Serra, Los Gatos settle for second best in state finals
SERRA DENIED UNBEATEN SEASON BY MATER DEI
One of the greatest teams in Central Coast Section history, a group of players led by a passionate and driven coach who knows how to motivate young men, took another shot at perfection Saturday night, another swing at the state's top championship.
But like the past two years, Serra fell short, a second consecutive unbeaten season ending in defeat against one of Southern California's superpowers.
This time, Mater Dei-santa Ana took down the Padres, winning the CIF Open Division championship 35-0 at Saddleback College behind its all-star collection of major college talent. The final 11:50 was played with a running clock.
The Open title was Mater Dei's fourth, all since 2017, and second at Serra's expense.
A massive underdog on this stage for the third time in as many appearances, the Padres (12-1) pulled out every trick in their book to keep Mater Dei out of sorts and ran down the play clock before snaps to shorten the game.
It worked, to some degree. Serra trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and didn't give up a third touchdown until late in the second quarter.
The Padres played with spirited aggression, which was to be expected given the fire coach Patrick Walsh breathes into his program, but they simply were overmatched by a Mater Dei team that is loaded with four- and five-star talent.
When it was over, Walsh gathered the team in the locker room and told his players that he loved them.
“One of the best teams I've ever coached, a great senior class,”
Walsh said. “Full of heart. Full of integrity. Full of pride. Nothing to be ashamed of. The only thing I would fear is if this experience tore them apart. But that's not going to happen because this team is too tight.”
Serra used the Wildcat, spread five receivers to one side of the field, called a fake punt and field goal, recovered an onside kick but with minimal success on the scoreboard.
Serra finished with 58 yards of offense on Saturday on 39 plays. Mater Dei (13-1), which relied heavily on senior quarterback Elijah Brown, a Stanford commit who finished 17 of 22 for 298 yards and four touchdowns, had 386 yards oin 43 plays.
“It didn't end how I wanted it to,” Serra two-way standout Jabari Mann said. “But I love my
team. I love what we did this year. I'm proud of the guys. Proud of the coaches for getting us here every year.”
The Padres averaged 43.25 points per game this season while going 12-0, which included victories over Folsom and De La Salle en route to West Catholic Athletic League and Central Coast Section championships.
So the story goes.
“It's not the outcome we wanted the past three years,” senior safety Joseph Bey said. “But brotherhood is something you can't buy. Some things just didn't go our way.”
Before Serra took the field, it watched Folsom — a team it beat in August — hoist a state championship trophy by winning the Division 1-A title with a 20-14 victory over St. Bonaventure.
If Serra had lost to Folsom and/ or De La Salle, it might have had a chance to win another division this weekend.
Instead, a senior class that included standouts such as Mann, Bey, Maealiuaki Smith and Danny Niu will leave Serra without a state title but as the top team in Norcal during their era.
Was seeing a team it beat celebrate a state title hard to watch, given what Serra was up against in the nightcap?
“The best team in Northern California, hands down, bar none,” Walsh said. “We beat other teams that were down here. Not hard at all. No. 1 team in Norcal and if the cost of being the No. 1 team in our area is this, then we're going to o continue to strive to do this. That's just the way it's going to be.
“We're the undisputed champs. We've gone undefeated back-toback in the WCAL. I'm so proud of this team. I am proud of these kids.”
LOS GATOS RALLY COMES UP JUST SHORT
PASADENA >> Los Gatos reached the CIF Division 2-A state title game by showing championship grit against a varied cast of opponents.
The Wildcats survived Archbishop Riordan's air raid, St. Ignatius and Wilcox's power, and El Cerrito's athleticism to earn the right to face Central Valley Christian of Visalia on Saturday night.
Los Gatos played close games throughout both the regular season and that playoff run, and even authored a couple of memorable second-half comebacks along the way.
But against the brutal Central Valley Christian running attack and its precise passing game, there would be no comeback in the South Bay school's first state title game. Los Gatos sure did try, though.
Central Valley Christian defeated Los Gatos, 45-42, in a thriller at Pasadena City College.
“Obviously it stings and it hurts like hell, but what are you gonna do,” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said. “Football is like life. You get up.”
Los Gatos trailed 24-7 at halftime after it committed two turnovers and turned it over on downs once. Though the Wildcats (12-3) kept it competitive into the fourth quarter, that was just too much of a hole to dig out of, even for the seniors who carried the program to the title game.
Jaylen Thomas caught a 63yard touchdown and Boxer Kopcsak-yeung rushed for a 27-yard touchdown. Quarterback A.J. Minyard even started the fourth quarter with a nifty 12-yard reverse-field touchdown run to cut the deficit to 38-28 with 10 minutes left.
“The moment wasn't too big for us, and there was no panic,” said Thomas, who also scored a 36-yard touchdown on an inside reverse midway through the second quarter.
But it seemed like every time the Wildcats got close, CVC (15-1) would embark on a long drive that inevitably ended with a touchdown.
“It was in all of our hearts, and we wanted it so bad,” said Minyard, who threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
After the second-half rally, coming so close to the program's first state title, Los Gatos' star running back reflected upon what his team had just done.
“I don't have any regrets with this football team, because I gave it everything I had,” Kopcsakyeung said, “and I know everyone around me did, too,”