It was sluggish but the Serra High football team finally came through for a 24-6 season opening win over Lakewood in a three and a half hour contest last Friday at Serra.
With mostly new players after seeing eight of last season’s top players move on to Major NCAA Division I colleges, the Cavaliers had to make adjustments and it took awhile.
The game was marred by an astounding combined 40 penalties for 393 yards and a major injury to a Lakewood lineman that caused about 25 minutes of stopped time. The first quarter, alone, took more than an hour.
It was sluggish but the Serra High football team finally came through for a 24-6 season opening win over Lakewood in a three and a half hour contest last Friday at Serra.
With mostly new players after seeing eight of last season’s top players move on to Major NCAA Division I colleges, the Cavaliers had to make adjustments and it took awhile.
The game was marred by an astounding combined 40 penalties for 393 yards and a major injury to a Lakewood lineman that caused about 25 minutes of stopped time. The first quarter, alone, took more than an hour.
“It was a sloppy start,” Serra High head coach Scott Altenberg said. “We didn’t play very well. Lakewood did a good job on us. It was one of those things. We need to cut on penalties. It was first game jitters.”
The Lancers from the Southern Section PAC Five Moore League scored first on a touchdown pass from Carson High transfer Justin Collins but Serra was finally able to get things going with two second quarter touchdowns.
As expected, Altenberg shared the quarterback duties with returning junior Khalil Tate and Georgia transfer Kaleb Wilson.
Tate helped drove Serra to its first touchdown as he scored on a 6-yard keeper. The point after touchdown by sophomore kicker Eric Escamilla was good and the Cavaliers took a 7-6 lead with 6:34 left in the second period.
Serra scored, again, on its next drive. It was on a 3-yard run from running back Malik Roberson, who played his first game in two years after sitting out last season due to a torn ACL he suffered from long jumping at the CIF-Southern Section Masters Track and Field Championships from late May 2013.
From there, the Cavaliers drove 94 yards to the Lakewood three where Escamilla connected on a short 20-yard field goal for a 17-6 lead.
In the late third and fourth quarter, Serra drove 93 yards in 13 plays. Wilson completed the drive with a 17-yard scoring run.
That was where a Lakewood player was injured and the TD and the extra point from Escamilla were approximately 25 minutes apart.
The game, which began at 7 p.m., ended at approximately 10:35 p.m.
Wilson completed eight of 13 passes for 156 yards and Tate was 4-for-10 for 135 yards.
Tate rushed for 92 yards and one TD on 35 carries. Wilson ran for 58 yards and one touchdown on six carries and Roberson rushed for 51 yards and one score on 12 carries.
Serra will have to cut down on their infractions and other mistakes as it faces Washington state power Bellevue in the Honor Bowl at Oceanside High Saturday at 7:30 p.m. For those who have Time Warner Cable, the game will be broadcasted live on the Time Warner Sports Channel, the same that does the National Basketball Association L.A. Lakers.
It will be a match-up between two nationally ranked teams with the Cavaliers ranked 17th in the United States and Bellevue 16th by Maxpreps.
In the first preseason poll, Serra is fourth in the PAC Five behind No. 1 and defending California State Open Division champion Bellflower St. John Bosco, No. 2 Santa Ana Mater Dei and third rated Mission Hills Alemany, one of the Cavaliers’ Mission League foes.
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Smith and Panthers seek fresh beginning
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
Last season, Gardena High’s football team struggled through a 2-8 overall and 0-5 Marine League season.
In the past few seasons, the Panthers went through constant coaching changes and Gardena will be under Vincent Smith.
Also in 2013, Gardena finished the season with just 23 players on its roster, due to a rash of injuries and academic ineligibilities.
This year, it begins with 40 players and Smith hopes that it can turn things around.
The Panthers return some talent including senior linebacker-running back Christopher Plunkett, senior wide receiver-defensive back Michael Thompson, along with junior linemen George Bucio and Daniel Farias.
“Some kids are seniors but we lack experience,” Smith said. “We’re learning to do things the right way. We want to break those bad habits. We’re changing our mentality and focus. We3 also have to get better academically.”
Gardena begins its season at home against Verbum Dei High from southeast Los Angeles Friday at 7 p.m.
“We want to improve upon what they did last year,” Smith said. “We need to get healthy and academically eligible. If we do the things we’re supposed to, record wise, we won’t be ashamed of.”
The Panthers continue to play in the powerful Marine League with Carson, Narbonne, San Pedro, Banning and Washington.
Gardena has non-league games with Canoga Park (away, Sept. 12), Norwalk Glenn (Sept. 19 at La Mirada High), Inglewood Morningside (Sept. 26 at home) and Downey Warren (Oct. 3 at home) before visiting Banning High in Wilmington in its league opener on Oct. 10.
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Sports Scoop
Former Serra star Jackson helps USC to blowout opener
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
Former Serra High standout athlete Adoree Jackson started out well as he caught one of four touchdown passes thrown by quarterback Cody Kessler in University of Southern California’s 52-13 rout of Fresno State last Friday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Jackson caught an 18-yard scoring pass in the second quarter that gave USC a 21-0 lead.
Kessler was named PAC 12 Player of the Week for his performance.
Another true freshman, Ju Ju Smith, had 123 yards and two touchdowns in catches, a frosh record for a season opener.
Big plays lift North over Redondo: This year’s edition of the North Torrance High football team is led by juniors Mique Juarez and Chris Kuaea and their big plays proved it in last Friday’s 13-10 win over Redondo in a football season opener at North.
The Sea Hawks scored first in the third quarter and kept the 7-0 lead until about 3:30 left in the game when Kuaea scored on a 73-yard quarterback keeper to tie the game at seven.
After Redondo took a 10-7 lead on a 29-yard field goal by Dominik Eberle with 1:26 left in the game, Juarez, who as a junior is already being looked at by several Major Division I college coaches including head USC mentor Steve Sarkesian and head UCLA coach Jim Mora, sprinted a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown which proved to be the difference in North’s win, avenging its defeats of 42-35 of 2012 and 49-12 last year.
Kuaea also broke up a pass on a fourth down and two for Redondo with about 40 seconds remaining and the Saxons were able to run down the clock.
North, along with the other three Torrance schools (South, Torrance and West) is expected to be in the running for the Pioneer League title.
In the first Southern Section Western Division poll, West, led by premiere seniors Brett Ojiwi and Dale Rouse, is rated No. 1. Bay League teams Palos Verdes and Manhattan Beach Mira Costa are second and third, in order, and probable Ocean League favorite El Segundo is fourth.
The Eagles were Southern Section Northwest Division finalists last season, losing at Nordhoff High, 49-21, in Ojai.
North was 12th, while the Sea Hawks, who are faced with rebuilding with the squad being predominantly underclassmen, were ninth but, no doubt, that will change. The Saxons, though, have numerous juniors starting.
The Mustangs could drop after their 70-34 loss to a premiere Sherman Oaks Notre Dame last Friday at Mira Costa. The Knights are among Serra’s Mission opponents. The Mustangs, however, are expected to be top contenders for the Bay crown. Palos Verdes also lost its opener at Narbonne, 49-28, last Thursday in Harbor City.
