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MOUNTAIN VIEW — Last week, Serra trailed by 14 points in the second quarter before rallying to beat Mitty.
The Padres made sure they had a different start Friday at St. Francis.
Behind the passing of Daylin McLemore, Serra took a three-touchdown lead in the first 18 minutes of the game and didn’t let the Lancers cut that advantage to single digits in a 35-21 victory.
“We stuck to our game plan, really. Our game plan was to attack them through the air,” said McLemore, who completed all seven of his first-half passes for 192 yards and three TDs.
“He was really sharp, the routes were crisp, it was great pass protection,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh said. “To complete a pass, a lot of really good things need to happen, and we put a bunch in succession. I thought Daylin did a great job of reading the defense.”
Serra (7-0, 4-0 West Catholic Athletic League) lost two games to St. Francis last year by the combined score of 80-15. McLemore mentioned that fact was on the whiteboard of Serra’s weight room.
The Padres’ defense also rose to the occasion, grabbing three interceptions and allowing St. Francis (2-5, 1-3) to only reach the end zone twice.
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Serra, ranked No. 3 in the Bay Area Preps HQ Top 25, ended St. Francis’ second drive of the game with an interception by Terence Loville. The next play, McLemore found Nate Sanchez in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
Another Padres interception, this one by Damon Lewis, ended St. Francis’ ensuing drive. Again, Serra capitalized with another touchdown throw in the end zone from McLemore to Sanchez, this one for 38 yards.
McLemore launched a bomb to Loville, who sped past the goal line on a 50-yard reception to give the Padres a three-touchdown lead with 6:38 left in the first half. St. Francis narrowed the halftime score to 21-7 after Joey Schott pulled down a jump-ball pass from Ryan Daly for an 8-yard score with 15.6 seconds left in the second quarter.
Loville ended the game with three receptions for 98 yards, while Sanchez had a team-high four receptions for 82 yards.
Serra scored on the opening drive of the second half on a 1-yard run by Vince Poni, who rushed for a game-high 104 yards. St. Francis, ranked No. 25, answered with an 80-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock. Camilo Arquette, who had a team-high 98 yards rushing, capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.
“Happy with our effort,” St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno said. “I thought we really battled against a very, very good football team, but obviously, we lost the game.”
Serra’s Liam Kilbridge produced his team’s final interception of the game with 5:51 left in the fourth quarter. Poni gave the Padres another 20-point lead with a 53-yard touchdown run with 2:57 remaining.
St. Francis scored 47 seconds later on a 14-yard pass from Daly to Schott, but Serra’s Christian Pedersen handled the ensuing onside kick and Serra maintained possession of the ball the rest of the game. Schott had a game-high seven receptions for 52 yards.
Serra defensive end Nusi Malani was ejected for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Mitty last week, which by rule results in the player missing the next game. But Walsh said that the report from the referee stated that the referee didn’t feel a one-game suspension was warranted for the behavior that Malani exhibited. Walsh said that the report went from the Serra administration and the league to the Central Coast Section for review, the section agreed with the referee’s assessment and Malani was re-instated.
