Late interception seals Serra win

"We've won many different ways this year," said Serra coach Patrick Walsh. "The defense won [this] game. Before, (our) offense won games."

The Serra defense limited a potent Skyline offense to just 229 yards but nearly watched a stellar effort go down the drain on the game's last drive. Trailing 20-13, Skyline (3-2 overall) took over at its own 20 with 2:03 left on the clock and no time-outs. The Titans promptly drove down the field, with quarterback Andre Christian completing 6 of 14 passes for 71 yards. Skyline twice converted on fourth down to keep the drive alive as it got down to the Serra 8 with 15 seconds to play. On third-and-goal, Christian tried to hit 6 foot 5 inch tight end Justin Brown in the flat, but Serra's Anthony Sanchez, a 5 foot 10 inch linebacker, jumped the route, stepped in front of Brown and picked off the pass at the 5-yard line. He returned it to Skyline's 39 to effectively end the game. It was the Titans' third turnover of the game.

"[Sanchez] was one of the guys we needed to depend on (this season)," Walsh said. "Anthony stayed disciplined. He wasn't covering grass he was covering the man. He made the play of the day, obviously."

Before Skyline's final drive, however, the Padres defense was in control. Defensive end Will Powers showed why he has Division I college coaches drooling over him. The 6 foot 4 inch, 230-pound senior made plays all over the field, finishing with at least a dozen tackles, including two sacks. Several times the Titans ran away from Powers but he worked his way down the line to make tackles on the opposite side of the field. On one play, he knocked his blocker into the backfield and into Titans' running back Dwayne Hollands. The Padres' pursuit then dropped Hollands for a loss.

" is making plays even when he isn't in on the play," Walsh said. "He's the defensive team leader. He really showed up today."

Powers biggest play, however, may have come on offense. Trailing 6-0 and on the verge of going down another score, Serra (5-0) forced and recovered a Skyline fumble at the Padres' 23. Seven plays later, the Padres had a first down at the Skyline 39. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who did not complete a pass the week before in the Padres win over Mitty, dropped back and hit Powers - who also doubles as a tight end - wide open at the Skyline 20. Powers hauled in the pass and went into the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown. Jimmy Parque's extra point gave Serra the lead for good.

After forcing a Skyline punt on its next possession, the Padres took over at the Titans 45. They needed only six plays to find pay dirt again. Ed Berry took an inside hand-off and went into the end zone from eight yards out for a 13-6 Serra advantage at half-time.

The second half turned into a defensive and field position battle. Serra, which didn't commit a turnover last week, had three against the Titans, including a fumble on its first drive of the third quarter. But the defense made amends by coming up with a fumble recovery of its own. The offense converted that turnover into a Lopeti Taufoou 37-yard touchdown run, capping a seven-play, 66-yard drive for a 20-6 Serra lead with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Skyline defense got the Titans right back in the game early in the fourth when Joe Bates scooped up a Serra fumble and took it 70 yards the other way for a touchdown, cutting Serra's lead to 20-13.

The Skyline defense was just as stingy as Serra's. The Titans held the vaunted Padres' offense to just 270 yards.

"That's a good defense," Walsh said.

While Walsh was relieved with the nail-biting win, he realizes it come with the Padres' schedule.

"Show me a team (with a) better schedule," Walsh said. Besides the tough West Catholic Athletic League schedule, arguably the toughest in Northern California, the Padres have faced Central Coast Section champion Palma and San Joaquin Section power Edison of Fresno.

"We're not going to roll through [teams]," Walsh continued. "That's life with our schedule."

Serra 20, Skyline 13

Skyline (3-2) 6 0 0 7 -- 13

Serra (5-0) 0 13 7 0 -- 20

Scoring summary

SKY-- Brown 5 pass from Christian (kick blocked)

SER -- Powers 39 pass from Masoli (Parque kick)

SER -- Berry 8 run (pass fail)

SER -- Taufoou 37 run (Parque kick)

SKY -- Bates 70 fumble return (Arredondo kick)

Individual stats

RUSHING (car-yds): SKYLINE -- Hollands 23-92, Brown 7-28, McIntyre 2-6, Peters 1-3, Christian 7-(-3). Totals 40-126. SERRA -- Berry 12-63, Hansen 13-58, Taufoou 5-46, Tuufuli 8-38, Masoli 8-16. Totals 46-221.

PASSING (comp-att-yds-td-int): SKYLINE -- Christian 11-24-103-1-1. SERRA -- Masoli 2-3-49-1.

RECEIVING (rec-yds): SKYLINE -- Brown 6-49, Allen 2-33, Richard 1-11, Brown 1-8, McIntyre 1-2. Totals 11-103. SERRA -- Powers 1-39, Rosales 1-11. Totals 2-49.

TOTAL YARDAGE (rush-pass-total): SKYLINE -- 126-103-229. SERRA -- 221-49-270.

Caption: Nathan Mollat / Daily Journal Serra quarterback Jeremiah Masoli stiff arms a would-be Skyline tackler during the Padres' 20-13 win over the Titans Saturday afternoon.