Bellarmine take Padres by one point

SAN JOSE — Somehow, Saturday’s rematch between West Catholic Athletic League powers Bellarmine and Serra lived up to its considerable hype.

Unfortunately for the Padres, a well-played 20-19 loss in a Central Coast Section Open Division first-round playoff game in front of a capacity crowd at San Jose City College offered no consolation. Serra has seen one too many heartbreaking losses over the last seven years, and afterwards Padres coach Patrick Walsh wondered if opting up to play in the powerful Open Division every season was worth it.

"I don’t know if I’m going to opt up anymore,” he said. "It’s not worth it. The WCAL and Palma are the only two teams that opt up and the only reward we get is a Week 11 game against Bellarmine. I think CCS has to examine how they seed the Open Division. I really do. This is not sour grapes. I don’t think two teams from the same league should play in the opening round in any division. Something has to be looked at. I don’t care how it sounds.”

Walsh emphasized that the seeding process was not why his team lost. He just would’ve liked to see the No. 5 Padres and No. 4 Bells meet in the championship, since some regarded them as the two best teams in the division, if not the entire section. Serra came agonizingly close once again to finally get its Open Division breakthrough. After falling behind 14-0, the Padres scored 19 unanswered points to take their first and only lead of the game with 7:37 remaining. Trailing for the first time, the WCAL champions responded with a lengthy drive that concluded when quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels scored on a 6-yard touchdown run off a bootleg around right end with 1:28 left.

The Padres still had plenty of confidence that they were going to pull things out. After all, they had three timeouts left and only had to get into field goal range for Greg Guttas, who has converted a number of kicks beyond 40 yards this season. Serra got the ball back with 1:22 remaining and the drive started well, as quarterback Cody Jackson scampered for a 13-yard gain. However, after a 2-yard run, an incomplete pass and a sack, the Padres faced a fourth-and-10 from its 25-yard line with 42 seconds to go.

With its season on the line, Serra decided to go to its back of tricks, and it ended badly. Jackson handed the ball off to tailback DeLeon Eskridge, who handed the ball off to Andrew Cullins. The receiver then pitched the ball back to Jackson, who threw a pass 35 yards downfield over the middle intended for Tiuke Tuipulotu. There was only one problem: Tuipulotu wasn’t even looking when the ball went through the arms of the Bells’ Andrew Earl.

"I don’t know — do you really want to talk about that last play?” Walsh asked rhetorically.

Frustration and tears took over the Serra sideline after its last-ditch comeback effort fell short. The Padres played well enough to win perhaps against any other team, but not Bellarmine. Sure, they lost the turnover battle (two giveaways to the Bells’ one), but they were 3 of 4 on fourth-down conversions and never punted. Jackson accounted for all three Serra touchdowns, scoring on runs of 7, 45 and 28 yards.

Perfectly suited for Serra’s double wing offense, he finished with 141 yards rushing on 13 carries, averaging nearly 11 yards per attempt. He also completed 5-of-8 passes — all to Cullins — for 53 yards. The Padres also played solid for the most part on defense. Bells tailback Usua Amanam, arguably the most dynamic talent in the Bay Area, rushed for 149 yards on 22 carries. Serra had the shifty and elusive junior surrounded countless times, only to see the 5-foot-9, 165-pounder change direction on a dime and come up with positive yardage.

A week ago, Serra scored 14 points in the final two minutes to stun Bellarmine, 24-20. Sequels rarely live up to the original, but this rematch did and more. How evenly played was this game? The Bells rushed 47 times for 252 yards, the Padres 46 for 252. Yes, it was that close. But in the end, Serra walked off the field wondering what it was going to take to earn that elusive CCS title, something it hasn’t won since 1990.

"The two best teams played each other in Week 1 (of the playoffs),” Walsh said. "That’s how championship games are supposed to be. I would’ve preferred to win this one obviously. It was two good teams slugging it out. They scored three times, we scored three times. The turnovers, that’s the difference right there. You have two great teams and it’s a possession game. I guess they made one more play. It’s too bad.”

Bellarmine 20, Serra 19

Serra 0 7 6 6 — 19

Bellarmine 7 7 0 6 — 20

Scoring summary

B — Amanam 5 run (Parrette kick)

B — Carta-Samuels 1 run (Parrette kick)

S — Jackson 7 run (Guttas kick)

S — Jackson 45 run (kick blocked)

S — Jackson 28 run (run failed)

B — Carta-Samuels 6 run (pass failed)

Individual stats

RUSHING (carries-yards): SERRA — Jackson 13-141, Braun 8-31, Eskridge 11-48, Tuipulotu 8-13, Tuiasosopo 6-19. Totals 46-252. BELLARMINE — Amanam 22-149, Molnar 8-57, Olugbode 8-37, Carta-Samuels 7-9. Totals 47-252.

PASSING (comp-att-yds-td-int): SERRA — Jackson 5-8-53-0-0. BELLARMINE — Carta-Samuels 4-5-33-0-0.

RECEIVING (catches-yards): SERRA — Cullins 5-53. BELLARMINE — Amanam 2-10, Olugbode 1-10, Boitano 1-13. Totals 4-33.

TOTAL YARDAGE (rush-pass-total)

SERRA: 252-53-305. BELLARMINE: 252-33-285.