Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Serra’s Malakai Taufoou

Now we all know how Los Gatos’ defense felt all night long after Taufoou manned to perfection the double-wing Raider offense, a rugby-style approach that is only as good as a quarterback’s stealth sensibilities.

“When we get in Raider, we’re picking a fight,” Serra offensive coordinator Darius Bell said. “We want our best 11 out there. ... When we get in that form it’s for a reason.”

The numbers make the case, pure and simple, for Taufoou’s selection as Daily Journal Athlete of the Week. The Padres ran 57 plays on the night, 55 of them run plays. Taufoou ran the offense like a real-life game of three-card monte, as junior running back Andrew Takapautolo ran 21 times for 125 yards, senior Jeovanni Henley took 16 carries for 100 yards, and senior Iziah Singleton had 11 carries for 90 yards.

While the Padres totaled 355 yards of offense, they never faced a fourth down — not even to punt or kick a field goal. (They did attempt one field goal, but it came on third down on the final play of the first half.) Of the team’s five third-down conversion tries, Taufoou and company went a perfect 5 for 5.

Taufoou was far from a solo act, relying on not only an offensive line of guards Lemani Fehoko and Chase Morris, tackles Carlos Hernandez and Xander Grayson, center Isaiah Antonio Romero and tight end Jace Cannon, but on the mobile and agile backfield blocking of defensive linemen turned blocking backs Taupaki Latu, Peyton Thomas and Dylan Modena.

“Football is a simple game and, at times, it’s just block the guy in front of you,” Bell said.

In addition to totaling six carries for 24 yards and two touchdowns, Taufoou also starred on defense at his primary position of safety, where he had two interceptions.

Had it been left to the preseason game plan to Bell and head coach Patrick Walsh, that defensive role might have been all Taufoou played this season. Other than a backup role as a wide receiver, the junior didn’t fit into Serra’s offensive scheme during summer workouts.

Still, the Padres have long used the Raider offense as a card up their sleeve, and were looking for the right player to helm it. Not only did Taufoou volunteer for duty prior to the season, but he developed into Serra’s most regular quarterback in a three-man rotation that includes junior Caleb Bandel and freshman William Orr for different offensive formations.

“We made that move in the summer and now he’s the leader on defense ... and he’s the leader of our Raider, which usually has been a closer for us instead of an opener,” Bell said. “But we’ve been able to use it in different ways and it’s been nice having someone we can trust behind the center.”

Serra’s version of the Raider double-wing option goes back to Walsh’s early days at Serra. In his 25th year at the helm, Walsh took over in 2001 and had admired the double-wing run by another West Catholic Athletic League team, Archbishop Riordan, where Bell would ultimately play and coach (and carve out a 3-1 record record heads up against Serra).

“And I had no idea to stop it,” Walsh said. “I’m a first-year year coach and they were running this weird double-wing thing ... and I’m like: ’It’s that hard to stop and so unique, I want to run it.’”

Walsh installed the offense as an emergency plan, and ran it for the first time in 2002 in a non-league game against Skyline-Oakland and head coach John Beam. It was a third-and-1 play, and Walsh merely wanted to use the play once to pick up a first down. Instead, Matt O’Connor broke a 87-yard touchdown run.

Meanwhile, Walsh had his hands full with another WCAL rival, St. Francis. When Walsh arrived at West 20th Avenue, the Padres hadn’t defeated the Lancers since 1972. And it would take until 2006 for Walsh’s Padres to break the streak. The reason it took so long is Malakai Taufoou’s cousins were running amok over Serra for the first five years, culminating in the third of three Taufoou brothers, 2005 St. Francis graduate Will Taufoou.

“The year after he graduated, we beat them,” Walsh said.

While the St. Francis Taufoou’s were downhill power runners, Malakai Taufoou is a different owns a different kind of strength — wiry strong and whip smart in making tactical decisions in real time.

“I would say he’s a little different in that he’s taller and, they’re not going to like this, but overall I think he’s a little more athletic,” Walsh said. “While those guys were fantastic players and we never beat ’em ... Malakai is just a different body type altogether.”

And the junior’s upstart season at quarterback has been a perfect fit for the Padres.

“I would say the major thing for him is having the opportunity to make an impact as a leader on offense,” Walsh said. “So, he loves the opportunity to go out there and take the snap and lead that side of our offensive game plan.”