Waiting to Exhale: Serra works on self-discovery over ill-timed bye week

By Chace Bryson | Editor 

   It’s about 15 minutes after Serra’s 49-13 dismantling of host Encinal on Sept. 20 and Padres coach Patrick Walsh is not admitting satisfaction.

   But he’s smiling. And after a hug from his wife and son, and a kiss for his mom, things seem an awful lot better than they did two weeks prior. 

   When the Padres team and coaching staff returns to their San Mateo campus the following morning for film sessions, it will have been two weeks since a gut-wrenching season-opening loss to the state’s No. 1 team “” and Walsh’s alma mater “” De La Salle. 

   The Padres had the ball in De La Salle territory with a 14-7 lead and approximately seven minutes to go. That’s when a missed field goal on 4th-and-1 cracked the door open for the Spartans, who pulled out the win 21-14. It was the third time in the last four meetings between the two schools that Serra pushed De La Salle to the brink, only to come up maddeningly short in the end.

   And then, with a bye the following the week, the Padres had to let the loss simmer.  

   “Well, you know it was challenging for us because we’ve played that De La Salle game before in this program,” Walsh said. “In a vacuum, it’s a great effort “¦ And this is how great De La Salle is, you measure yourself on how you lose to theem. But for us, that’s really not good enough anymore because it’s happened before.”

   So Serra, who despite losing its first game, entered CalHiSports.com’s state rankings at No. 19, had to let the loss marinate. And Walsh made clear the only terms for which the loss could be considered a positive. 

   “I told the team that it’s OK in a vacuum because of what you did and how you played and your effort, but we need to transcend that moment in this program.

   “If that loss leads to a transcendent moment throughout the season “” we’re going to be in that game again, we’re going to be in a game like that again “” if it leads to a transcendent moment where we rally together and find a way to finish that game, I’ll look back on (the DLS) game and say it was worth it. But if not, we should’ve jammed the ball in there and won.”

   The game against Encinal wasn’t that type of game.

   Serra established itself as the superior team very early on, and never looked back.

   Kava Cassidy opened the game with an interception for Serra on the game’s second official play, and then closed the first half with a 35-yard touchdown run with 55 seconds left in the second quarter. 

   In between the two plays from Cassidy, the Padres posted 415 yards of offense en route to building a 35-6 lead.

   “We had to bounce back,” Cassidy said. “(De La Salle) was a tough loss. … Coach Walsh and (defensive coordinator) Chris Vasseur have been preparing us for this week and all the weeks after this. It’s been about preparing and working hard, staying humble and being hungry.”

   Just about everything worked in the victory over Encinal. The Padres rushed for 385 yards, which included a 120-yard outing from Cassidy and a 112-yard effort from Kelepi Lataimua. The team was also able to pass for more than 240 yards while alternating starting quarterback Matt Fa’aita and backup Anthony Smock.

   Smock was in the game as early as the first quarter, despite not seeing any action in the De La Salle game. He battled Fa’aita closely for the starting job in camp.

   “We’ve learned a lot over the years that it’s great to have that one quarterback,” Walsh said. “But what if that one QB has an SAT test or something. “¦ Someone else is going to have to play. … At any moment Smock can be in there and we want him to be confident and know that he can play football for us.”

   It wasn’t a smooth night for Smock, he did throw two interceptions while Fa’aita ended up with 160 yards and a 61-yard touchdown pass to Hamilton Anoa’i. Both quarterbacks had rushing touchdowns, Fa’aita had two in the first half and Smock had one in the third quarter.

   Serra finished the night with 626 yards of total offense, a school record according to Walsh. Anoa’i  “” who was seeing his first action since having ACL surgery on his left leg on Nov. 24, 2012 “” finished with a team-best six catches for 115 yards. 

   But the defense was just as impressive against Encinal. The Jets were held to a mere 66 yards of total offense and rushed for minus-12. The defense was extremely stout against De La Salle as well, holding the Spartans to just 284 totals yards “” more than 100 yards less than their next lowest total (398) over their first four games.

   That defensive success is made more impressive by the fact that blue-chip defensive lineman Matt Dickerson, a Notre Dame-commit, has yet to play a down this season due to injury. Walsh hoped to have Dickerson back on the practice field as early as Monday, Sept. 23. 

   “Defensive coordinator Chris Vasseur is doing a wonderful job with those guys, and we’re doing all that without Matt,” Walsh said. “It’s really exciting. This is the type of team that will only get better as the year goes on, as we improve at some inexperienced positions and get guys off injuries. Getting Matt back out there is going to be huge, man. He’s a great player.”

   Serra ends its nonleague schedule with a Sept. 27 meeting against a Buhach Colony-Atwater team which reached the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals a year ago. But looming the week after is a West Coast Athletic League opener against Bellarmine-San Jose “” the defending WCAL champ.

   “We learned a lot about ourselves (against De La Salle),” Cassidy said. “We know what we can do, and what we have to do going forward. It made us a lot stronger.”