San Mateo's Serra football team loaded for 2021 season

All of the positive indicators are in place — plus a surprising summertime development that just adds to the anticipation on West 20th Avenue.

After going unbeaten, 5-0, during last spring's postponed, shortened 2020 prep football season, Serra returns most of the key weapons from that dominant outfit. Heralded senior quarterback Dominique Lampkin and do-it-all senior speedster Hassan Mahasin will operate with the benefit of a massive offensive line anchored by senior tackles, 6-5, 292-pound Nathan Elu and 6-6, 310-pound Andrew Azzopardi.

A deep, fast defense will be bolstered by a crop of outstanding sophomores, including highly-touted defensive back Joseph Bey and linebacker Jabari Mann. In all, Serra’s roster features no fewer than 10 sophomores.

The second-year cadre includes a new face, a transfer from Inderkum High School in Sacramento, quarterback Maealiuki Smith, a rangy, athletic 6-3 prospect who, like Lampkin, Mahasin and eight others, has college offers, including one from Louisville, according to Walsh.

The Padres will be severely tested right off the bat. Their Friday night opener has them traveling to Pittsburg, like Serra one of Northern California’s highest-rated teams. The task becomes even tougher for the Padres, however, as they will be without a number of players and starters because COVID contact according to a report from the Mercury News.

All signs point to the powerful Pirates being Serra’s toughest test of the regular season, although the WCAL should be challenging as well. Walsh said Pittsburg “definitely has the talent” to compete with his group.

It appears there are two league teams which may have the ingredients to give the Padres a run for their money: St. Francis of Mountain View and Valley Christian of San Jose. The Lancers return significant talent on both sides of the ball as does VC. But the Warriors are suffering from low roster numbers and lack depth, so much so they can't field a junior varsity team this season.

On the other end of the spectrum, Serra’s football program is experiencing a boom at the same time many of their Central Coast Section peers are hurting for participants in the sport. According to the Serra athletic website, a total of 223 boys (96 of them freshmen) is playing football on its three teams. That figure (roughly 27 percent of the student body) is said to be the highest in school history.

Walsh agreed this year’s team is “one of my deepest ever.” He added that the impressive total number is “a testament to the program” and a supportive administration, parents and school community.

Notes:

Walsh has 160 wins at Serra, placing him third all-time among San Mateo County prep coaches. … He was California Coach of the Year this past spring, partly as a result of his efforts to bring back an abbreviated football schedule during the pandemic. … Walsh said Smith’s transfer was still being processed earlier this week and he may not be available for the Pittsburg game. … Senior lineman Tiger Yu, 6-4, 335 pounds, is injured and is not expected to play Friday. … Attendance at that contest was set to be severely restricted to family members only. Walsh said such a virus-induced protocol was not anticipated for Serra home games unless health/safety rules were to be changed on the Peninsula. … CalHi Sports has ranked Serra No.9 in the state in its pre-season poll. … Between 2016 and 2019, the Padres won outright, or shared, three WCAL crowns, grabbed three CCS Open Division and NorCal championships and their first-ever state title in 2017. … Serra’s first varsity team went 2-4 in 1946.