Serra seniors Hassan Mahasin, left, and quarterback Dom Lampkin celebrate after connecting for a 48-yard touchdown pass in a 41-14 victory Friday night at Palo Alto.
PALO ALTO — It’s a difficult thing to do, stopping and starting back up again. To do so on the gridiron, and to get up to speed in a hurry, requires quite a bit of talent.
When Serra quarterback Dom Lampkin opened the second quarter Friday night at Palo Alto with a 72-yard touchdown run — dashing up the left sideline, slowing to a near stop to force a Palo Alto defender to miss a tackle, then accelerate to outrun two other pursuers and reach the end zone — it was a metaphor for the big picture. The Padres had last week’s opener at Pittsburg canceled due to poor air quality and had to stop and start, in a hurry, to begin their season a week late.
Serra (1-0 overall) looked to be on a mission though, scoring early and often, triumph 41-14 over Palo Alto (0-2). Senior multi-back Hassan Mahasin scored three touchdowns — two rushing, one receiving — and Lampkin racked up 191 total yards to jumpstart the Serra offense.
“It’s just more motivation for the next week,” Lampkin said of Serra losing its Week 1 matchup. “We got a week off but that don’t mean anything. We’re just going to keep working and keep practicing. We’re going to act like we have a game.”
It took Serra a few plays to find its sea legs. But facing a third-and-24 on the opening drive, Serra hit stride when Lampkin found running back Jabari Mann on a short screen pass and Mann rambled downfield behind a wall of blockers for a 47-yard touchdown reception.
The Padres went on to score on their first five possessions of the night and added a 26-yard pick-6 by Sione Laulea to take a 41-0 lead into the halftime locker room. Serra would have scored on all six of its first-half possessions but opted to twice take a knee at the Palo Alto 13-yard line with just over a minute before halftime.
Serra’s 41 points was a product of the entire team hitting the ground running — stopping, starting, and ramping up with an energetic and inspiring effort from the opening drive.
“A ton of energy,” Serra head coach Patrick Walsh said. “There’s just been so much pent-up energy, so it was great to see the kids let it out and be kids tonight. There’s some heavy things going on; you’re on the bus then you’re off the bus, the fire, there’s just a lot of things going on in these kids’ lives. It was great to see the stands full and kids being kids. This generation needs that and I think tonight accomplished that.”
Serra outgained Palo Alto 326-160 but most of Serra’s yards came in the first half, while most of Palo Alto’s yards — and all of its points — cam after the Padres subbed out all their starters both sides of the ball in the second half.
The Padres recorded three sacks in the first half, with Khephren Clark, Andrew Stewart and Sonne Siolo all getting to Palo Alto quarterback Danny Peters.
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“I just trust my brother on the side of me that he’ll apply the same pressure that I apply, and when we’re all in the backfield we just take care of business,” Siolo said.
But Mahasin was the show for Serra. The third-year varsity starter is taking on a diverse role on offense, alternating between the backfield and slot receiver.
The senior took just four carries for 40 yards but racked up two touchdowns. He scored a third time on a 48-yard yard reception and finished with 111 total yards.
“That’s just Hassan being Hassan,” Walsh said. “His football IQ is through the roof, but obviously his talent and his love for his teammates always shines through when he’s playing football.”
Mahasin capped the second drive with a 5-yard run on an inside pitch.
Three plays later, Laulea’s pick-6 made it 21-0. And once Serra got the ball back on a Palo Alto punt, Lampkin scored less than a minute into the second quarter with a 72-yard keeper.
Then Mahasin produced Serra’s final two scores of the night. Midway through the second period, Lampkin found him downfield for a 48-yard scoring pass. The Palo Alto defender stayed in stride with Mahasin but the senior was able to get his back to him and outreach him to come down with the accurate throw inside the 10, never breaking stride to reach the end zone.
“That throw, I knew it was going to be there,” Lampkin said. “That’s what the play was made for. I knew he was going to be there. … He’s just that guy. I know my player is better than their player, so I know he was going to make that catch.”
Mahasin scored Serra’s final TD of the night with 13-yard sweep with 3:22 to go in the half.
“He’s just worked really, really hard,” Walsh said. “Him and his dad have been working hard forever. It’s just a beautiful thing to see, an individual within a team setting really shine. Hassan, he’s one of the great ones Serra has seen. So, hopefully we can continue to get him the ball, block for him, and he can be himself this whole year.”
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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