Serra readies for ‘dream’ matchup with Mater Dei in CIF Open Division State Football Championship Bowl

This year marks just the second time since the inception of the CIF state bowl system Walsh’s alma mater De La Salle hasn’t played for the Open Division state crown, the last coming in 2008. Serra landing the gig had everything to do with the circle of life between three Northern California powers; with St. Francis-Mountain View defeating De La Salle in the regular season, Serra seized the Open Division nod by knocking off St. Francis in the Central Coast Section Division I championship game.

“I knew we were in the mix,” Walsh said. “It was either us or De La Salle. I wasn’t surprised, to be honest with you. Not because we were more deserving than De La Salle ... but I figured if this year was the year for [Northern California] to do something different than De La Salle, this would be the year.”

Mater Dei is riding an undefeated 11-0 record this season, including three postseason wins to claim the Southern Section Division I championship. The Monarchs own a 16-game winning streak, going back to their undefeated 5-0 run through the truncated 2020-21 spring season.

The last team to beat Mater Dei was St. John Bosco in the 2019 Southern Section Division I championship game. That just happened to be offensive coordinator Steven Lo’s first season at St. John Bosco, a job Lo took after serving as Serra’s offensive coordinator from 2013-17.

“The Mater Dei teams are going to be similar year in, year out,” Lo said. “They’re really well coached and the kids play really hard. … Schematically, as a program, it’s definitely built of phenomenal athletes. And they take kids and put them in good spots to let them play fast. … Dealing with the pressure and dealing with the speed at which they do things, that’s what makes it so difficult.”

While the Monarchs run the same spread offense as in 2019, much of the personnel has changed. The most recent addition is Mater Dei offensive coordinator Taylor Kelly, who was promoted to the role midseason after serving as the team’s quarterbacks coach for the past five years. But the most notable name came along in 2020 when running back Raleek Brown transferred to the Santa Ana private school from Edison-Stockton.

As a senior this year, the USC commit averages 8 yards per carry, totaling 1,062 yards on 132 carries and 12 touchdowns.

“He’s probably the best running back I’ve ever seen in person,” Lo said. “His ability to create, his speed, his ability to change directions … he’s very Barry Sanders-ish.”

Serra’s leading rusher, senior Petelo Gi, is a former teammate of Brown’s, when the two paired on FBU Bay Area Metro for two seasons through middle school.

So, prior to the season, when the Padres dared to dream about the possibilities in 2021, Gi’s focus was naturally drawn to Brown and the Mater Dei Monarchs.

“It’s so crazy because it’s like a dream come true,” Gi said. “Me and my friends … the whole team, we always thought of making it to state. And we thought: ‘What if we get to face Mater Dei?’”

Serra traveled in style for their big day Saturday in the Open Division State Championship Bowl, to be played at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo at 8 p.m. The Padres flew south Thursday night on a private flight, with 98 students making the trip.

“We had the time, we had the opportunity,” Walsh said of flying to the event. “We had some kind, anonymous donors and got it done.”

By virtue of qualifying for the CIF Open Division, the Padres earned a bye through the Northern California regional round. This gave Serra an extra week to prepare, having last played Nov. 26 in the CCS championship.

The week off should serve the Padres well, especially in Gi’s case. Not only has the senior running back seen a bulk of the workload on offense this season — a necessity since senior running back/slot receiver Hassan Mahasin was lost for the season due to injury Oct. 2 — Gi was thrust into action at middle linebacker in the CCS championship game to help defend against a vaunted St. Francis ground attack.

The extra week has also helped Serra prepare for Mater Dei. And Walsh has pulled out all the stops, including conferring with Lo just about every other day.

“Of course,” Walsh said. “They have seemingly every advantage in the world in this game. So, we as competitors, I’m covering every opportunity, finding as much knowledge we can and putting our kids in the best position to win the football game. I mean there’s no other way to do it.”

Serra also has something of a secret weapon in senior quarterback Dom Lampkin who, with Mahasin in the mix, totaled 14 touchdowns in Serra’s first four games of the season. In the eight games since, he hasn’t come close to that total.

Not that Lampkin is a well-kept secret. After all, he made headlines in 2019 when he was thrust into postseason action as a sophomore, and even helmed the second half of the Division 1-A bowl game, a 35-27 loss to Corona del Mar.

“I don’t know if he’s our secret weapon,” Walsh said. “He’s been doing this for three years for us. But again, it goes back to Hassan … and when we lost Hassan, it became about finding ourselves offensively, and where Dom fits into all that.

“I think that’s really affected Dom’s game,” Walsh said. “I think it’s taken time for him to come through all that and realize: ‘I’m still Dom.’”

And, despite what the aspiring Las Vegas oddsmakers at CalPreps.com are prognosticating — the website is predicting a final score of 48-0 Mater Dei — Serra is still Serra.

And win or lose, one certainty regarding Saturday’s Open Division bowl game — the Serra Padres have arrived.

“I can’t wait,” Gi said. “I feel like we all achieved our goals. It’s crazy.”