Serra-St. Francis: What’s up front counts
History. Payback. League title. Playoff seeding.
Friday’s Serra at St. Francis West Catholic Athletic League finale is loaded with angles, motives and ramifications.
And playmakers, too.
Running backs Isiah Kendrick (Serra) and Darrell Page (St. Francis) are game-breakers, blessed with speed and moves. They’ve combined for 2,580 total yards and 31 touchdowns.
Quarterbacks Reed Vettel (St. Francis) and Luke Bottari (Serra) are opposites but equally effective. Vettel, a 6-foot-5, 190pound senior, is a pocket passer with the ability to throw deep. Bottari, an elusive and poised 5-11, 175-pound junior, has pinpoint accuracy, makes superb decisions and can hurt foes by scrambling.
But while all eyes at a nodoubt-packed Ron Calcagno Stadium will be riveted on the skill-position players, this matchup of Bay Area heavyweights probably will be decided by each team’s strength: the big guys on the interior lines.
Serra features such players as Cal-bound Antonio Mafi (6-3, 360), Moses Tameilau (6-0, 289) and Keelan O’Riordan (6-1, 260). St. Francis counters with fourstar Tyler Manoa (6-5, 285), Junior Fehoko (6-4, 240) and Alex Waddell (6-2, 225).
“There will be a ton of massive human beings on the field,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh said. “If you like throwback, oldschool football, this is the game you want to watch.”
Said St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno: “We feel good about our offensive and defensive fronts. This is the strength of our team. If we can neutralize them there, we’ll feel good about our chances. If not, it could be a very long game.”
That’s because fourth-ranked Serra (7-2, 6-0 WCAL), utilizing a quick-strike attack led by Kendrick, has clicked on all cylinders since the beginning of league play.
Five of its six wins have ended with a running clock. The other was a 35-7 win over then-fourthranked Valley Christian. Last week, Kendrick needed just nine carries to rush for 225 yards and five touchdowns. He has 980 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns on just 106 carries.
“They have explosive athletes running behind a big, talented line,” Calcagno said. “They definitely have some athletes and are very well coached. We must limit their big plays.”
The fifth-ranked Lancers (7-2, 5-1), whose only losses are to De La Salle-Concord (31-7) and Valley Christian (28-21), rely largely on the legs of Page, a 5-10, 185-pound junior (172 carries, 1,312 yards, 11 touchdowns) and big arm of Vettel, who averages 16.7 yards per completion.
He passed for a combined 518 yards on 65 attempts in two games against Serra last season, but threw four interceptions. Serra won both games, 41-40 and 31-17, the latter ending St. Francis’ season in the Central Coast Section Division II semifinals.
“I don’t think Coach Calcagno will have to say much to motivate his team,” Walsh said.
Said Calcagno: “Every year is different and I won’t bring up last year. We’re playing for a share of the league title. We’ll be plenty motivated.”
Serra already has clinched a co-championship, something it has done six other times since Walsh took over the program in 2002. The Padres haven’t won an outright title or gone unbeaten in league play since 1969.
“A banner is going up in the gym no matter what,” Walsh said. “It won’t weigh any more or look much different. But every banner has a different story. What we’ve accomplished thus far is very special. … If they don’t win, they don’t win a championship. All the motivational ammunition sits in Mountain View, which makes it all the more challenging for us.”
More important perhaps than the banners is the CCS seeding.
Both teams — along with Valley Christian and Mitty — will be part of the CCS Division II Open playoff. Higher seeds host games the first two rounds.
There’s a good possibility Serra and St. Francis could — again — meet in the CCS semifinals. The way the CCS brackets are set, two teams from Division II could advance to the CIF state tournament, but they must reach the section finals.
“That’s all just conjecture at this point,” Walsh said. “All that will really matter (Friday) is Serra versus St. Francis. It doesn’t get much better.”
Thursday games
#9 McClymonds-Oakland 41, Fremont-Oakland 8: At CastlemontOakland, Iman Nails returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, but that was all Fremont (8-2, 3-2) could muster against Ramone Sanders and the rugged defense of McClymonds its 40th consecutive (10-0, 5-0), Oakland which Athletic won League game and eighth straight league title. Jamar Julien scored on first-half runs of 50, 61 and 55 yards.
#22 Aragon-San Mateo 21, #23 Menlo-Atherton 18: Gabe Campos completed touchdown passes of 40 yards to Donaven Robinson and 25 yards to Simon Mapa as the visiting Dons (9-1, 4-1) finished alone in second place of the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division. Miles Conrad threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to freshman Troy Franklin and 25-yard TD pass to Joey Olshausen for MenloAtherton (6-4, 3-2).