SAN MATEO, CA - Serra entertained its homecoming crowd on Friday night, defeating Sacred Heart Cathedral 50-3 with its new, wide-open offense and typical shut-down defense.
The Irish (2-3, 0-2 West Catholic Athletic League) scored the first points of the game by capitalizing on a fumble, setting Sacred Heart Cathedral up deep is Padre territory. That resulted in a 30-yard Irish field goal.
But that was it for the Irish against Serra's voracious defense. A few plays later, quarterback Matt Fa'aita connected with Kelepi Lataimua for a 51-yard touchdown to put the Padres (4-1, 2-0) up 7-3. From there, the offense hit another level as Kava Cassidy ran in for a 10-yard touchdown and senior Hamilton Anoa’i took a pass from Serra’s Anthony Smock and turned it into a 61-yard touchdown to make it 20-3 at the end of the first quarter.
“We executed in all facets of the game," said Serra coach Patrick Walsh, "This is a great win, I really believe this team enjoy playing the game of football, you can see it in the first five games we’ve played this year and hopefully we can keep up that pace for the rest of the season."
Serra capitalized on a couple of defensive stops by scoring on a Kevin McGee two-yard touchdown run and a Cassidy 8-yard run to make it 34-3 at halftime. Serra used both Smock and Fa’aita as their quarterbacks throughout the game, which provided a dual threat for Walsh’s offense.
“We have two good quarterbacks, they are a luxury to have,” said Walsh. “I am really proud with both of their efforts.”
Fa'aita returned to his starting role after missing last week's 17-7 victory against Bellarmine. He suffered a deep contusion in the collarbone area during Serra's victory against Buhach Colony.
Serra mixed its old, run-oriented, double-wing offense with its new, no-huddle spread offense throughout the game.
With a 31-point lead coming out of the half, the Padres were not done scoring, despite the fact the game was now being played with a running clock. Junior Gabe Cabezon scored twice on consecutive drives with a 5-yard touchdown run and an exciting 50-yard run, which put up the Padres 48-3. The Serra defense also put some points on the board as junior Kyle Fobbs took down SHC quarterback Logan White in the end zone for a safety just before the end of the game.
“Our preparation this week really put us in a great position to win this game,” said senior Hamilton Anoa’i. “Playing under the lights with our crazy cheering section gives us extra adrenaline and motivation.”
Serra annually plays its homecoming game under temporary lights, as opposed to on Saturday afternoon when it plays the rest of its games.
Defensive end Daniel Lavulo was constantly in the Irish backfield and had several tackles for losses to lead the Padre defense.
Sacred Heart Cathedral drops to 0-2 in league play and has scored only a total of three points in their first two games, having been shut out last week by Valley Christian.
“We played hard, but this shows how good they (Serra) are,” said SHC coach Ken Peralta. “We need to learn from this game and keep playing our hearts out every week.”
Serra has now won four consecutive games and meets Valley Christian Oct. 19. Sacred Heart Cathedral meets Archbishop Mitty next week.
