Serra football comes back to earth with 39-10 loss to De La Salle

De La Salle (2-0) doled out a stunner in the final minute of the first half, driving 96 yards on just four plays to go into the locker room up 14-3. The Spartans scored on their first two possessions of the second half — thanks to the Padres going three-and-out on their first possession, and fumbling it away on their second — to mount a 26-3 advantage.

With Serra head coach Patrick Walsh traveling to his alma mater De La Salle for the first time since 2022 — when his team earned its first head-to-head win over the mighty Spartans in program history — the Padres started well enough, as the defense executed a fourth-down stand near midfield. On fourth-and-2 from the Padres’ 41, Serra linebacker Dylan Modena and defensive tackle Peyton Thomas dropped running back Dominic Kelley for no gain to force a turnover on downs.

Serra then flexed its backfield depth to get on the move. Nano Latu rushed for a 10-yard run and a first down on the Padres’ second play from scrimmage; Jeovanni Henley followed with a 19-yard pickup off a toss on the jet sweep; and Chris Yoon hit the A gap for a 26-yard rush to the Spartans’ 3-yard line.

The drive stalled, though, punctuated by a Myah Telona sack on third-and-goal from the 9. Serra settled for 30-yard field goal by Brody Smith to take an early 3-0 lead.

That’s as good as it would get for Serra.

De La Salle fired back with a chunk on the ensuing kickoff, as Anthony Dean took it 49 yards to the Serra 47. Two big pickups by running backs Duece Jones-Drew and Derrick Blanche moved the Spartans into the red zone, before quarterback Toa Fa’avae scored on a 2-yard QB sneak to swing De La Salle ahead 7-3.

The Padres countered by again going on the march, moving into the red zone on a clever pass play on fourth-and-1 from the Spartans’ 23; quarterback Andrew Heneghan hit tight end Clay Hinsdale underneath on a quick screen to the 16. The Padres moved it to the 12 before Smith ran on to attempt another field goal, this time from 29 yards away. But the Spartans sent Dean off the edge, who got into the backfield unimpeded to block the kick.

The Serra defense got a stop to force a punt and take over at its own 40. A big third-down pickup by Latu of 17 yards moved it to the De La Salle 39. Yoon followed with runs of 9 and 5 yards to pick up another first down, and Latu galloped 6 yards to move it into the red zone at the 19.

Heneghan kept the pressure on, scrambling 11 yards to the De La Salle 4-yard line.

But the ensuing play, with just over 30 seconds remaining in the half, spelled disaster for the Padres.

The stunning twist of fate started when a handoff to Latu popped loose, and De La Salle senior Niko Baumgartner recovered at the Spartans’ 6 with 31 seconds left in the half. Then, instead of taking a knee, the Spartans would use four plays to drive the length of the field. Blanche got De La Salle out of the red with a 46-yard rush across midfield to the Serra 48. After a short screen pass from Fa’avae to Trisshon Wright, the Padres averted a shot up the sideline when cornerback Teddy Chung defended a line drive pass to Jayden Nicholas for an incompletion with just over 10 seconds remaining.

But the Spartans kept punching and, on the next play, Fa’avae aired it out to Nicholas for a post route over the middle for a 46-yard touchdown strike, sending De La Salle into the locker room leading 14-3.

Serra never recovered.

The Padres went three-and-out to start the second half, and De La Salle turned it around for Kelly to score on a 12-yard run to make it 20-3. After the Spartans recovered a fumble at the Serra 23, Kelly scored again from 4 yards out to make it 26-3.

The Padres reached the end zone for the only time in the game on the ensuing possession, marching 70 yards on 10 plays, scoring on a 14-yard sweep by junior running back Iziah Singleton to close it to 26-10. But the Spartans finished with 13 unanswered points, scoring on their next possession on a 43-yard run by Jaden Jefferson, followed by a 62-yard bolt by Blanche midway through the fourth quarter.

The last time Serra dropped a regular-season game was Nov. 6, 2021, falling 44-21 to St. Francis in the regular-season finale. The Padres opened 2022 with a 17-12 non-league win over Folsom, followed by a 24-21 win at De La Salle to start the longest regular-season winning streak in program history.

Serra again defeated De La Salle last season 28-0. The Padres are now 2-12 all-time against the Spartans.