Serra star QB Smith headed to Oklahoma State
Serra quarterback Maealiuaki Smith announced, via social media, that he has committed to Oklahoma State.
Smith posted a highlight video with him wearing Oklahoma State apparel on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday afternoon.
Smith is a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports.com, and is ranked as the 38th best quarterback in the class of 2024. The 6-foot-4 Smith is the top-ranked prospect in Oklahoma State's recruiting class.
“Congratulations Maealiuaki,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh wrote on X. “@CowboyFB (Oklahoma State), you are getting a GREAT one! We are all excited to watch you play big-time football in the Big XII.”
Smith has started the past two seasons for the San Mateo school, going 24-1. He quarterbacked the team to a CCS Open title in 2022, throwing for 2,546 yards and 34 touchdowns.
“Yessir!! Proud Of You Kid! Keep Your Head Down And Keep Going,” Serra offensive coordinator Darius Fautua Bell wrote on X.
Smith also had offers from Washington, Florida State, BYU and several other Power 5 schools.
— Joseph Dycus
Serra, Heritage roll to easy wins
The Bay Area's best high school football team played like it on Saturday, and then some.
Serra scored 27 points in the first quarter at home in San Mateo and cruised past eighth-seeded Salinas 47-7 in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open/ Division I playoffs.
The Padres advanced to play seventhseeded Wilcox for the Open championship Friday night at San Jose City College. Wilcox stunned second-seeded St. Francis in a first-round game on Friday.
The Open champion will move on to a state game. The Open runner-up will play for the CCS Division I title and a regional spot in two weeks.
Nano Latu opened the scoring for Serra on Saturday with a 14-yard run. The twopoint conversion made it 8-0.
Jaden Green's pick-six extended the advantage to 14-0 and Green's 3-yard run widened the margin to 20-0.
Kyon Loud's pick-six made it 27-0. Serra scored all 47 points in the first half as it routed Salinas for the second consecutive year in the playoffs. In the semifinals last season, Serra scored 50 points before
halftime and won 57-21.
If the Padres beat Wilcox, they will advance to the Open Division state championship game for the third consecutive season, presumably against Mater Dei or St. John Bosco, the teams that have routed Serra in each of the past two years.
And if Wilcox wins?
Well, the Chargers wouldn't seem to be a candidate to play Southern California's top team. They would most likely play in an upper-division NorCal regional.
Other games:
NCS DIVISION II: NO. 5 HERITAGE 35, REDWOOD-LARKSPUR 7 >> No. 5 seed Heritage scored on its first drive of the NCS Division II playoffs and never looked back as the Patriots routed host No. 4 Redwood-Larkspur for the team's first postseason victory in six years.
Mekhi Adanandus finished off the 80yard opening drive with a 3-yard run, and Phillip Babbitt connected with JJ Kinnaird later in the quarter to give Heritage a 14-0 lead.
Adanandus made it three straight Heritage touchdowns when he sprinted through the Redwood defense for a 60-yard score.
Heritage (5-6) will travel to top-seeded El Cerrito with a spot in the Division III title game on the line.
— Joseph Dycus CCS DIVISION II: NO. 6 MONTEREY 38, NO. 3 SACRED HEART PREP 24 >>
Sacred Heart Prep had a 24-17 lead at halftime, but was held scoreless in the second half.
Anthony Noto scored twice in the first half on runs of 2 and 1 yards to bring the Gators even both times at 7-7 and 14-14. An 18-yard run by Greg Gamitian gave SHP its first lead at 21-17.
— Glenn Reeves NCS DIVISION III: NO. 1 MARIN CATHOLIC 35, NO. 8 BISHOP O'DOWD 7 >>
The Dragons gave top-seed Marin Catholic everything it could handle in the first half of their playoff game. The teams entered halftime tied 7-7, a far cry from the 50-0 Wildcats win over O'Dowd in the regular season.
Marin Catholic hosts Tamalpais next week.