The Serra High football team gathered for its customary postgame huddle in the wake of its 37-14 dismantling of Mitty on Saturday. Coach Patrick Walsh would finally get to say something he had wanted to ages ago, so he shouted with emphasis, "No turnovers!"
His 50-member squad hollered back in unison, "Yeah!"
Yeah, baby.
For the first time in Walsh's four years at the San Mateo school, Serra finished a game with no turnovers. It capped a near-perfect day for the Padres (4-0), whose early run in the 2004 season has many believing it's their destiny to win a Central Coast Section championship.
That growing list includes Mitty (2-2) coach Dave Brown.
"If they can withstand the physical punishment every week, they'll win CCS," Brown said. "They're as good a team we've played or I've seen. And I've seen a lot of good ones."
Serra's vaunted double wing attack produced a season-high 455 - yes, 455 - yards rushing on 52 carries, a mind-boggling 8.8 yards per rush. The Padres' offensive line, which has been blowing opponents off the ball all season, paved the way for runners such as Cheyenne Tuufuli, who had a team-high 146-yards rushing on 11 carries.
Serra's offense was a picture of balance, as fullback Doug Hansen (122 yards) and wingback Edward Berry (76 yards) also had 11 carries each. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and Lopeti Taufoou rushed for 67 and 44 yards, respectively. The Padres never trailed and scored on its first four possessions.
They opened the game with a 5-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Tuufuli's 61-yard touchdown run with 9:46 left in the first quarter. Berry added TD runs of 6 and 30 yards to put Serra up 20-0 with 7:54 remaining until halftime.
Mitty got on the board when Brian Dressman hooked up with Nick Gancayco for a 46-yard TD to cut its deficit to 20-7 with 6:28 to go in the second. But Serra added a field goal and led 23-7 at halftime before putting Mitty away in the fourth quarter on a Hansen 50-yard TD run and a Taufoou 28-yard TD run.
Serra's defense wasn't too shabby, either, producing a couple of momentum shifting plays. The first came when James Longinotti drilled Grant Zamudio to force a fumble that was recovered by the Padres' Romtin Saidi two plays into the second half. And with 4:04 left in the third quarter, the Monarchs had a first-and-goal from the Serra 2-yard line.
After three running plays netted all of a yard, Mitty faced a fourth down from the 1. Dressman rolled out to his right and fired a pass that went off the hands of Patrick Hopkins. On the next play, Hansen rumbled for a 34-yard gain, dragging two Mitty defenders for a good 20-yards.
"It was a huge turning point," Walsh said. "In this league you point to certain instances where games can be decided. If they score on that play, who knows what would've happened. To see his (Hansen) legs drive like that was something else. But the best part about that was he covered up the whole time."
"I just kept trying to move my feet. When we play another team that runs the ball a lot, I like our chances. This offense clicks because we're all brothers blocking for one another," Hansen said.
Serra totaled 490 yards to the Monarchs' 268. Mitty finished with 222 yards rushing on 32 carries. Gancayco led the way with 101 yards on 15 rushes. Saturday's game was a stark contrast from a year ago, when Mitty came out on top, 21-19, benefiting greatly from Serra's eight turnovers (seven fumbles, one interception). Walsh didn't have to worry about any giveaways on Saturday.
"It's unreal," Walsh said. "It's a freaking miracle."
Serra 13 10 7 7 - 37
Mitty 0 7 0 7 - 14
Recommended for you
Scoring summary
S - Tufuuli 61 run (kick failed)
S - Berry 6 run (Parque kick)
S - Berry 30 run (Parque kick)
M - Gancayco 46 pass from Dressman (Ciesinski kick)
S - Parque 34 FG
S - Hansen 50 run (Parque kick)
M - Gancayco 7 run (McClenahen kick)
S - Taufoou 28 run (Parque kick)
RUSHING (carries-yards)
Serra - Hansen 11-122, Tuufuli 11-146, Berry 11-76, Taufoou 7-44, Masoli 12-67. Totals 52-455. Mitty - Gancayco 15-101, Zamudio 7-48, McClenahen 2-37, Duterte 2-14, Dressman 6-22. Totals 32-222.
PASSING (comp-att-yds-td-int)
Serra - Masoli 3-7-35-0-0. Mitty - Dressman 1-8-46-1-1.
RECEIVING (catches-yards)
Serra-Galletta 1-19, Taufoou 1-4, Berry 1-12. Totals 3-35. Mitty - Gancayco 1-46.
TOTAL YARDAGE (rush-pass-total)
Serra - 455-35-490. Mitty - 222-46-268.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.