Serra gets CCS reprieve

“Today was just a gritty Serra Padre win,” Serra head coach Patrick Walsh said. “That’s an old-school win right there, and I’m so proud of this team.”

Led by senior running back Andrew Takapautolo, the Padres had two rushers touch triple digits. It would have been three, had senior Iziah Singleton not missed the second quarter due to a shoulder injury. Takapautolo totaled 21 carries for 125 yards, while senior Jeovanni Henley totaled 16 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown. Singleton added 11 carries for 90 yards.

Fronted by an offensive line of guards Lemani Fehoko and Chase Morris, tackles Carlos Hernandez and Xander Grayson, and center Isaiah Antonio Romero, the Serra offense predominantly stayed in the double-wing Raider offense all night.

Behind the wrecking ball front, Serra only faced five third-down situations, converting all five of them, with no fourth downs and no punts. All told, the Padres averaged of 6.1 yards per carry.

“[The run game] became the game plan when we’re getting 7 to 12 yards a carry,” Walsh said. “We have young quarterbacks, they’re inexperienced. A lot of stress on the team, and we just thought that that was the best way to win tonight.”

The Division I title game marked the second straight week Serra was playing for a CCS championship. The previous week, the Padres fell 33-13 to Riordan in the CCS Open Division final, but got a reprieve this week because of the hybrid Open Division/Division I bracket.

“Last week we did not look like the Serra Padres that we’re all used to,” Walsh said. “And tonight we have the energy and the enthusiasm that this is the cornerstone of what makes the Padre brotherhood tick.”

The Padres wrote a redemption arc in more ways than one. It was Los Gatos (9-4) that ended Serra’s season last year in the opening round of the CCS Open Division tournament. Walsh earned his first career victory against the Wildcats Friday night, having also lost to them in the postseason in 2014.

“They beat us last year, and I feel like they beat us in the run game,” Serra senior Malakai Taufoou said. “And I I feel like we wanted to take that right back and give it straight to them. So, that’s really what our intent was this week.”

It was Taufoou who sealed the win in the closing minutes of the game with an interception over the middle just moments after the Padres took the lead with 2:07 to play.

Taufoou delivered the lead on a quarterback keeper, bruising his way to a 5-yard touchdown score to make it 28-21. Four plays later, he ranged over the middle guarding senior receiver Max Thomas and read a pass out of the hand of Los Gatos senior quarterback Callum Schweitzer to nab his second interception of the night, then falling to the turf with 1:43 left on the clock.

“[Thomas], great player, and I knew that was their guy,” Taufoou said. “And I knew I was guarding him on that play. Just got to go best on best and see who’s going to make the play.”

Taufoou said he was trying to return the interception for a pick-6 but fell on the wet turf of Jaguar Stadium.

“I slipped,” Taufoou said. “I was trying to score, but I slipped. That was pretty embarrassing.”

Serra outgained Los Gatos 355-240 in an early battle of sustained drives, with the two teams waiting to see who would flinch first.

The Padres took the opening kickoff, and quickly turned to the Raider offense. Singleton immediately began hammering away with gains of 4, 7 and 8 yards to set in motion a 10-play, 77-yard scoring drive, before dancing into the end zone with a 21-yard inside toss, staking Serra to a 7-0 lead.

Los Gatos answered right back with a long drive of its own, using two conversions on third down, and one on fourth, to sustain a 12-play, 72-yard scoring driving. Schweitzer had a fourth-down completion, with a 7-yard pass to Mason Wend to pick up the first. Three plays, the senior came up with the big third-down dime on a 32-yard loft up the right side for Thomas to show off a leaping grab to keep the drive alive. Senior running back Grayson Doslak took it from there, with runs of 6 and 1 to pound it in, tying it 7-all with 1:02 to go in the first quarter.

Singleton hobbled off to end the first quarter pacing Serra with seven carries for 63 yards at the time, but Takapautolo shouldered the workload from there, taking seven carries on the rest of the 15-play, 77-yard drive, moving it into the red zone with a 9-yard run off tackle. Two plays later, Taufoou broke the plain on a 1-yard keeper to push the Padres ahead 14-7.

Serra missed a golden opportunity to add on at the end of the half. Taufoou’s first interception came with 1:44 to go in the half, putting the Padres at midfield. A 10-yard keeper by freshman quarterback William Orr moved the sticks, and Takapautolo followed with runs of 7, 7 and 2 yards. But when Orr was sacked on second down with less than 10 seconds to go, the Padres — instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock – attempted to rush the field goal team onto the field, with senior Saul Marks missing a hurried 29-yard attempt as time expired.

It nearly came back to haunt the Padres as Los Gatos used two third-quarter touchdowns to take the lead.

After the Wildcats opened the second half marching 72 yards on 16 plays to score on a 1-yard Schweitzer sneak, Serra gave the ball right back. The Padres coughed it up at their own 40 when Takapautolo was stripped by Los Gatos junior Devonte Troutt. Four plays later, Los Gatos stormed ahead on a 34-yard scoring strike from Schweitzer to Thomas.

Serra then used 7 minutes, 25 seconds to drive 78 yards for a score, but got bailed out with a big reprieve for Takapautolo. While the senior’s fumble earlier in the half proved costly, Serra advanced into the red zone only to lose the handle on a snap. As the ball bounced free, Takapautolo hustled over to recover it to keep the Padres on the attack at the Los Gatos 7-yard line.

“It was scary,” Takapautolo said. “Fumbling is just scary. I just had that. I can’t have that again.”

Two plays later, Henley hurdled in for a 2-yard score to tie it 21-all with 6:44 to play.

Then, after the Serra defense forced a three-and-out — with a clutch third-down play by senior cornerback Aidan Labrador, breaking up a downfield pass — the Padres went on their coronation drive. Taking over at the Los Gatos 46, Serra soon moved it into the red zone on an 8-yard Taufoou gallop. After a 7-yard toss to Takapautolo and a 4-yard carry by Henley, Taufoou slammed in for the game-winner.

“We ran the ball effectively,” Walsh said. “The O-line had their best night of the [year] and ultimately we had enough stops to win the game.”