Serra loss in state title game signals the end of an era

In stepping out of the postgame locker room for the last time in 2023 following Serra’s 35-0 defeat Saturday night at Saddleback College at the hands of Mater Dei Walsh was visibly emotional, with tears still in his eyes. Saying goodbye to his core varsity seniors, and the cohesive football powerhouse that has grown around them, was the reason why.

“I want to make sure that everyone knows, and those kids in there know, they didn’t let anybody down,” Walsh said.

On the contrary, those kids picked everyone up.

Most everyone knows Mater Dei is a different beast, using a nationwide pool of prospects to churn out dozens of NCAA Division I recruits a year, including three Heisman Trophy winners all-time. But the Padres made it a point to leave it all on the field in their third straight CIF Open Division appearance.

The truth is, this one felt different than the last time the two teams met in 2021, when Serra was humbled by a 44-7 loss. Last year, falling to St. John Bosco held less surprise, but the 45-0 shutout was as sour as it was stunning. This year, however, despite the shutout, the Padres’ showing, particularly that of four-year varsity seniors Joseph Bey, Jabari Mann, Danny Niu and Collin Tahitua, was and inspiring one.

“All three times, the outcomes not being what we wanted, but one thing I’ll take away is, no matter what, we all stuck together as a brotherhood, and we all went down with a love and a chemistry,” Niu said. “I truly believe that this was the best class of Serra that ever walked through the halls.”

The foursome certainly played like it throughout the final chapter of their varsity football careers. Countering the Mater Dei machine, Bey, Mann, Niu and Tahitua — having played Pop Warner with or against one another since they were grade schoolers — turned the state title stage into a grassroots approach from their youth football days.

Serving their regular roles as defensive starters, they all played regular reps on offense as well. And while Mater Dei limited Serra to just 58 total yards of offense, Mann (four carries for 21 yards) and Niu (six carries for 12 yards) led the Padres in rushing, while Bey and Tahitua regularly lined up in the backfield or at receiver, with Tahitua — a defensive end who had never played offense at Serra prior to Saturday — logged one reception for seven yards.

“It was our idea,” Bey said. “We thought that we could bring to the table the best way of scoring on these guys, with a very talented team over there, a lot of great guys. We thought we had to match our best on best, so we had to put ourselves on offense and see what happened.”

Sure, the Monarchs (14-1) set the tone from the outset. Mater Dei scored on each of its first two possessions on TD passes of 19 from Elijah Brown to Mark Bowman, and 74 yards from Brown to Marcus Harris. The Monarchs took a 21-0 lead into the break after a 12-yard scoring pass from Brown to Jonah Smith with 1:14 to go in the half. Then after the Padres recovered an onside kick to start the second half, Mater Dei recovered a fumble four plays later and turned the possession into a 28-0 lead on an 8-yard run by Jordon Davison.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Monarchs scored on Brown’s fourth TD throw of the night, a 31-yard loft to Jack Ressler at the back of the end zone, invoking a running clock for the final 12 minutes of the game.

Mater Dei outgained Serra 386-58 in total yards.

“Our game plan was to try to throw the ball quick, get in condensed formation and then try to pick a fight,” Serra offensive coordinator Darius Bell said. “So, that’s what we did. And I think our kids had some moments. We just couldn’t quite string it together. But that’s also a testament to who they have on their team across from us.”

Serra (13-1) abandoned its typical backfield. Senior running back Jaden Green never touched the ball on offense. His only highlight was a 73-yard kickoff return that was called back on an illegal block penalty in the first quarter.

“It’s hard to run the ball on them,” Walsh said. “We wanted to spread them out and do things that would at least make them feel a little uncomfortable. So, our game plan was unconventional type things to try to get them to not just play downhill like they do so well. And I thought that was a good idea.”

The idea was born from Serra’s core four seniors being honest in evaluating the best way to match up against a dominant opponent.

“When they approached us and said: ‘Coach, we want to try and make an impact on offense,’ it’s hard to say no,” Bell said. “Especially to those guys who put in so much time in this program. They’ve done everything we’ve asked for four years. So, it was a no-brainer.”

Mann and Niu both took direct snaps, cutting into senior quarterback Maealiuaki Smith’s playing time. Smith was 9-of-15 passing for 43 yards and was sacked four times. Mater Dei totaled five sacks, also dropping senior Brooks Trimmer on a fake field goal on fourth down to force a turnover on downs late in the first half.

Marley Alapati, a senior who mainly patrols linebacker, also took carries out of the backfield.

“I think it’s kind of a blueprint for us going forward,” Bell said. “We play in Northern California, obviously we were the top dog and we don’t need those guys to play both ways, usually, weeks 1 through 10. But come playoff time, I think it’s something we need to do more consistently, which means that our guys need to be in better shape throughout the year, so we feel more comfortable playing our guys both ways.”

The Padres have now played in six State Championship Bowl games, with their first coming in 2016 at the Division 2-A level. They earned their only state championship in 2017 in promoting to the Division 2-AA tournament. In 2019, they played in the Division 1-A state title game. For the last three years, they’ve been in the elite Open Division game, facing Bosco and Mater Dei, with the two programs now winning four CIF Open Division crowns apiece.

Walsh agreed Serra is still ascending in the state ranks.

“Sure, yeah,” Walsh said. “I mean, we’ve got to replace a lot of kids for next year, so we’ll see. This program has been the standard in Northern California for nearly a decade now. And when I say standard, I mean how we compete, how we treat each other, our sportsmanship. We happen to win games, but what’s more important is the type of people we’re creating and sending out into society. And that’s what we’ve always been, and what we always will be, whatever system we happen to play in.”

Despite Walsh’s show of emotions following the game, his core four were discernably at peace, all sitting together, soaking in the aftermath of their final game together. And despite the score, the game, Tahitua said, was fun.

“Heaps of fun,” Tahitua said. “Last year, go out with a bang. I love my boys.”