Another big test for Serra

The knee-jerk reaction is that the Serra defense needs work. True — to an extent. But last week’s loss was also the result of playing one of the most highly-recruited quarterbacks in the nation, coupled with a couple of mistakes and featuring 17 new starters, including all 11 on the offensive side of the ball.

Against lesser teams, those mistakes might result in a chunk play. Against the likes of Folsom? A mistake can cost you 7.

“We had some communication breakdowns,” said Serra head coach Patrick Walsh. “When that happens, it’s not a 10-yard gain. It’s potentially a 70-, 80-yard touchdown.”

The stakes are that high again as the Padres will host another Northern California and national power in De La Salle at 2 p.m. Saturday in the San Mateo Daily Journal’s Game of the Week.

This is the 14th time these two team have met, with the first coming in 2005. They played each other nearly every year until 2016 before the matchup went on hiatus. They rekindled the rivalry in 2022 when the Padres beat the Spartans for the first time ever on a game-winning field goal for a 24-21 win. Serra beat DLS again the following year, 28-0, before the Spartans improved its record to 11-2 against the Padres with a 39-10 win in 2025.

Given the rise of the Serra program, the novelty of playing against a team with a storied history like De La Salle’s has worn off.

“Oh yeah. It was cool 20 years ago,” Walsh said.

But the game still means a lot to Walsh, who graduated from De La Salle in 1993.

“It will never be just (another game),” Walsh said.

The Spartans, which opened their season with a hard-fought 10-6 road win over Lakeland-Florida last week, come into Saturday’s game ranked No. 8 in the state and No. 28 in the nation by MaxPreps.com. Both rankings are higher than that of Folsom, which is ranked No. 9 and No. 30, respectively.

What can Walsh take from the game against Folsom to apply to the Spartans?

Not a lot.

“Literally two different teams. The styles of play? Literally day and night,” Walsh said.

Last week, the Padres defense had to contend with Folsom quarterback Ryder Lyons throwing for 389 yards four touchdowns. This week, they take on a De La Salle team that, while having modernized it’s offense, still is a power-running team at heart.

“There are an equal amounts of unknowns going into this game (as there were going into the Folsom game),” Walsh said. “(The Spartans) are massive up front.”

The Spartans made a statement last week, going cross country to take on Lakeland, which is ranked No. 9 in Florida. The DLS offense was held to just 10 points, but the Spartans defense held the Dreadnaughts to just a pair of field goals.

“(The DLS) defense is probably A-plus,” Walsh said.

That defense will test a young Serra offense, which had to open some eyes with its performance against Folsom, which gave up its most points since a 40-7 loss to Rocklin during the 2021 season.

The Padres went at the Bulldogs with a balanced attack. Junior quarterback Caleb Bandel completed 14 of 26 passes for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first varsity start. The ground attack also got it done, rushing for 174 behind 117 yards from Iziah Singleton and two touchdowns from Jeovanni Henley.

But Walsh doesn’t wait until the week of the game to prepare for De La Salle. With a game in Los Angeles County against St. John Bosco, the No. 2 team in the country, looming next week, Walsh said he and his staff spend time during summer preparing for these teams.

“We have ‘De La Salle Week’ during the summer,” Walsh said. “They’re so unique in what they do offensively, waiting until this week is not healthy defensive game planning.

“(We work on it in the summer) just so it’s not foreign when we say, ’split-back veer.’”