Serra dominates old rival St. Francis
There was a time when Serra could not beat St. Francis.
For 35 games over 34 years starting in the early 1970s, this series between the West Catholic Athletic League schools was dominated by the program from Mountain View.
That era is obviously long gone, a faded memory as Serra has ascended to the top under longtime coach Patrick Walsh.
Now the undisputed No. 1 team in Northern California, the San Mateo powerhouse did nothing to tarnish the prestigious label on Saturday as the Padres built a four-touchdown halftime advantage and went on to a 45-17 victory over St. Francis in a game that had a running clock for the entire fourth quarter.
Two years ago in this same stadium, St. Francis dominated the home team to capture the league championship as its running back ran for 344 yards on 45 carries.
Saturday, St. Francis (2-3, 1-1) had one first down in the first half, courtesy of an early trick pass play that covered 69 yards and could have led to a tying touchdown.
Instead, St. Francis settled for a short field goal despite having the ball inside Serra's 5.
The tone was set: Serra (5-0, 2-0) was too strong on defense and too effective on offense, the normally balanced Padres taking to the air as offensive coordinator Darius Fautua Bell elected to throw the ball rather than run between the tackles.
The strategy worked like a charm.
Quarterback Maealiuaki Smith had his best day of the season, passing for 321 yards and two touchdowns. The senior also scored on two sneaks.
“Offensively, I think coach Bell had a great game plan,” Walsh said. “We've struggled moving the ball against these guys year in and year out. There is a ton of history between us, obviously. We wanted to come out and establish the passing game. That's different for us. It's usually the other way around.
“I think coach Bell did a great job of studying some things historically
that gave us trouble and maybe some things that he saw with Maealiuaki and our receivers who are getting better week in and week out. I thought those guys did a great job executing.”
“That's a good football team that we just played,” St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno said. “They're the No. 1 team in Northern California for a reason. They've earned it. They do a great job.
“Coach (Steven) Monsef does a fantastic job with the defense and they're obviously very, very dynamic on offense as well.
“Those guys are well-coached. Great kids. Play their tails off. That's a pretty good combination right now for the Padres.”
The victory was the Padres' 14th in the past 22 games against St. Francis, including their 2006 victory that ended more than three decades of futility against the Lancers.
NO. 7 RIORDAN 42, NO. 5 VALLEY CHRISTIAN 17 >>
Another game, another record for Archbishop Riordan.
Sophomore quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. threw six touchdown passes on Saturday to lead the host Crusaders (4-1, 2-0) to a victory over previously undefeated Valley Christian (41, 1-1).
Mitchell broke the WCAL and school record for touchdown passes in a game just one week after freshman Isitolo Tuugamusu matched the league record when he scored five touchdowns.
It's all added up to a special start to the league schedule for seventh-ranked Riordan, which is tied with Serra atop the WCAL standings after two weeks of league play.
Mitchell threw touchdown passes of 48 and 65 yards to Cynai Thomas. He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Chris Lawson and a 26-yard scoring pass to Judge Nash.
Like Mitchell, Thomas and Nash are sophomores. Lawson is a junior.
Seniors Tony Manu and Tyrone Jackson also were on the receiving end of TD passes from Mitchell.
NO. 22 MENLO SCHOOL 55, HOMESTEAD 22 >>
Mikey McGrath and Co. had a big day as Menlo (50) rolled at home in a Peninsula Athletic League De Anza Division opener against Homestead (1-4).
The senior threw touchdown passes to Jack Enright, Brady Jung, Bradford Tudor and Nicky Scacco for the Knights.
Menlo led 20-0 after the first quarter and 34-14 at halftime. The Knights stretched the advantage to 48-14 after three quarters.
Homestead quarterback Nick Zarour ran for a touchdown and connected with Wyatt Hook for another score. Maxx Ward also scored for Homestead.