SAN JOSE -- The Golden Eagles of Del Oro High School played golden football Friday night as they took down the Padres of Serra 28-20 at San Jose City College. With the victory, Del Oro advances to the CIF-State Bowl Game next week against Bakersfield at StubHub Stadium in Carson.
After forcing Serra to punt on its opening drive, Del Oro wasted no time getting to the end zone. They capped off their drive with a 26-yard run from star back Dylan Kainrath, who broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone. Kainrath finished the night with 29 rushes for 209 yards and a touchdown.
“O-line came out well, blocking it, and there were just huge holes when I was running and that helped set up the pass,” said Kainrath.
In addition to Kainrath’s performance on the ground, Del Oro also found success through the air. Quarterback Michael Moore completed 11 of his 16 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. He only had one incompletion in the first half.
Moore’s most notable completion of the night came in the final seconds of the second quarter, when he rolled out right and heaved the ball to the opposite side of the end zone to find Therin Heryford open for the score. With three seconds left in the half, the four-yard touchdown put Del Oro up 21-14 heading into half time.
Serra had struggles maintaining discipline as the game wore on. Overall, the Padres were penalized 12 times for 110 yards compared to Del Oro’s four for 20. The miscues especially affected the Padres’ comeback attempts, particularly on one drive where they faced a first-and-30, and would later turn the ball over after failing to convert on fourth-and-one. Even after the final whistle, flags were flying on the field.
The Padres also had trouble finding their groove on the ground, as star back Kava Cassidy only rushed for 44 yards. With the run-first offense Serra likes to operate, not having success running the ball made scoring very tough. Serra was consequently forced to throw the ball quite frequently, which is exactly what Del Oro coach Casey Taylor wanted.
“We knew they were talented and would be very tough to stop. We try to make teams one-dimensional and make them throw. We tried to leverage them and not give up big plays and our defense did a really good job of that,” said Taylor.
Despite the defensive effort of the Golden Eagles, Padre quarterback Matthew Fa’aita was still able to complete 17 of 31 passes for 201 yards, but two interceptions, including one that came with 3:35 in the fourth by Justin Burrage, helped squelch Serra’s comeback attempts.
Even with all the problems Serra faced, they still had a chance to take the game into overtime late in the fourth. Following Burrage’s interception, Del Oro attempted to run the clock down, and eventually kick a victory clinching field goal. However, kicker Bryan Willhide missed wide left on his 29-yard field goal attempt, and the Padres were in business.
Starting from their own 20-yard line, Fa’aita led a charge downfield, which included a 32-yard rush and 14-yard screen to Kava Cassidy. Eventually the drive stalled and Serra turned the ball over on downs with three seconds left on a pass over the middle that was ruled to have barely hit the turf.
Although the Padres (11-3) fall short of heading to Carson next week, their historic season gives them no reason to hang their heads.
“What I loved the most about tonight is that our kids were crying, it really just shows the competitive nature of these kids,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh said. “As time goes on, they’ll get over it, and they’ll look back on this season with wonderful relationships and cherished memories, and be really proud to be a Padre.”
As for Del Oro, their trip to Carson next weekend will be their second in the history of CIF Bowl Games, a trip they have been working for since January to make, according to Kainrath.
“Its just amazing. Since January we’ve been breaking our huddles with: ‘straight to state,’ and putting in all the hard work and now its finally here. We’re going to state and it feels amazing.”
