SAN FRANCISCO – The Serra Padres cruised past St. Ignatius on Saturday afternoon, scoring eight first half touchdowns, which led to an easy 56-7 victory over the Wildcats.
The Padres’ star players including senior running back Kelepi Lataimua, senior receiver Brandon Monroe, and senior receiver Hunter Bishop, carried the explosive offense throughout the game.
But the day truly belonged to junior quarterback Leki Nunn, as he exploded for five touchdowns. Four of those were through the air, and one was on the ground. Nunn completed 11 of 14 passes for 235 yards, and added 63 rushing yards on just five carries.
“All of (Serra coach Patrick Walsh’s) game plans this weekend really worked out,” said Nunn. “I mean, it was basically what (SI) showed, and we executed.”
Nunn and the Padres got going quickly, hitting Monroe on a 40-yard pass to put Serra up 7-0 early in the first.
Later in the first quarter, Lataimua rushed five yards for a touchdown. The following Padre possession, Nunn found a wide-open Monroe for a 38-yard touchdown pass. On their next possession, Nunn threw a 37-yard bomb to former quarterback Bishop. After that score, Serra led 28-0.
And then the first quarter ended. But Serra’s offense was just getting started.
In the second quarter, Monroe found the end zone once again, but this time on a five-yard run. Serra then led the Wildcats by a score of 35-0.
Monore finished the game with four catches for 85 yards, and rushed for eight yards on two attempts.
Two minutes later, Nunn kept his arm warm and found junior Charlie Quinn, who broke a few tackles on his way to a 62-yard touchdown reception.
Just over a minute later, after an SI fumble, Lataimua took a screen pass 37 yards for another Padre touchdown. For those keeping track, the score was 49-0 at this point.
Lataimua rushed for 54 yards on nine carries, and caught two passes for 51 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Nunn used his electrifying speed to fly past the SI defense on a 49-yard touchdown run to increase Padres' lead to 56-0.
“(Nunn) managed the offense really well,” Walsh said after the game. “Game plans are great, but when a guy like Leki is executing them, it really can be an explosive opportunity for us, so I was really proud of Leki. I think this is the first game we’ve had no turnovers all year long, and I think that goes to show that he’s improving each and every week, and that’s a scary thing for the future.”
The Serra defense also shined on Saturday, holding the Wildcats to just 137 yards of total offense.
“After giving up 43 points the week before, I think it’s an opportunity to hang your head and get down and question each other, and those sort of things,” said Walsh. “But that didn’t happen today. And I’m grateful that they’ve always believed in themselves. This is a really tight group of kids. And, you know, I hurt for them on some level. But I feel joy as a coach and humbled as a coach to see these kids fight through adversity like no team has ever before, and just hang together and put a great performance on the field today. So I’m proud of them.”
Despite the obvious struggles on both sides of the ball, the St. Ignatius offense was able to score in the fourth quarter on a three-yard rush from junior Gabe McCaffrey.
St. Ignatius (1-8, 1-5) meets Bellarmine at 7 p.m. Friday at San Jose City College.
