Serra shuts out De La Salle

Mmmm, donuts!

The Serra Padres’ defense was obsessed with talk of donuts following Saturday’s Week 2 triumph. The hunger of senior linebackers Jabari Mann and Danny Niu, and the rest of Serra’s dynamic “D,” had nothing to do with breakfast confections, however, but the stunning shutout they had just delivered at Freitas Field.

The Padres reveled in a 28-0 donut over six-time CIF Open Division state champion De La Salle, marking their second win over the Spartans in as many years.

“We flew around today, that’s all we can ask for,” Serra safety Joseph Bey said. “We trusted each other, flew around, made plays even when they got hard. So, (we) faced adversity really well today and came out with a donut. That’s always very good.”

Serra (2-0) has ascended to the No. 1 ranking in Northern California over the past two seasons, solidified largely by last year’s 24-21 win at De La Salle, the first time the Padres ever defeated the Concord powerhouse that won six CIF Open Division state championships in seven years from 2009-15. While that dramatic victory signaled a changing of the guard in the Nor Cal football power structure, Saturday’s definitive win cemented the Padres as the ranking regional powerhouse.

The shutout marks the first time De La Salle (0-2) has been held scoreless since falling 7-0 to Clovis West on Sept. 10, 2005. Combined with this year’s loss to Orange Lutheran in Week 1, the Spartans have now lost back-to-back games to start a season for the first time since 2004. For the Padres — now 2-11 all-time against head coach Patrick Walsh’s alma mater — the win was their first ever at home against De La Salle.

“When [Serra defensive coordinator Steven Monsef] gets those guys on the right page, and everything’s going, it’s an absolute masterpiece,” Walsh said. “And I think today was a defensive masterpiece.”

The signature series of Serra’s defensive masterpiece came in the third quarter. After the Padres took an 8-0 lead into the half, the Spartans advanced to the Serra 5-yard line for second-and-goal, but were denied by an epic goal-line stand with Niu in on two big stops before Bey successfully defended a fourth-down pass into the end zone.

“They’re hitters,” De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “That’s what makes them a really good defense, they’re hitters. We came out pretty decently offensively, but we couldn’t maintain that physicality. That’s what we’re working on. But that’s an outstanding defense, and their offense did enough against our ‘D’ to win the game.”

The game’s quintessential momentum play came well before Serra’s defensive stand, though. The Padres’ defense indeed established itself in the first half, but when De La Salle was forced to punt for the third time in three possessions, a favorable bounce to the Serra 1-yard line nearly spelled disaster as the ball grazed a Serra player and was up for grabs. A Spartans jersey was the first to pounce to the spot of the loose ball, but Serra senior Jaden Green saved the day by darting in and strongarming it away.

Green’s recovery not only leant to preserving the shutout, it set up a remarkable scoring drive, as Serra quarterback Maealiuaki Smith led his offense on a 16-play, 99-yard march for the game’s only first-half score.

“We almost turned the ball over there on the one-inch line, and we did not,” Walsh said. “And the difference is: not 7 for them, it’s 7 for us. Obviously, there are things we can clean up on catching a football, we don’t take that for granted. And, thankfully, Jaden was there because, if not, that’s an easy score for them. It’s a different game.”

Smith was measured and accurate with his passes on the scoring drive steeped in drama. The senior was 18-of-26 passing for 232 yards in the game and delivered one third-down and two fourth-down conversions to sustain the 99-yard march. His 4-yard scoring pass to tight end Cole Harrison got his team on the board, and the Padres kept up the pressure by running a quick-snap, two-point conversion audible with junior Nano Latu dashing in to make it an 8-0 lead.

“And ... that little point there just hangs over the scoreboard,” Walsh said. “Even at halftime, you’re down 6 and a two-point conversion, not 7. So, I think it plays psychology on them. It’s very important for us to try and gain every point we can versus these brilliant teams.”

Harrison enjoyed a big day, totaling seven catches for a career-high 113 yards. Smith bounced back from an uncharacteristic stinker the previous week, when he completed just 26.6% of his passes against Folsom. Against De La Salle, he passed at a 69.2% clip.

“Last week, our whole offense — our o-line was kind of making mistakes — the majority is not really Maui (Smith), the majority is our offense,” Harrison said. “I just think this week, our offense was pretty locked in, and I think it shows.”

Smith’s only miscue was six plays after the third-quarter goal-line stand. Latu and Mann took to the backfield to power the ball from the Serra 3-yard line and out of the red zone, and Smith bulled for a fourth-down conversion with a 2-yard sneak to extend the possession. On the ensuing play, however, Smith’s intended pass to Clay Hinsdale was deflected into the air and De La Salle cornerback Jaden Jefferson came down with it for an interception near midfield.

Serra’s defense answered again, denying De La Salle in just four plays for a turnover on downs.

The Padres then scored on their next three possessions — a 1-yard TD dive by Mann, followed by field goals of 28 and 38 yards by Thomas Gooch — before the Serra defense capped the day’s scoring when junior cornerback Jermaine Barrett intercepted, his second of the game, and dashed 64 yards for a pick-6 touchdown.

Serra totaled two sacks, one by defensive end Timo Poloka and another by defensive end Collin Tahitua.

Latu paced Serra with 10 carries for 46 yards rushing. De La Salle quarterback Toa Fa’avae gained a team-high 79 total yards, going 7-for-16 passing for 53 yards, along with 12 carries for 26 rushing.

The Padres outgained the Spartans 314-180 in total yards.

“We definitely knew it was going to be a battle, we knew there was going to be ups and downs, but it’s just a tremendous feeling to have that, especially defensively,” Niu said. “I mean, we didn’t let them score. So, we take pride in that.”

A moment of silence

Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held for two deaths that touched the communities of Serra and De La Salle.

Jennifer Ann Fadelli died Tuesday, Aug. 29 after a long battle with cancer. She was 51. A longtime resident of Belmont, her son Andrew Fadelli is a junior on the Serra football team.

Peter “Buck” Shea died May 30 while surfing off the coast of Oregon at Short Sand Beach. He was 49. Shea was a graduate of De La Salle, where he was a classmate, and teammate on the Spartans football team, with Walsh.