Serra comes up just short in Nor Cal title game

Serra (8-6) was looking to write the fairytale end to head coach Patrick Walsh’s silver anniversary season, but the Rams touted a silver anniversary of its own. St. Mary’s head coach Tony Franks is in his 25th season since returning to the helm for his second stint — and Friday’s showdown was brimming with all the gusto, drama and ingenuity that comes from 50-plus years of combined coaching.

“This is high school football at its finest, and we just happened to be on the wrong side of the scoreboard,” Walsh said. “But I tip my hat to Coach Franks. It was a well-played game, and it really just came down to them making one more big play than us this week.”

In a fourth quarter that saw three lead changes, Serra set the stage for the remarkable finish by taking the lead with 2:41 to play in regulation.

The Rams had gone ahead 23-17 with 4:43 to play on a 14-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Jaden Galvan to junior Finn McShane, but left the door open for Serra when the ensuing point-after try was blocked.

The Padres then drove downfield in a flash, using a big 63-yard pass from quarterback William Orr. The freshman has split time with two other quarterback this season, and saw limited playing time in last week’s Central Coast Section Division I championship win, with the Padres sticking with the double-wing Raider offense quarterback Malakai Taufoou for a majority of the plays last Friday.

Orr and Taufoou switched offenses not from drive to drive this week, but from play to play. And with the Padres’ backs up against the wall, it was Orr who delivered in the clutch on a wheel route to junior slot receiver Charlie Walsh, to advance to St. Mary’s 11-yard line.

“He’s a good player,” Serra running back Jeovanni Henley said. “He’s just a freshman, so he’s still developing. And as a freshman, he’s a really good player. And in the future, he’s going to be a real top recruit in his class, for sure.”

After a gutsy 8-yard pickup by Taufoou on a quarterback keeper, senior running back Andrew Takapautolo slammed in a 2-yard score through the scrum, and kicker Saul Marks nailed the extra point to stake Serra to a 24-23 lead with 2:41 to play.

It was a lot of time for St. Mary’s multi-faceted offense, with receivers Kenneth Moore III and Ivan Huerta both enjoying big nights. However, Coach Walsh said he was high on his defense’s potential to get a stop with the game on the line.

“High — very high,” Walsh said. “We showed an amazing amount of resilience coming back in that game. We had our opportunity to win at the end, and they made a huge play. And that’s the difference in a great game when two teams are going after it.”

St. Mary’s had already shown a knack for making big plays in the first half.

Amid a scoreless tie near the end of the first quarter, the Rams advanced a punt to the 50. Then Moore took an end around and advanced into the red zone. Three plays later, St. Mary’s got on the board less than a minute into the second quarter when senior Ivan Huerta pounded it in to make it 7-0 Rams.

Serra fired right back, using just six plays to go 60 yards. Henley moved the chains on third-and-4 with a 6-yard run around the left side. Then tight end Jace Cannon hauled in an unreal catch on a deep wheel route, with the senior getting turned around and seemingly tied in knots, only to pull in the line drive from Orr to advance to the 1. Two plays later, Taufoou dove into the end zone to tie it 7-all.

St. Mary’s went back ahead 14-7 before the half on senior Moses Alexander’s 6-yard end around for the score. The Padres had a chance to tie it before the break, driving into the red zone only to see an Orr pass tipped into the air and intercepted.

Then came the second-half fireworks.

Serra offensive coordinator Darius Bell drew up a new play in the locker room, and Serra brought it to life on the third play of the half when Taufoou sent a wobbly pass downfield for Cannon to catch and carry 45 yards into the end zone to tie it 14-all. It was Taufoou’s fourth completion of the year, and his first for a touchdown.

The Padres took the lead late in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal from Marks. But the Rams got it back on a 28-yard field goal of their own, deadlocking it 17-all with 9:38 to play.

There was one lead change for St. Mary’s, and another to put Serra ahead. And the Padres were tasting victory when defensive tackle sacked Galvan to force second-and-17. But Galvan got back to his feet, sent Huerta over the middle on the following play, and Huerta caught the ball in stride, juked his way downfield, and made it to the 3-yard line. Senior running back Diego Hernandez then barreled in for the score, and a two-point conversion pass to follow put the Rams up by 7 with 34 seconds to play.

Serra used on last-ditch effort to rally, and saw a glimmer of hope when Orr hit senior Matteo Gambelin along the right sideline for a 36-yard pass to move it into St. Mary’s territory.

“I feel like we were probably still in this game,” Henley said, “and we just need to have faith and belief, like we always say in practice — Belief! Belief! Every single day — and I thought we just had belief on that play.”

After a 6-yard scramble by Orr, Serra took a shot for Cannon in the end zone, but a St. Mary’s double team swatted Orr’s well-placed pass to the ground. The Padres were left with just over a second, though, and St. Mary’s was flagged for a dead ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to move it to the 18.

The St. Mary’s blitz settled the Nor Cal title, though, as junior defensive end Jake Lacatello sacked Orr as time expired.

“We went through a lot of adversity this season, and we just kept pushing every single day,” Henley said. “We just kept doing our hard work every single day. Now, since we lost, going into the future for next season, we’ve got to push even harder, and we’re going to make it to state for sure.”

St. Mary’s now advances to the CIF Division 2-AA State Championship Bowl to face Bakersfield Christian next Saturday.