Serra seizes control in second half, rolls past Mitty to reach CCS Open Division final

SAN MATEO Saturday s Central Coast Section Open Division I first-round competition between Serra and Archbishop Mitty unfolded like the chess match that both teams expected it to be From funky formations to trick plays the encounter turned out to be the deliberate and calculated matchup that only a pair of West Catholic Athletic League foes can provide in a postseason matchup For a while every move had an answer But once Serra dictated the tempo and forced Mitty out of its comfort zone the momentum shifted in favor of the home club as the Padres used a series of well-timed offensive strikes and defensive stands to pull away with a - win Every time we play Mitty it s scary Serra coach Patrick Walsh explained It s never easy and perpetually intricate I thought we ran the ball extremely well nowadays We had selected opportunities to extend the total earlier in the match but they came up with big plays in the third quarter Overall it s been a great year and now we get another opportunity to play another playoff championship in the CCS Open championship Serra s Andrew Takapautolo runs with the ball against Archbishop Mitty's Ethan Chase in the second quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group The achievement sends Serra into next week s Open Division championship where an emotional rematch with Archbishop Riordan awaits Just last week the Crusaders defeated Serra - in San Mateo in the regular season finale to capture the WCAL championship on the Padres senior night We really felt like after last week s loss that we just had to put our heads down and keep working Serra senior running back Iziah Singleton who rushed for yards on carries commented I feel like we had to do that for this event Despite going down nine points by the halftime break Mitty opened the third quarter looking poised to get back in the tournament even though the San Jose school was without dynamic running back Lazaro Faraj-Washington who left the match and never returned with an ankle injury in the second period Serra started the second half with the ball and marched into the red zone in six plays But just as it looked like the Padres were going to build onto their lead senior Kai Sniffen picked off a pass in the end zone to give the Monarchs the ball early in the third quarter Archbishop Mitty's Kai Sniffen catches the ball against Serra in the third quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Mitty marched down the field using a scarce big plays to get deep into Serra territory But another crushing injury occurred when senior offensive lineman Jack Dumesnil had to be carted off into an ambulance with a gruesome lower leg injury The injury caused the match to be momentarily paused for about minutes and the Monarchs couldn t recapture the momentum A limited plays later Serra cornerback Aidan Labrador picked off a Mitty pass and the floodgates opened from there On the ensuing possession Serra kicker Saul Marks knocked in a -yard field goal to put the Padres up - Later in the quarter Marks hit another this time from yards to extend Serra s lead to two scores From there Serra ran Mitty into submission with big chunk runs from Singleton and Andrew Takapautolo who finished with a game-high yards and a rushing touchdown Serra's Iziah Singleton runs with the ball against Archbishop Mitty's Jax Halas in the second quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Takapautolo s -yard rushing points late in the fourth quarter all but put the match away for the San Mateo school even as Mitty scored on a late -yard touchdown pass from Joseph Engin to Lucca Edwards Coach Walsh reliably explained we have to win the third quarter Singleton reported His motivational speech at halftime really motivated us to come out here and the third quarter We did that in the modern day Serra finished Saturday s battle with rushing yards while holding Mitty to yards of total offense The Padres defense forced three turnovers with Labrador and Brody Smith each intercepting a pass while Serra s defense also recovered a Mitty fumble in the first quarter Charlie Walsh had a rushing number and a receiving touchdown to cap off a solid night for the Padres Serra s Saul Marks kicks a field goal against Archbishop Mitty in the fourth quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group I thought they just did a great job coming off of last week s loss Walsh noted I thought the seniors did a great job of reminding everyone that you know this could be the last contest of the year And they did a great job of making sure that didn t happen The Monarchs season ended their season with a valiant effort Head coach Danny Sullivan commented he was proud of his group despite the injuries Mitty sustained to key players Related Articles Antioch s football season ends under dark cloud amid hazing video backlash How local sports society is remembering Oakland icon John Beam Bay Area high school football roundup Best of Week action San Mateo spoils Woodside s unbeaten season advances to CCS D-III semis Pittsburg s defense special teams units set tone for big win over Liberty We re a pretty feisty group Sullivan mentioned I m just super proud of their effort all year long and it sucks that this journey had to end Serra's Dylan Modena tackles Archbishop Mitty's Lucca Edwards in the second quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Lazaro Faraj-Washington runs with the ball against Serra in the first quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra s Andrew Takapautolo runs with the ball to count a touchdown against Archbishop Mitty in the fourth quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra's William Orr hands the ball to Serra's Iziah Singleton against Archbishop Mitty in the fourth quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty teammates go to see Archbishop Mitty's Jack Dumesnil as he is taken to an ambulance for an injury quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra's Aidan Labrador intercepts the ball against Archbishop Mitty's Caden Kelly in the third quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra's Aidan Labrador intercepts the ball against Archbishop Mitty's Caden Kelly in the third quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra's William Orr runs with the ball against Archbishop Mitty in the third quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra s Saul Marks celebrates kicking a field goal with Serra's Emmanuel Manny Madera against Archbishop Mitty in the fourth quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra s Saul Marks kicks a field goal against Archbishop Mitty in the fourth quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Serra's Emmanuel Manny Madera runs with the ball against Archbishop Mitty's Isaac Turner and Archbishop Mitty's Mailangi Tongi in the third quarter during the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group