Can Serra and St. Francis just play every week?
It would cause headaches for the coaches, and it would be incredibly grueling for the players, but Saturday’s CCS Open Division II Championship was the third time in three years the two teams have met for an absolutely fantastic game.
As good as this season’s first meeting was, Saturday’s 31-30 Serra win was right up there among the best games the rivals have played in recent years, and could go down as one of the best high school football games ever played in Northern California.
Between the amount of talent on the field, the brilliance of both coaching staffs, the big plays and momentum swings that took place throughout the night, Saturday’s game is one that should be remembered for a long time.
“It was a beautiful game,” said Serra head coach Patrick Walsh.
It had everything a football fan could want. There were long touchdowns, trick plays, big defensive stands, lengthy drives and a two-point conversion attempt that effectively decided the game.
With all of the brilliance on the field, it’s hard to believe the play that ended things was a rather unceremonious incomplete pass on a two-point conversion attempt that would’ve given St. Francis the lead.
Everything that led up to that moment was football at its finest, though. St. Francis got to the end zone on Evan Williams’ second touchdown catch of the night, capping of a 15-play drive in which St. Francis ended up gaining 121 yards after being set back by penalties, an amazing feat, especially considering how long it took the Lancer offense to get going.
Aside from one play, a brilliant 71-yard touchdown run by Darrell Page, Serra (11-2) dominated the bulk of the first two quarters until Williams hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Vettel with a fabulous one-handed catch to cut the lead to 21-14 going into halftime.
That’s not to say Serra didn’t have its share of brilliant plays. Andres Atkins had a pair of touchdown catches in the first half, and Luke Bottari connected over the middle with Isiah Kendrick for an 84-yard score to give the Padres a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter.
Bottari and his receivers were otherworldly in the first half, connecting on 21 of 24 passes for 227 yards and the three touchdowns. Against an unforgiving St. Francis run defense, compounded by injuries to the Padre offensive line, including the absence of Cal commit Nio Mafi, Serra turned to the air and had the Lancers on their heels.
St. Francis (9-4) made the necessary adjustments on defense in the second half, but Serra’s special teams kept the Padres up by two scores into the third quarter. Malakai Rango took the opening kickoff of the second half 97 yards, and after Alessandro Maiuolo’s 25-yard field goal cut the lead to 28-17, St. Francis forced a three-and-out when Serra reached deep into its bag of tricks.
Special teams coach Ray Ortiz made what may have been the call of the season for the Padres, sending Lucas Hackett-Provenzano on a fake punt, which turned into a 37-yard gain and set up yet another big special teams play, Damon Lewis’ 43-yard field goal.
Not to be outdone, St. Francis used a trick play of its own, a hook-and-ladder with Maurice Wilmer and Page for 34 yards on the opening play of the fourth quarter, to set up Page’s 9-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 31-30 with 10:01 remaining.
St. Francis went on to force another three-and-out, without a fake punt this time, and got the ball back with 8:24 remaining at the 14-yard line. From there, Page, Vettel and Williams combined to orchestrate one of the best drives of the season. Even with a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties pushing the Lancers back 30 yards after a 25-yard reception, they still managed to find the end zone with 1:26 remaining.
With so little time remaining in regulation, there was no hesitation for head coach Greg Calcagno and his staff.
“Ten out of ten times, I’d do it again,” said Calcagno.
The only delay leading up to the play was for the training staff to attend to Kendrick, who was injured on the play in coverage. He was just one of the big-time stars on the field to suffer injuries throughout the night, along with teammate Patrick Nunn and Keelan O’Riordan. Maurice Wilmer and Junior Fehoko were banged up throughout the night for St. Francis.
Still, nearly every player who went down at some point found their way back into the game.
“Our two most physical games of the year were the two against Serra,” said Fehoko.
After all the drama, Serra finished things without further theatrics. Chris Park recovered the onside kick, and E.J. Lahlouh’s third-down plunge moved the chains to end the game.
There was no shortage of big performances all around the field. Bottari completed 30 of 35 passes for 285 yards. Park had five catches for 39 yards and an interception, Kendrick had five catches for 86 yards, Nunn had six for 40 and Shane Villaroman, who had been battling injuries for most of the year, hauled in ten catches for 68 yards.
Page once again proved to be nearly unstoppable, with 220 yards on 27 carries. In addition to the 71-yard touchdown, he made lemonade out of lemons on a 56-yard run in the third quarter when it appeared he’d be stopped behind the line of scrimmage. That run led to the Maiuolo field goal to cut it to 28-17.
“It’s a good thing we won’t have to worry about him for a few months,” said Walsh. “That kid is just a ball of heart running down the field.”
Vettel completed 12 of 20 passes for 193 yards, with 140 of those yards coming in the second half. Williams had five catches for 77 yards. Both Williams and Page are only juniors.
Unfortunately, local fans who want to see these two teams in action in Northern California championship games will have to travel to do so. Serra will head to the Central Valley on Friday for the second straight year, this time for a date with Tulare Union in the Division 2-AA game. St. Francis will take to Highway 580 for a Saturday night trip to Manteca in Division 2-A, where the Lancers will have to stop star quarterback Gino Campiotti.
