SAN MATEO, CA – Visiting St. Mary’s-Stockton showed they are definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section and Northern California as well after putting up 553 yards of total offense in a very convincing 63-35 Saturday afternoon victory over a state ranked Serra team some analysts feel could capture the West Catholic Athletic League title this season.
While a whole lot of Rams got into the action it was St. Mary’s running back Dusty Frampton that led the charge. The solidly-built 5-11, 214-pound junior was nearly impossible to tackle. He finished with 278 yards rushing on 22 carries with six touchdowns on runs of three, two, 78, 60, six and one yards.
“I never imagined I would have this kind of a game but when you start the game you never know the outcome,” said Frampton, who had four touchdowns twice last season and 710 yards and 17 TDs as the Rams No. 2 running back.”I expected a great game from myself and the team and we prepared for it. We executed the plays perfectly and do that and you come out victorious.”
Frampton and St. Mary’s (1-0) started out quickly and mounted the kind of quick strike drive it would duplicate quite often during the game. After a touchback on the opening kickoff the Rams marched 80-yards in six plays to take a 6-0 lead. Frampton had his number called for the first four plays by Coach Tony Franks and rushed for 34 combined yards. After a 43-yard pass from 6-2, 190-pound senior quarterback Jake Dunniway to 6-0, 170-pound senior wide receiver Keaton Hampton, Frampton took it in from three yards out.
Serra (0-1) came right back with a 67-yard drive of its own that culminated in a play Coach Patrick Walsh had said he would use in pre-game comments.
After moving to the St. Mary’s 20-yard line under the direction of 5-10, 175-pound senior quarterback Leki Nunn, Walsh went to his bag of tricks.
Nunn, the West Catholic Athletic League Player of the Year that led the league in both rushing and passing last season, lined up alongside backup junior quarterback Jack Damelio who was in the shotgun formation. It would not be the last time Walsh used this set during the game but on this play Damelio took the snap and Nunn went long as a receiver and the two connected for a 20-yard touchdown pass that gave them a 7-6 lead after Damelio booted the point after.
St. Mary’s wasted no time getting back to work and when Dunniway connected with mighty-mite 5-5, 155-pound senior wide receiver Dewey Cotton on a 52-yard TD pass St. Mary’s had a 13-7 lead after one quarter.
A failed drive by each team gave the ball back to Serra. From there they executed a six-play, 75-yard drive that gave the Padres a 14-13 lead after junior running back Isiah Kendrick went 42-yards up the gut untouched for a Serra score.
Walsh went back to his bag of tricks and the Padres executed a perfect onside kick they recovered at midfield. Nunn took over from there with a combination of passing and running to get to the 1-yard line where junior Shane Villaroman scored to stretch Serra’s lead to 21-13 with just over 5 minutes left until halftime.
At this point it looked like Cal-Hi Sports No. 21 Serra might be up to the task against No. 13 St. Mary’s but the Padres just didn’t have an answer for Frampton and Dunniway and the explosive Rams’ offense.
Despite being down on the road the Rams didn’t panic, and after a squib kick by Serra, Dunniway orchestrated a 66-yard drive that included a 14-yard scramble that avoided what looked like a sure sack, and a Frampton run of 25 yards. Frampton then took it up the middle 2-yards to paydirt to make it a 21-19 deficit.
After the kickoff Serra got the ball back with 1:59 left in the half and needed a first down to run out the clock and take a lead into the locker room, but their drive stalled and they had to punt.
St. Mary’s took possession with under a minute in the half but that was more than enough time for Dunniway. First he went to 6-0, 180-pound wide receiver Marcus Aponte for a 12-yard completion, and then he went to Cotton for 20 yards. A 9-yard pass to Frampton became 18-yards when a penalty moved the ball to the 9-yard line. Dunniway got eight of the yards on a keeper and Aponte scored on a 1-yard plunge to give St. Mary’s a 26-21 halftime lead.
Serra and particularly Nunn showed their resiliency on the first play of the second half. With the wind blowing in the face of the St. Mary’s kicker the kick-off floated a bit. Nunn took it at the 7-yard line and raced untouched 93-yards, and all of a sudden Serra was back in front 28-26.
Unfortunately for the Padres faithful, and according to the Serra training staff, on the play Nunn suffered from body cramps similar to what happened to LeBron James. He did not return.
Before he left Nunn had 14 carries for 62 yards, he caught the TD pass from Dameilo, the kickoff return for a score, and he was 6-of-8 for 81 yards passing
Not only did Walsh lose Nunn after the long run but defensive standout 5-11, 200-pound senior T.C. “Beastie” Lavulo, the anchor of the defense as middle linebacker, did not suit up due to a hamstring injury. The combination of not having their two best players spelled doom for Serra in the second half.
After Serra took the lead on the kick return Dunniway and Frampton went back to work again and scored on a 68-yard drive that was highlighted by a 32-yard rumble by Frampton in which he broke four tackles. The touchdown came on a 24-yard pass to Hampton followed by a 2-point conversion on a pass from the same combination to give the Rams a 34-28 lead.
The play that really swung all the momentum to St. Mary’s came on the ensuing kickoff when the ball was never picked up by Serra and in a mad scramble the Rams came away with the pigskin on the Serra 13-yard line. A seven yard run was followed by a 6-yard TD run, both by Frampton, and it was 41-28 St. Mary’s.
Serra would score once more but from that point in the game it was all Frampton. His 78-yard run gave St. Mary’s a 49-28 lead, and after the Serra score his 60-yard romp and 1-yard plunge closed out the scoring.
Overshadowed by Frampton was the nearly error-free performance of Dunniway. He was 11-of-15 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
Hampton caught three passes for 84 yards with one touchdown and two 2-point conversions, Cotton caught three passes for 79 yards and one touchdown, and Aponte caught four passes for 57 yards and had the one score rushing.
Serra got a good game from both Kendrick and Villaroman. The 5-10, 160-pound Kendrick had 78 yards rushing and the one long TD run, plus he had 34 yards receiving. Villaroman, a 5-10, 165-pound junior slotback, had seven pass receptions for 71 yards and one touchdown rushing.
“It was a dogfight, a heavyweight title bout right up until that bobbled kick-off. They scored, and then we scored back and forth,” Franks said. “After that kickoff recovery we really got going and broke some explosive plays.”
Serra’s Walsh could have made excuses with his two top players not on the field for the second half collapse but he wasn't making any.
“Realistically, the bottom line is we can’t play the kind of defense that gives up 63 points.”
What’s a little scary right now is the schedule doesn’t get any easier for Walsh and his boys with De La Salle next week on the road followed by a game at Pittsburg before the West Catholic Athletic League opener at Valley Christian-San Jose.
“This team is going to be searching for its identity for a while,” Walsh remarked. “We’ve got to find a way to get better and that’s why we schedule these kinds of games before league starts.”
Prior to the game a prayer was read and a moment of silence was observed in memory of Calvin Riley, the recent Serra graduate and baseball player that was killed in San Francisco while playing Pokemon Go.
