SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Junipero Serra got off to a roaring start at City College of San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, jumping to a 24-point lead in the first quarter, a lead that they would never relinquish, on their way to a 45-0 victory over the hometown Riordan squad. This victory kept the prestigious Baxter Trophy at Serra for at least another year, after they won it back last season.
On a sunny San Francisco day, the visiting Padres came out ready to play. After Riordan received the kickoff, Serra’s stout front seven dominated the Crusaders into a quick three and out. That was followed up with a swift march down the field, punctuated by an 18-yard touchdown run by senior Patrick Nunn. Starting fast was something that was in the game plan, and Serra head coach Patrick Walsh was proud of their early execution.
“I thought we came out with the right mentality early in the game. We had a 3 and out on defense, and then scored right away to go up 7-0. The emphasis was getting out of the gate and starting fast; we haven't had a chance to do that this year," Walsh said. "We haven't been a very good starting team. Our chaplain, Father Joe, kind of made that the emphasis over the entire week and I'm very proud of the guys for being prepared, and getting on the bus and being mentally prepared for the game.”
It certainly seemed that the Serra players were taking their coach’s message to heart. The Padres never stopped putting on the pressure after the first drive. Their defense forced another three and out and quickly marched down the field again, aided by a big catch by Nunn and a tough fourth down run by senior Isiah Kendrick. Kendrick made the score 14-0 with a one-yard score. From then on, it would be more of the same for Serra. Their defense’s relentless pressure left no room for Riordan quarterback Travis Benham to maneuver and the Crusaders could get nothing going on the ground. In fact, Riordan would not even get its first first down until the second quarter. While Serra’s defense put the clamps on Riordan, their offense was also doing damage.
Nunn quickly found himself in the end zone again, this time after a 53-yard strike from junior quarterback Luke Bottari. This was followed by a successful two-point conversion, giving the Padres a 22-0 lead. At this point, their defense got into the scoring, forcing a safety when an errant snap found its way out of the back of the end zone. The next scoring would come in the second quarter. Bottari threw another touchdown, this time to Andres Atkins to make the score 31-0. Before the quarter was over, the Padres would get two more scores, on runs by Kendrick and Tevesi Vakalahi, which would make the score 45-0 at the half. This is where the score would stand until the end of the game, as Serra began running the clock in the final two quarters.
Serra was led by Bottari, who threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns, with 85 of them going to Nunn. Kendrick (88 yards) and Vakalahi (122 yards) combined for 200 yards on the ground and three touchdowns to pace the balanced attack. Riordan, who finished with only 14 total yards from scrimmage, was led by Benham who threw for 20 yards, and running back Louie Mezie, who picked up 16 yards rushing.
Vakalahi was understandably excited after the game.
“I felt great today. We did really well, came together, played well as a team. Overall, [we] just played great football.”
Walsh was very proud of the work that Vakalahi put in, and the rest of the team as well.
“It was a good team win. The WCAL is a vicious league, we have 60 guys on our roster, so my major takeaways was that we had new contributors like [Tevesi Vakalahi] who carried the ball hard with passion and energy and kind of ignited the team," Walsh stated. "He hadn't had many carries at Serra High School prior to today so we are gonna need those kind of efforts across the board in order to compete in this league.”
While it was hard to find some good after a loss like this, Riordan coach Jay’Sen Morris knows what his team needs to focus on in order to take the next step.
“Just execution on both sides of the ball, and just the little minor details that we need to clean up," Morris said. "We have a lot of depth issues on the team, but that's not an excuse. [That just means] we need to clean up, and do little things well. We can't just cower down now and give up. We have a long season ahead of us and we have to get better.”
This was the first WCAL game for both teams, and moved Serra to 2-2 (1-0) and Riordan to 1-3 (0-1). Serra will be back in action against Bellarmine on September 29 at San Jose City College at 7 p.m. Riordan will travel to Foothill College to face Archbishop Mitty on September 29 at 7 p.m.
Scoring Summary
JS- Nunn 18 yard run (Lewis kick) Q1 7-0
JS-Kendrick 1 yard run (Lewis kick) Q1 14-0
JS- Bottari to Nunn 53 yard catch (Kendrick to Tuimavave) Q1 22-0
JS- Safety Q1 24-0
JS- Bottari to Atkins 25 yard catch (Lewis kick) Q2 31-0
JS- Kendrick 40 yard run (Lewis kick) Q2 38-0
JS- Vakalahi 45 yard run (Lewis kick) Q2 45-0
