stay even-tempered.”

A motivational speech was not necessary. Lowe said his players already knew what they had to do.

“They never thought they were out of it,” he said. “They believed. They didn’t give up.”

TIME ON THEIR SIDE: The Zebras won last Friday by playing a game of keep-away in the second half.

Lincoln’s offense had the ball for 18 minutes and 38 seconds in the final two quarters. The Zebras scored on their last three possessions after their first ended in a botched fourth-down play.

Speaking of fourth downs, Lincoln was 0-for-3 until converting one during its drive for the go-ahead touchdown. Anthony Esparza plowed for 4 yards on fourth-and-3 at Woodcreek’s 37-yard line.

The Zebras gained 171 yards in the second half to finish with 324. The Wolverines had 236 yards in the first half and just 22 in the second after losing quarterback Shaun Mize to a leg injury.

The only first down gained by Woodcreek in the second half came on a facemask penalty against Lincoln.

EYE FOR AN EYE: Woodcreek scored two touchdowns in a span of 58 seconds late in the second quarter by taking advantage of a fumble by Aldo Aguilar, who returns kickoffs for Lincoln.

Mize’s 5-yard scoring pass to Michael Blair tied the score at 7-all with 2:44 left in the first half. Woodcreek then kicked off into the wind, and Aguilar misjudged the flight of the ball for a fumble.

The Wolverines scored again two plays and 58 seconds later on a 13-yard run by Mize.

Aguilar redeemed himself on defense in the third quarter when he drilled Blair and forced a fumble. Carlos Castro recovered it at Woodcreek’s 36-yard line.

Lincoln scored seven plays later on a 1-yard run by quarterback Christian Perkins.

GOING FOR SIX: Lowe appreciates input from his assistants, but he would not have been talked into going for a field goal had Oscar Fernandez not scored the go-ahead touchdown on third down.

Special teams coach Chris Bombard pleaded his case for a field-goal attempt, but Lowe would not budge.

“I was thinking about going for it,” Lowe said. “It was never really in my mind to go for a field goal.”

Kicker Josh Hunt made his first two PAT attempts, but his third was low and got blocked. Even if Hunt had been 3-for-3, Lowe realized a field goal would leave his team with just a two-point lead.

Lowe had faith in his offense. After Fernandez scored, he added the two-point conversion.