Lincoln

Washington clinched a playoff spot and Lincoln remained tied with the Eagles as the Public League playoff picture both cleared up and clouded up in the same week. Washington and Lincoln each won both their games last week to increase their league records to 7-3. Because of tiebreakers, only Washington was able to lock up a playoff spot. "The playoffs was one of our goals," Washington coach Calvin Jones said. "It would be a plus if we got first place. That's our incentive now. " The Eagles have reached the playoffs in each of Jones' four years at the helm, although they have never finished first in the division during that time.

There's no truth to the rumor that Lincoln women's basketball coach Al Miles passed out name tags to his players when they first gathered for preseason practice. But it wouldn't have been a bad idea for a team that starts three freshmen and brings four other freshmen off the bench. "They are young," Miles said. "They do make a lot of freshman mistakes. But they're getting better and better. They're getting the wrinkles out. They're getting into the college flow. " After going 5-19 last year, the Lions are off to a 5-2 start this season.

Three years ago, Pat Jiggets-Jones, who was about to begin her first year as Lincoln's girls' tennis coach, spotted a freshman playing field hockey who had "natural athlete" stamped all over her and proceeded to sell Jen Taggart on the virtues of playing tennis rather than softball when spring arrived. "I guess I kind of stole her from softball," Jiggets-Jones said, laughing. "She just had natural athletic ability and was a real good competitor. She hit the ball well right from the beginning.

With the Public League girls' basketball season having reached the midway mark last week, it's not too early to take a look at how the Northeast area teams stack up in an extremely muddled playoff picture. With postseason berths reserved for 12 of the 14 teams in the competitive Blue Division, Lincoln (6-2 league, 6-4 overall) and Washington (4-2 league and overall) appear to be locks to participate in the playoffs. Lincoln, with a pair of easy victories last week, has won five of its last six games to climb into a third-place tie with Franklin Learning Center.

The Public League girls' basketball playoff picture has come into a little sharper focus, although with one game left in the regular season five teams remain in the running for two postseason berths. While Lincoln captured the Gold Division title with a pair of wins, it became painfully clear to Frankford coach Mitch Kline that his Pioneers would not finish as the undefeated champions of the Blue Division. In a match of unbeatens Wednesday, Frankford (11-1 league, 12-4 overall)

Before yesterday afternoon's showdown with Lincoln, Washington High was undefeated in five games and alone on top of the Public League A Division. With three quarters gone in the contest, Washington had not allowed the Railsplitters to score and was up by a touchdown. Twelve scoreboard minutes later, though, it was Lincoln that was up by a touchdown and Lincoln that captured the division title with a 15-7 victory over the Eagles. "We played today with so much courage," said Lincoln coach Jeb Lynch.

Lincoln won. For the Railsplitters, that's the good news. The bad news is, if they don't work on some of their weaknesses, they might not win the ones that count. The defending A Division champs traveled to South Philly on Thursday afternoon to kick off the Public League football season and returned with a 26-12 victory over the Rams. The Railsplitters, in search of a rhythm and a sense of team cohesion, found out that, at least this early in the season, they are a long way from repeating.

He called it the game of his life, but to Lincoln running back Duane Frazier, yesterday's snow-covered 7-0 victory over visiting Father Judge was like dozens of games he had played in his youth. "This reminded me of when we played street ball growing up," Frazier said. "You know, when you get a new football for Christmas and you go out with your friends and play a game in the snow in the street. " With a blanket of white obscuring yard lines, sidelines and goal lines, Frazier scored the game's lone touchdown on what could best be estimated as a 3-yard run midway through the third quarter.

Although Lincoln football coach Jeb Lynch and Northeast football coach Brew Schumer have been transferred to teaching duties at different schools this fall, each expects to continue coaching at his old school. The coaches were transferred under a Philadelphia School District policy that regulates the racial balance of school faculties. Lynch, a special-education teacher who also coaches Lincoln's swim team, will teach his subject at Northeast this school year. Schumer, a physical- education teacher who also coached Northeast's boys' tennis team, will teach at Martin Luther King.

It couldn't have ended any closer or more dramatically for two of the Public League's premier golf teams. After taking a week off because of scheduling problems, Lincoln (4-0) edged Washington (4-1) 3 1/2-2 1/2 last Tuesday to take sole possession of first place in Public League standings. It came down to the final match, in which Washington missed a four-foot putt that would have ended the contest in a tie. Then Lincoln's Joe Pembroke sank a two-foot putt of his own to ensure the victory at the John F. Byrne Golf Club.