SAN MATEO, CA. - Serra routed Pioneer 59-7 on Saturday at Brady Family Stadium to advance to the CCS Open Division semifinals.
Serra will meet Bellarmine at 7 p.m. Saturday at Independence High in the semis.
Junior running back Kava Cassidy had an exceptional performance, rushing for 156 yards and 5 touchdowns.
“I followed my blocks and hit the hole hard,” Cassidy said. “The credit has to go to my blockers.”
Serra (9-2) put the first points on the board as they drove down the field and punched it in from two yards out with a quarterback sneak by senior Matt Fa’aita. At the end of the first quarter Serra was up 7-0 and it looked like it was going to be a close battle. However, Serra exploded for 28 points in the second quarter to blow the game open.
Cassidy added touchdown runs of 28 yards and 2 yards to put the Padres up 21-0. Then Fa’aita connected with Austin Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown pass to give the Padres a 28-0 lead.
Just before half, Cassidy punched it in from 2 yards out to give the Padres a commanding 35-0 lead at halftime.
The Mustangs (7-4) got their only points when Jeremy Iniguez ran around the left side for a 74-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
“We fired on all cylinders -- our defense played great,” said Serra head coach Patrick Walsh, “Now we look forward to playing next week.”
The Serra defense has played incredibly well these past couple of games; they have only allowed a total of 20 points in the last three games, with Saturday's points coming against the subs.
“We are really close, and we have a bond with each other,” said defensive lineman Daniel Lavulo. “We are a unit and if everybody does their job, we will play like we did today.”
