Serra skunked by De La Salle

De La Salle-Concord (2-0) showcased some dominant defense in its return to West 20th Avenue to hang a 26-0 loss on the Padres (0-2). With the win, the Spartansjumped into a No. 1 ranking in Northern California, according to MaxPreps.com, leapfrogging Serra’s Week 1 opponent, Folsom.

“Yes, there was a lot of talk about it,” De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh said of the 28-0 shutout in 2024, the first and only time in history Serra has defeated the Spartans on its home field.

De La Salle has yet to surrender a defensive touchdown this season. The Spartans battled for a 10-6 win over Lakeland-Florida in their season opener, but the out-of-state Dreadnaughts’ only touchdown was by virtue of a 70-yard scoop-and-score on a De La Salle fumble.

However, as Saturday’s game was winding down, well out of reach of the Padres, there was no talk on the Serra sideline of the impending shutout. Following the Spartans’ final score on the day midway through the fourth quarter on a 70-yard rushing score by senior Brady Smith — the sixth Spartans running back to touch the ball on the day — Serra head coach Patrick Walsh’s couldn’t have cared less about simply getting on the scoreboard for getting on the scoreboard’s sake.

Serra was outgained 311-164 on the day, and manufactured many of its yards on its final possession. The Padres moved from their own 20-yard line into the red zone, thanks to going for it on fourth-and-1 from the 25. Serra did pick up the first down on a 4-yard run by senior running back Iziah Singleton, but the field position was well in range of Serra’s dynamic field goal kicker Saul Marks.

“It was 26-0,” Walsh said of not going for the field goal. “What, we’re fighting for no shutout? Whatever. It was fourth-and-1. If it was fourth-and-5, I was going to kick it. But it was fourth-and-1, and we went for it.”

Two plays later, De La Salle defensive back Jayden Nicholas intercepted a pass in the end zone to punctuate the shutout — which was indeed a big bullet point for the Spartans in the week leading up to the game.

“First of all, it’s never easy to beat Serra,” Alumbaugh said. “Obviously, Coach Walsh and I’s relationship goes back a long way, but they’re a great program. They hit, they’re well coached. Then you add in coming here, it’s a tough environment. ... So, yeah, [the shutout] came up in conversation.”

To the Padres’ credit, they kept it close much of the way. De La Salle reached the end zone twice in the first half — a 6-yard run by sophomore Jamal Johnson-Lucas to cap the eight-play, 65-yard opening drive in the first quarter; and a 5-yard draw by Johnson-Lucas on the final play of the half to send the Spartans into the locker room leading 12-0.

There were a few big caveats. On De La Salle’s second possession, a 52-yard run by senior Jaden Jefferson into the red zone was called back for a holding penalty. Six plays later, a 9-yard scoring run with Jefferson hurdling a defender into the end zone was called back for another hold. The Spartans settled for a field goal try, and missed from 37 yards away.

Later in the half, Spartans quarterback Brayden Knight connected with senior Jayden Nicholas for a 45-yard scoring pass, but the play was brought back due to an illegal shift prior to the snap. The Spartans were ultimately forced to punt.

“They had some of that stuff that got erased due to some penalties,” Walsh said. “That, combined with some great defense, kept us in the game a long time. We just couldn’t do enough against a great defense. Their defensive front was — collectively, those six individuals in there were some of the best I’ve seen in many years.”

The Spartans’ four-man front was highlighted by senior defensive tackles Mya Telona, 6-2, 305-pounds, and Wyatt Ferguson, 6-foot, 275 pounds. The inside linebacker duo of senior Bubba Vargas and sophomore Landon Miller — both of whom Walsh raved about following the game — was just as stout.

“I think our defense is playing lights out,” Alumbaugh said. “[Defensive coordinator Ned Milin] and the whole defensive staff, they’re doing a great job. You know, a lot of guys are flying around, there’s a lot of physicality, and there’s a lot of hitters on the defense, which I like.”

After recovering a fumble late in the third quarter on a strip-sack at the Serra 42, De La Salle pulled away. The Spartans ate up over five minutes staging a 12-play 58-yard scoring drive — totaling two third-down conversions and one on fourth down — capped by a 3-yard keeper by Knight. A quick Serra three-and-out saw De La Salle crack bad field position with Smith’s 70-yard scoring bolt.

Still, Walsh was happier with his defense than after Week 1, when the Padres fell 56-42 to Folsom.

“We had issues last week with alignment, communication, and this week we didn’t,” Walsh said. “When you misalign and don’t communicate, big things happen ... and this week we fixed that. Last week, I said this preseason’s set up to learn, and I thought the defense learned a lot about just doing the little things. You get aligned and play hard and communicate with one another, you might have a chance against a great team. And I thought the defense did that this week.”

The Padres’ biggest chunk of yards on offense was off a fake punt on their first possession of the day, a 27-yard pass from junior Andrew Takapautolo to junior Malakai Taufoou.

Singleton was Serra’s most productive weapon, totaling 13 carries for 38 yards.

“Honestly, I think it was just us with little mistakes,” Singleton said. “I don’t really think they did too much of anything where we couldn’t run the ball. I think when we ran the ball, we ran the ball pretty good, but they just played aggressive.”

Singleton has proven a workhorse this season. Against Folsom, he totaled 25 carries for 110 yards.

“That’s definitely how much I want to be touching the ball,” Singleton said. “Whatever the team has to do to win, I’m OK with. Even if that’s me getting five carries, 10 carries, or 25 carries. But I definitely love touching the ball as much as I can to help the team win.”

Serra is now 2-12 all time against Walsh’s alma mater De La Salle. Saturday marked the Spartans’ second shutout all-time against the Padres, the first a 31-0 victory in 1984.