Serra falls in state finals

The final message he conveyed before the Padres bowed their heads for the final team prayer of 2022 was Serra’s postseason motto: “Stay Gold.”

“It means we will always be one of the best teams in the history of this school,” Walsh said. “And tonight’s never going to take away from that.”

The 2022 Padres (13-1) indeed achieved new heights for the storied program. Serra’s 10-0 regular-season record was a program first. The team’s third straight Central Coast Section Division I championship marked the program’s first CCS three-peat. And recording 13 straight wins to start the season is the longest winning streak in program history.

But in the Bosco Braves, the Padres ran into a football machine that did to them what they have done to so many opponents this season in serving up a crushing defeat.

“You can see we’re up against a really good team,” Walsh said. “And I equated this … if the Baltimore Ravens decided to play college football, that’s what this feels like, and it’s just on the high school level. … We have five or six, seven college guys. They have 50. It’s tough.”

The Braves, led by offensive coordinator Steven Lo — who served on Walsh’s staff from 2013-17, including the Padres’ only state championship, a 2017 Division 2-AA title — set the tone from the outset. St. John Bosco rushed for five touchdowns, and senior quarterback Pierce Clarkson threw for another.

The Padres’ five turnovers did the rest. Serra quarterback Maealiuaki Smith was 29-of-51 passing for 220 yards but was marred by three interceptions, including a pick six in the opening minute of the second quarter on a ball tipped into the air by wide receiver Kyon Loud, and nabbed by Bosco senior defensive back Aaron Williams, who returned it 27 yards to the end zone to highlight the Braves’ 28-point second quarter.

“I don’t think we were comfortable the whole night,” Walsh said of Serra’s offense. “We weren’t comfortable. I was pleased with how I thought our O-line overachieved. Our back’s up against the wall when it comes to pass protecting, our back’s up against the wall with moving the football. … It’s a harsh reality playing the Bosco Braves.”

The Braves seemed to get all the early breaks as well.

Opening the night with a nine-play, 70-yard scoring drive, Bosco sustained the march when Clarkson completed his first pass of the game, a fluky 33-yard completion up the sideline to running back Cameron Jones for a third-down conversion. Jones was defended by Serra cornerback Marley Alapati, who read the pass and swatted it into the air, only to have it tumble into the hands of Jones as he tightrope walked the sideline for the key first-down pickup.

“Cam, he’s a playmaker,” Clarkson said. “Our primaries weren’t open, so I just knew I had to extend the play … and Cam was running down the field one-on-one. He’s a guy I trust in a matchup. He’s a playmaker, he loves football, and he’s going to go get it. He’s going to make a play.”

Six plays later, Jones pounded in Bosco’s first score. The senior running back totaled 11 carries for 62 yards and three touchdowns. He added a 2-yard touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter to give the Braves a 14-0 lead.

After the Williams pick six made it 21-0 two plays later, Bosco turned a short field into another quick score, with junior running back Khalil Warren — built like the second coming of Bo Jackson — blasted through a Serra defender to score on a 14-yard run to make it 28-0.

Serra took the ball back at its own 22 and sustained its best drive of the night, using 10 plays to advance to the Braves’ 7. But a Smith fumble killed the Padres’ scoring chances. And, two plays later, Clarkson sent Bosco into halftime with a 35-0 lead, connecting with senior DeAndre Moore for a 45-yard touchdown strike.

Oh, those classic quick-strike shock-and-awe tactics of Lo.

“We have everything; we can do everything,” Clarkson said. “We can run the ball, throw the ball, RPO, read option, we do it all. And I feel like Coach Lo is a great coach. He’s going to play to his quarterback’s strengths, and he’s going to make great offense around his quarterback, and the guys he has and the playmakers he has around his quarterback.”

The Padres took the second-half kickoff, but the possession didn’t last long as senior running back Malachi Gastorck fumbled on the second play of the half. Bosco took over at Serra’s 27 but settled for a 26-yard field goal by Marcus Lee to make it 38-0. The Braves added one more score late in the third quarter on a majestic 57-yard scoring run by Warren.

Warren finished with seven carries for a game-high 92 yards and two touchdowns.

Bosco outgained Serra 336-271 in total yards, but a majority of Serra’s yards came during garbage time in the second half. The Padres settled for 97 first-half yards, with the big Bosco defensive line letting little go through the middle, while Serra’s short, tactical passes were met quickly with physical tackles.

“We were accustomed to it,” Serra running back/linebacker Danny Niu said. “Because last year when we played Mater Dei, they were really fast and really strong, especially compared to what we were used to. But then when we came here, we had a general idea of what was going to go on, we knew how fast they were going to come out, how strong they were going to come out. So, we were prepared. It did shock us, but we were ready for it.”

Serra rode three senior receivers for most of its yards. Jayden Weber paced the team with 10 catches for 93 yards, Grant McGovern added seven catches for 72, and Joey Villaroman totaled seven catches for 52 yards.

The “Stay Gold” Padres have reason for optimism though. Serra had 16 players recognized as All-West Catholic Athletic League this season. Nine of them are juniors. Of the eight first-team selections, five are juniors.

“The plan is definitely come back here,” Joseph Bey, Serra’s junior first-team All-WCAL free safety, said. “We definitely want another shot. You know, third time’s a charm. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back next year.”

For St. John Bosco, the Open Division state championship is the fourth in program history, with previous Open titles in 2013, ’16 and ’19.