Serra’s Patrick Walsh wins 200th

“A little bit of a roast,” Walsh said. “So, I would say I deserve it. But it just proves the camaraderie, the tightness. We have a tight staff. ... We talk about brotherhood at Serra ... and I think our staff emulates that.”

On the field, The Padres (3-2 WCAL, 4-4 overall) made quick work of the winless Bells. Senior running back Nano Latu rushed for four touchdowns. The Serra defense opened with three shutout quarters until Bellarmine (0-5, 0-8) earned its only points late in the fourth.

“We ran the ball extremely well,” Walsh said.

A 1993 graduate of De La Salle as the Concord football powerhouse’s class valedictorian, Walsh went on to play at San Jose State and University of Texas. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Longhorns, then spent three years on staff at De La Salle from 1998-2000.

Walsh earned his first win as a head coach in Serra’s 2001 opener, a 28-7 victory at Capuchino when he was 26. At the time, he had ambitions to move back to the collegiate ranks and beyond. He relocated to San Mateo in 2001, though, and ultimately settled in to not only call the city his home, but to make a career out of coaching Serra’s private school football program.

“I think that kind of came along the way,” Walsh said. “I got the job in 2001. I was 26 years old and had plans to move up to college or the NFL. ... But God had different plans for me.”

Walsh now has two sons. His oldest, Willy, graduated from Serra in 2023 and is in his sophomore year at Pepperdine University as a mainstay of the Waves’ men’s golf team. His youngest, Charlie, is a sophomore at Serra, where he made his varsity football debut this season.

“I thought this would be a great place to settle down and raise a family,” Walsh said. “That became a priority ... to be present for my kids and wife, and not be married to football but to be married to my family.”

Walsh, Serra’s all-time winningest coach, currently owns a 200-83-1 career record. He has led the Padres to 10 West Catholic Athletic League championships, eight Central Coast Section championships, six CIF Northern California championships and one state championship at the CIF Division 1-A level in 2017.

Walsh said he didn’t realize at the start of the week he was sitting on 199 career wins, but was reminded when Serra athletic director Justin Ferdinand mentioned it to him. He certainly had a chance to appreciate it when he arrived home after win No. 200 late Friday night.

“I think, after the fact, absolutely (I thought about it),” Walsh said. “I’m not the type of person that thinks about the past. ... I live in the moment. ... I don’t really like to think about that much either. I thought about it at the beginning of the year ... and then I didn’t really think about it until this week.”