By Joe Snyder
Serra High’s football team finished off Bishop Amat with three fourth quarter touchdowns en route to a 48-14 home rout in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division II playoffs last Friday night.
Leading 28-14 after three periods, the Cavaliers, who improved to 8-3 overall after finishing second behind champion Chatsworth Sierra Canyon in the Mission League, started the fourth quarter onslaught as they upped their lead to 35-14 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Butler to tight end Andre Nickerson with just five seconds into the period.
On the Lancers’ ensuing drive, defensive back C.J. McBean intercepted a pass attempt by Bishop Amat quarterback Frankie Villalbazo. Just two plays later, running back Cincere Rhaney scored on an 8-yard run as Serra led 41-14 with 10:30 left in the game.
The Cavaliers finished off the scoring with just one minute remaining on a 68-yard TD run by junior running back Cameron Harris-Wilcot.
“Our defense was outstanding and we had a really good offense,” Serra head coach Scott Altenberg said. “Bishop Amat is a great team. We played great. I’m excited. Our offensive line was outstanding. Our front line has been fantastic all season.”
Serra led right from the start as Zacharyus Williams returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. It was Williams’ first of three TD’s, all in the first half.
Rhaney, who scored two touchdowns, gave the Cavaliers a 14-0 lead with 6:28 to go in the first quarter on a 31-yard scoring run.
The Butler-to-Williams passing combination produced two second period touchdowns. Their first was from 57 yards out that gave Serra a 21-0 bulge with 9:26 remaining.
The Lancers, who finished third in Mission play and ended their season at 5-6, got on the scoreboard when Villalbazo scored on a 5-yard keeper with 5:19 to go before halftime.
Serra increased its lead to 28-7 with 46 seconds remaining in the second quarter as Butler successfully completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Williams.
Bishop Amat, though, quickly cut the Cavaliers’ lead to two touchdowns on a 5-yard run by Richie Munoz with 10 seconds remaining in the first half.
Serra, which is seeded third in the Division II playoffs (top seed is Rancho Cucamonga and No. 2 is Long Beach Poly), will face a stiff test against Los Alamitos at home Friday at 7 p.m. The Griffins, the Surf League champions, began the playoffs with an impressive 56-31 home victory over Upland last Friday. Both Rancho Cucamonga and Poly won their first-round games.
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North bows out of playoffs with loss to Charter Oak
If one thinks Pioneer League champion North Torrance High’s football team, which finished the regular season at 8-2 overall and went unbeaten at 5-0 in league, hosting a 2-8 (regular season) Charter Oak squad from Covina in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division VIII playoffs last Friday is an easy task, think again!
Charter Oak was 2-8 due to a rigorous non-league and Mountain West League schedule that included the likes of Upland, San Dimas Damien, Yorba Linda, Glendora, Chino Hills, and Laguna Beach, which entered the Southern Section Division VII as the No. 2 seed but lost in the first round to Placentia El Dorado 21-7 in the first round. Upland is in Division II and lost its first-round game to always powerful Los Alamitos 56-31 last Friday. Damien is Division III.
Charter Oak used that tough regular season experience as it eliminated the Saxons 21-14 in overtime.
After a 14-14 regulation tie, Charter Oak took a 21-14 lead when quarterback Corin Berry completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Diego Flores.
Charter Oak, then, broke up a TD pass attempt from freshman quarterback Boogie Anetema to Marquette Carter to seal the win.
It is the second straight time that North fell in the first round. Last year in the Southern Section Division VI playoffs, the Saxons, who began the playoffs as the No. 4 seed behind four-year starting quarterback Trevor Lagarde (now at Liberty College in Virginia), fell to host Oak Park 29-12.
North scored first in the first quarter when Anetema tossed a 34-yard screen pass to Carter.
After Charter Oak tied the game, Anetema helped the Saxons lead 14-7 at halftime on a 2-yard TD pass to Elijah Taulebe.
Charter Oak went on to tie the game in the third quarter.
Late in the fourth period, North was driving for the winning score but that hope ended on an interception by Michael White forcing overtime.
Despite not scoring, Boogie’s twin freshman brother Kingston had four receptions for 57 yards. Boogie completed 15 of 18 passes for 157 yards, two TD’s and one interception.
Torrance, which finished third in Pioneer action but received the top seed in the Southern Section Division X playoffs, began the playoffs on a good note with a 30-7 home win over Santa Ana Segerstrom last Friday.
The Tartars, who increased their record to 7-4 overall, continued to have strong showings by Ryan Young and Jake Silverman.
Silverman passed for 159 yards and scored on a 5-yard run.
Young rushed for 122 yards and one TD.
Connor Sherring spent some time at quarterback that included a 10-yard touchdown pass to Malakai Johnson that gave Torrance a 14-0 first quarter lead. He also rushed for 90 yards.
The Tartars visit Redlands in the quarterfinals Friday at 7 p.m.
In Division XIV play, Bishop Montgomery, which advanced to the finals of the Southern Section Division XIII playoffs before falling to San Gabriel last season, saw its season come to an end with a wild 56-50 home loss to El Monte last Friday.
Marine League co-champion Gardena begins the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division playoffs at home against Palisades today at 7:30 p.m. The Dolphins won the Western League championship. The Panthers are seeded third, behind No. 1 Lake Balboa Birmingham and No. 2 East L.A. Garfield.
No. 4 Carson, the other Marine co-champion which Gardena defeated 27-7 on Oct. 20 at Gardena, is at home against fifth ranked Granada Hills Charter.
Narbonne is seeded eighth in the eight-team playoffs as it must visit Birmingham, the defending three-time City Open Division champion.
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El Camino falls on late TDs to tough Ventura
El Camino College’s football team led National Northern Conference leader and host Ventura until late in the fourth quarter last Saturday.
Ventura scored the winning touchdown and point after with 1:14 left in the game on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Chris Irvin to wide receiver Tyler Woodwork followed by the PAT from Ryan Pimentel as the Pirates pulled off a 21-20 victory to remain unbeaten in six conference games and clinch at least a share of the title.
The loss dropped the Warriors to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in National Northern play, but good enough to qualify for a postseason bowl game later this month.
ECC took a 20-14 lead on a 2-yard TD run by Jakai Torres with 11:01 left in the game.
El Camino had trouble holding down Irvin, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns.
For the Warriors, quarterback Dayton Tafoya completed 15 of 24 passes for 119 yards and one interception.
Marceese Yetts had eight catches for 55 yards and ran for 53 yards on 17 carries. Kendal Taylor rushed for 65 yards and one TD on 13 carries.
ECC plays its final conference game at home against Hancock College from Santa Maria Saturday at 4 p.m.
