Athlete of the Week: Serra’s Daylin McLemore

The night didn’t end in the fairytale finish Serra had hoped for, but it certainly felt like one after quarterback Daylin McLemore led the blue-and-gold 80 yards, capped by the senior’s 9-run sprint off tackle for a touchdown.

It wasn’t just that the Daily Journal Athlete of the Week had a direct hand in eight of Serra’s 10 plays to reach the end zone. It was the exhilaration of just seeing him take the field at all, as the West Catholic Athletic League Quarterback of the Year hadn’t played since Oct. 26 in Week 8 of the regular season after suffering a broken collarbone in his non-throwing shoulder.

“It was spectacular,” Serra head coach Patrick Walsh said. “Just the fact that Daylin made the decision (to play).”

For some in attendance Saturday night, it marked the second time they have witnessed a McLemore play for a pinnacle football championship. His father Dana played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1982-87, including the 1984 season during the dynasty’s second all-time Super Bowl championship.

Dana was in attendance Saturday, rooting for “Day-Day,” as he calls his son. We all were, just at the surprise of his lining up for the opening play of the night.

McLemore was not listed as Serra’s starter on the official lineup card distributed by the CIF. The Padres had listed sophomore Dom Lampkin, who played throughout the postseason as the Padres won the Central Coast Section Division I and CIF Division 1-A Northern California titles. Serra, however, tipped its hand when McLemore joined fellow team captains Terence Loville, Nusi Malani and Nate Sanchez at midfield for the opening coin flip.

The 6-3, 195-pound McLemore was fortunate in that the initial injury was to his left, non-throwing shoulder. Still, he was relegated to skulking along the sideline for three weeks after the injury, arm in a sling, not even able to clap for his team.

Serra continued to hold optimism the senior could return during the postseason. That looked to become a reality when he was cleared to practice prior to Serra’s Northern California regional championship game Dec. 7. He drilled with the team all week but didn’t always look comfortable, so he didn’t play in that 28-18 win over San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno.

“The thing was bothering him at six-and-a-half weeks and those injuries are six-to-eight week deals,” Walsh said. “All the bone was healed and he was good to go. But it’s still uncomfortable.”

In the week leading up to Saturday’s 35-27 loss to Corona del Mar-Newport Beach, the Padres insisted they’d make a game-time decision on McLemore playing. Even prior to the 4 p.m. start, the verdict was undecided until game time.

McLemore ultimately got knocked out of the game after re-aggravating the injury on a late hit out of bounds early in the fourth quarter, finishing the night 16-of-18 passing for 159 yards and one interception, while also rushing eight times for 18 yards and a touchdown.

That touchdown finished a roaring opening drive.

Serra’s first play was designed to keep the pressure of McLemore, and it worked like a charm. Offensive coordinator Darius Bell is known for his creative play calling, and drew up a double reverse with two backward passes to get the ball to McLemore all alone along the right sideline. He then placed a spiral in the hands of Sanchez 20 yards downfield for a dizzying game-opening chunker.

McLemore later connected with Loville for a 26-yard pickup on third-and-6 from the Serra 44 to surge into Corona territory. After passes to Sanchez of 9 and 6 yards, McLemore took his first dance into the open field, capping a 4-yard gain with a feet-first slide.

After he completed a short pass to Hassan Mahasin to get the Padres inside the 10, McLemore took a headier run on third-and-3 by scoring the 9-yard jaunt off left tackle Nate Azzopardi to mystify the Serra faithful — fans, coaches and players alike.

“It’s football, after all, it’s I guess an unsafe game,” Walsh said. “But the fact that he showed that tremendous amount of grit and love for his community, the things he did out there, it’s got to be an inspiration to the state of California, just what he did. I want that kid leading my offense, our football team, forever. Just the sacrifice he made just to get up and play for this team just says so much about him.”