Serra goes large vs. Leland

No, that wasn’t quarterback Luke Bottari bolting around the left side for a third-quarter score, though Mahasin was wearing the same No. 10 as Serra’s all-time career passing leader. With the Padres adding 16 new players to the varsity playoff roster, Serra head coach Patrick Walsh had no choice but to double up on some jersey numbers.

“We don’t have enough jerseys,” Walsh said.

Walsh said he joked with Bottari during the second half of Saturday’s rout that Serra might have to reconsider retiring the senior’s number. But the quarterback’s place in Padres history is surely safe, having navigated the team to two straight CCS titles in 2016 and ’17.

Saturday — after nearly two weeks of not stepping onto a football field due to poor air quality caused by the Camp Fire in Butte County — Serra embarked on its quest for a CCS three-peat, though this year a title will be a tall order.

With Saturday’s win, the Padres (7-4 overall) now advance to the CCS semifinals, where they will collide with archrival St. Francis-Mountain View, the same team that walloped Serra 42-7 in the regular-season finale Nov. 3 to claim the West Catholic Athletic League title.

“In the four loses we’ve had, they’ve been pretty much uncompetitive, including the team we play next week,” Walsh said. “We’ve got to prove next week we can compete against a team as strong as St. Francis.”

Somehow, the Padres found a way to close a chaotic week by having plenty of fun on the football field.

It certainly wasn’t easy, after so much death and destruction in Paradise over the past weeks. The tragedy was the first thing Walsh addressed in his postgame interview, opening with: “Sadly, there’s a lot of pain and suffering going on elsewhere.”

The CCS football playoff openers, originally scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9, where initially postponed until Monday, Nov. 12 due to the poor air quality throughout the Bay Area. When conditions worsened over the days to follow, the Nov. 12 games were again postponed, and ultimately moved to venues in the counties of Santa Cruz and Monterey.

Even as the Padres arrived Salinas Sunday afternoon, they weren’t certain they would play. The team first touched down at Palma High School, where it conducted game run-throughs. It was the first time Serra set foot on a football field, as a team, in nearly two weeks.

Come game time, though, it didn’t take Serra long to restart its motor. The Padres opened the night from their own 45-yard line, and gave Sanchez the ball on an inside toss. With a hole through the A-gap, Sanchez accelerated to burst untouched through the middle for a 55-yard scoring run.

“We haven’t run the ball well overall,” Walsh said. “It’s something we’ve focused on in the off weeks. … It was really great to start the game off with a really long run.”

Sanchez went on to rush for 120 yards on seven carries, scoring three TDs on the night, adding scoring runs of 3 and 9 yards.

“Two weeks was a lot of rest,” Sanchez said. “So I knew I had to come out to play and I had to lock in.”

Rango enjoyed a more diverse attack, totaling one rushing touchdown, one receiving, and closing out the first half with a dynamic punt return. Of course, the first thing the senior two-way player wanted to talk about after the game was Serra’s performance on defense in holding Leland (6-5) scoreless until the Padres took a 22-0 lead.

“The defense, it kind of took awhile to get our groove,” Rango said. “But once they started driving, we were able to get back into our regular Serra mindset.”

Serra upped its lead to 15-0 when Bottari connected with Rango on a swing pass, and Rango took it 31 yards for a score. After Sanchez scored on a 3-yard run, Leland got on the board to close the lead to 22-6, but Serra answered with Rango taking an inside handoff around the right side for a 53-yard scoring run to make it 30-6.

Sanchez capped a drive with a 9-yard scoring run at the start of the second quarter. Then Rango went large, taking a punt return 82 yards for a touchdown to give Serra a 44-6 at the half.

“I cut back, saw the lane, and I was gone,” Rango said.

In the second half, Serra quickly went to its reserves. And the Padres sideline turned into their biggest cheering section, reveling in every positive play, including a interception by junior linebacker Fauese Gaoteote and a fumble recovery by junior safety Luis Bautista.

Then the second-half highlight was topped when Mahasin, on the first touch of his varsity career, swept around the left side and hustled for a 32-yard score.

Walsh said the celebration personified what Serra football is all about.

“It’s more of the culture of the team, seeing these seniors really celebrate with pure joy for their fellow players,” Walsh said.

Serra closed out its scoring with a 1-yard scoring run by senior Cory Endo.

Leland produced the game’s last score on a 6-yard scoring pass from Carson Yates to senor Preston Gook with 2:30 to play.

The win marks Serra’s seventh straight CCS playoff win dating back to 2016.