Serra needed more than stellar play to win a section soccer title; it needed magic.

That it got from forward Nick Schnabel, whose goal with four minutes left in regulation and another shortly into the first overtime enabled the Padres to tie a richly talented Gilroy team 2-2 in the CCS Division II title game.

Schnabel's clutch effort has allowed Serra to hang a section championship banner in its gymnasium rafters for the first time in school history.

"You hope for a little magic in the final game and I think when you have a striker as good as Nick Schnabel that magic is always possible," Serra coach Jeff Panos told Prep2Prep after the draining 100-minute game. "For his final game as a Serra Padre - what a performance."

The first goal against Gilroy was the most important of Schnabel's career. With time melting away in regulation, he took a pass from Patrick Philpott on the left wing and charged at a gang of Mustang defenders 20 yards from the goal. He shook the Mustangs stoppers, found a smidgen of daylight and deftly placed a shot inside the near left post with his left foot.

"It wasn't that tough an angle, but it was a tough shot because I was going full speed," Schnabel said.

The WCAL Player of the Year performed in similar fashion in the quarterfinals against Willow Glen, scoring two second-half goals to help turn a 2-1 halftime deficit into a 4-2 Padre victory.

For efforts like that all season long, Schnabel is the Prep2Prep Central Coast Section Player of the Year.

The honor is richly deserved, as he scored 19 goals in WCAL play this season, tying the single-season league record set by Thomas Silvas of St. Francis in 1983. Coincidentally, Silvas is now the St. Francis coach.

For the season, Schnabel had 30 goals and finished with 51 for his Padre career.

"Nick is one of the most humble kids I have ever coached," Panos said. "His vision of the field is wise beyond his years and his ability to singlehandedly take over a game when he felt the time was right was a sight to see this season. When it was crunch time in a game, everyone knew where the ball had to go - including the opposing defense - and there was very little they could do about it."

Though Serra came close to winning an outright title, it also came close to finishing second. Six weeks or so removed from that thriller with Gilroy, nobody on West 20th Ave. is disappointed.

"It was awesome," Schnabel said. "We would have liked to have been solo champs, but we can't complain. We were super happy. We ordered our (championship) rings last week and it will be something to look back on."

Schnabel started playing at 5 years old on the Red Devils coached by his father Roy who learned the game growing up in Guam and the Philippines. His parents and three sisters have been staunchly behind him over the years, through his many years of youth soccer and his impressive high school career.

"My dad always pushed me to do my best and has supported me in everything I've done," Schnabel said. "And my mom (Maria Schnabel) was at every game, giving me her love and support."

As outstanding as Schnabel was on the field, he's just as stellar in the classroom. He has a weighted grade point average of 4.65 and plans to study engineering next year, with Santa Clara, Cal, Northwestern, Cornell and UCLA all possible landing spots. Just don't look for the name Schnabel on the roster of any of those universities.

"I'm still choosing my school, but I'm not going to play next season," Schnabel said. "Academics come first and I don't want anything to detract from doing well in school."

Also considered: Brad Bumgarner, SR, F, Mountain View; Zach Penner, Jr, F, HMB; Andres Jimenez, Jr, MF, Gilroy; Christian Aldama, Sr, D, Bellarmine

BLOSSOM VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Mount Hamilton Division
Player of the Year: Andrew Frias, Leigh
Senior of the Year: Christian Mendoza, Mt. Pleasant
Junior of the Year: Albert Munante, Mt. Pleasant
Sophomore of the Year: David Ha, Evergreen Valley

BLOSSOM VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Santa Teresa Division
Player of the Year: Miguel Castillo, Oak Grove
Senior of the Year: Tony Tejeda, Westmont
Junior of the Year: Stefan Skoff, Westmont
Sophomore of the Year: Matt Biner, Prospect

BLOSSOM VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-West Valley Division
Player of the Year: Doran Sorber, Pioneer
Senior of the Year: Romel Sanchez, Silver Creek
Junior of the Year: Arnold Villela, James Lick
Sophomore of the Year: Joel Flores, Independence

MONTEREY BAY LEAGUE-Gabilan Division
Player of the Year: Benito Chavez, Alisal
Senior of the Year: Danny Pulido, Alisal
Junior of the Year: Andres Jimenez, Gilroy
Sophomore of the Year: Jesus Diaz, Salinas

MONTEREY BAY LEAGUE-Pacific Division
Player of the Year: Hyunsik Lee, Monterey
Senior of the Year: Danny Reyes, Monterey
Junior of the Year: Sergio Javier, Seaside
Sophomore of the Year: Zack Price, Monte Vista Christian

MISSION TRAIL ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Player of the Year: Michael Sanchez, Soledad
Senior of the Year: Max Yeater, Carmel
Junior of the Year: Fabian Guzman, Soledad
Sophomore of the Year: Luis Hernandez, Gonzales

PENINSULA ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Bay Division
Player of the Year: Zach Penner, Half Moon Bay
Senior of the Year: Adrian Eaton, Burlingame
Junior of the Year: Arturo Meza, Half Moon Bay
Sophomore of the Year: Jorge Lopez, Menlo-Atherton

PENINSULA ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Ocean Division
Player of the Year: Lee Silva, El Camino
Senior of the Year: Jose Luis Plascencia, South San Francisco
Junior of the Year: Danny Basulto, South San Francisco
Sophomore of the Year: Angel Nevarez, South San Francisco

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Player of the Year: Cristian Ruiz, Aptos
Senior of the Year: Jose Magana, Harbor
Junior of the Year: Ramon Zambrano, Soquel
Sophomore of the Year: Uriel Cervantes, Aptos

SANTA CLARA VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-De Anza Division
Player of the Year: Brad Bumgarner, Mountain View
Senior of the Year: Logan Chapman, Los Gatos
Junior of the Year: Edi Aguilar, Mountain View
Sophomore of the Year: Matt Connel, Los Altos

SANTA CLARA VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-El Camino Division
Player of the Year: Brad Ohadi, Monta Vista
Senior of the Year: Daniel Galvan, Milpitas
Junior of the Year: Jared Johnson, Homestead
Sophomore of the Year: Amit Ben Simon, Homestead

WEST BAY ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Player of the Year: Andrew Segre, Sacred Heart Prep
Senior of the Year: Collin Porter, The King's Academy
Junior of the Year: Derek Chou, Sacred Heart Prep
Sophomore of the Year: Omar Hamade, Harker

WEST CATHOLIC ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Player of the Year: Nick Schnabel, Serra
Senior of the Year: Christian Aldama, Bellarmine College Prep
Junior of the Year: Will Foxcroft, Archbishop Mitty
Sophomore of the Year: Dylan Carruba, Bellarmine College Prep

NOTE: We would like to thank our readers for all of the nominations you sent in for the season-ending CCS soccer awards. It is a daunting task to narrow down our selections to just the top few as we recognize there are lots of great players who make contributions on the court that are not necessarily well-documented but mean a great deal to the success of their teams. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of CCS soccer.