Serra Defense Strolls Over Sacred Heart Cathedral

Written by Colton Seike

On homecoming night at Brady Family Stadium, the Serra Padres defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory of San Francisco by the score of 50-3. 

Serra came out to a slow start early in the first quarter, as their offense could not get on the field, due to their special teams unit committing back-to-back turnovers. After Sacred Heart scored first, with a field goal, the Padres offense finally got on the field and immediately scored with a 51-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Matthew Fa’aita to sophomore Kelepi Lataimua.

Serra ended up closing the first quarter on a high-note in their run heavy offense. Kava Cassidy, the junior running back, scored on a 10-yard counter run to the right, which made it 14-3 Padres.

Then, with about 1:30 left to play in the first quarter, senior quarterback Anthony Smock threw a 61-yard hail mary to senior wide receiver Hamilton Anoa’i. Unfortunately, the Padre two-point conversion was unsuccessful and Serra went up 20-3 after the first quarter. 

As the Padre defense continued to have success on their side of the ball in the first quarter, their great play continued for the rest of the game as they constantly forced multiple three-an-outs for the Irish.

Serra’s running game continued to have success on the ground with a Kevin Mcgee 2-yard dive and Kava Cassidy 6-yard run in the second quarter. After scoring 34-unanswered points, the Padres led the Irish 34-3 going into halftime.. 

Once the second half started, it suddenly became a game of time; as the clock was running the from the beginning. The Padres put on two more insurance touchdowns in the third quarter from touchdown runs by junior running back Gabriel Cabezon. 

Respectively, the touchdowns were from 5 and 50 yards. Cabezon finished the night with 105 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Serra lead 48-3 going into the fourth quarter. 

The Padre defense concluded their great effort with a safety, from junior cornerback Kyle Fobbs, late in the fourth quarter to finish the Irish 50-3. 

Serra’s run heavy offense came up huge for them as they finished the night with a total of 304 yards rushing, 226 yards coming from both Cassidy (121) and Cabezon (105).

“We did what we had to do. Our goal was to dominate and get our twos in. As a team a team we executed well,” said Cassidy, who rushed for two touchdowns on 11 carries. 

The Padre defense played significantly well against the Irish. Serra allowed a total of 104 yards from Sacred Heart. In the span of three games, Serra has now allowed a total of 25 points, about 8 points per game. 

“Overall we did great. They had a tough formation that we had to focus on this week. Our coaches got us prepared and we came out and dominated,” said senior defensive lineman Daniel Lavulo, who finished the night seven tackles and one quarterback sack. 

Next up for the Padres is Valley Christian High School of San Jose.  The game will be held at Brady Family Stadium on Oct. 19. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.