Serra of Gardena likely punched its ticket to a state bowl game and knocked out the nation's No. 4 team in the process.
A not-so-simple extra point by Francisco Olloqui in a driving rain proved to be the game-winning points as Serra pulled out a wild 42-41 overtime win over highly-touted and star-studded Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) in the Southern Section Northwest Division championship game Friday night.
Conner Preston scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge for Serra (14-0) after Oaks Christian (13-1) had scored a touchdown to open the overtime but missed the extra point.
According to this report by Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Sondhomier, bedlam ensued after the extra point as the victory ended a streak of 28 straight playoff wins and six straight section crowns for Oaks Christian, which got 295 rushing yards and four touchdowns by Malcolm Jones, recently selected California's Player of the Year by Gatorade.
The game featured numerous Division I athletes, including Serra's Robert Woods who had a 16-yard touchdown reception, 17-yard TD run and eigth interception of the season.
The victory all but assures Serra a spot in the CIF State Division III Bowl game (see how all of Friday's results may effect bowl game selections below) next week in Carson. With a victory, Oaks Christian was supposedly in line to take an Open (top) Division berth. As it is, the Lions had their season end one game short. Only section champions are eligible for the five bowl games.
Other big Southern California results from Friday:
Chaparral (Temecula) 13, Vista Murrieta 7: Mitch Glasmann scored on his second run of the game, this one from 4-yards out with more than a minute remaining, lifting the Pumas (10-3) to a Southern Section Inland Division title win over host Vista Murrieta (13-1), which had earlier in the year beat Chaparral 32-13.
Westlake 14, Moorpark 10: Freshman quarterback Justin Moore, filling in for injured starter Nick Isham, scored on a fourth-down 4-yard run with 41.3 seconds left to secure the hard-earned Southern Section Northern Division championship victory for Westlake (14-0).
Hamilton (Los Angeles) 67, El Camino Real (Woodland Hills) 42: Torey Whitfield completed 17 of 28 passes for 425 yards and seven touchdowns in the City Section Division II championship.
Oceanside 26, Helix 10: In the San Diego Section Division II title game at Qualcomm Stadium, Oceanside won its sixth straight championship and kept its hopes alive for a possible state bowl berth with its 38th consecutive victory. Oceanside forced six turnovers and all results in points.
Francis Parker (San Diego) 55, Bishop's 20: In the Division V San Diego Section title game at Qualcomm, junior Kenny Brookins scored on runs of 10, 6 and 21 yards and finished with 127 yards in 14 carries as Parker probably sewed up a small-school bowl berth.
Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 20, Point Loma 14: Chance Early scored on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Max Brewer with just more than four minutes remailing lifting Cathedral Catholic (12-1) to its third straight SDS Division III title game at Qualcomm Stadium.
La Mirada 49, Garden Grove 27: In the Southern Section Southern Division title game, Justin Torres rushed for touchdowns, of 7, 7 and 52 yards and fourth-seeded La Mirada (13-1) scored 42 consecutive points to score a victory over top-seeded Garden Grove.
Garden Grove (13-1) took a 21-7 lead two plays into the second quarter when Josh Sepulveda scored from 8 yards on the wildcat formation; however, on the play before, quarterback Sean Young was injured on a horse-collar tackle. Garden Grove never recovered from the loss of its scrambling quarterback, who had scored on a 1-yard run and completed a 60-yard scoring pass to Josh Webb.
Garden Grove made a gallant attempt to win a championship for fallen teammate Kevin Telles, who collapsed in the final three minutes of a season-opening game and died later that night of still unknown cases. He was 17.
Bowl Update
Upsets in Southern California muddied the waters a little bit in Division I and Division II setting up tonight’s Pac-5 game between Edison of Huntington Beach and Servite of Anaheim that will likely have ramifications in the Open Division, Division I and Division II berth selection.
Here's an updated breakdown of each Division heading into Saturday's play.
SoCal Division I
Relevant Scores
San Diego Section Division II - Oceanside 26, Helix 10
Southern Section Inland Division – Chaparral 13, Vista Murrieta 7
Central Section Division I – Bullard 42, Centennial 31
Outlook - It’s all up to Edison of Huntington Beach to make this division a little less confusing. The Chargers meet Servite of Anaheim in the Pac-5 Division championship. A Servite win throws the entire division, along with the Open Division, up for grabs. An Edison win at least solidifies the Open Division selection with a handful of teams fighting for the Division I spot.
Chaparral moved itself into contention with a 13-7 win over previously undefeated Vista Murrieta. As of Saturday morning, Chaparral moves ahead of Oceanside in the CalPreps rankings and just behind Edison in second place.
Oceanside, a 26-10 winner over Helix in the San Diego Section Division II finals, now looms as a possible choice. Oceanside played in the first bowl games three years ago and finished the year undefeated at 13-0 while Chaparral is 11-3. Chaparral’s losses are to Servite, Vista Murrieta and Centennial of Corona. Oceanside’s best win is a 14-7 victory over Long Beach Poly.
The only other unbeaten champion in the mix is Bullard, which defeated Centennial of Bakersfield 42-31 for the Central Section Division I championship.
SoCal Division II
Relevant Scores
Southern Section Northern Division – Westlake 14, Moorpark 10
San Diego Section Division III – Cathedral Catholic 20, Point Loma 14
Central Section Division IV – Kingsburg 47, Taft 16
Outlook - There are simply too many good choices here and this will likely be the most difficult choice for the committee.
Servite could be the choice if it defeats Edison to win the Pac-5 championship. The win would avenge the Friar’s only loss of the season.
Westlake could be next thanks to a 14-10 win over Moorpark in the Northern Division championship. Westlake also defeated St. Bonaventure and has a win over Newbury Park.
Crenshaw still needs to beat Narbonne on Saturday in order to qualify. The Cougars could possibly move ahead of Westlake with a win, but they currently sit at No. 3 in the CalPreps rankings.
Then there is the defending champ, Cathedral Catholic of San Diego (12-1). A 22-21 loss to Lincoln hurts and will likely keep the Dons out of the state finals. Cathedral Catholic won the San Diego Section Division III title with a 20-14 win over Point Loma.
Mission Bay of San Diego could also finish undefeated if it wins the Division IV championship and Kingsburg of the Central Section already won the Division 4 championship with a 47-16 win over Taft. However both Mission Bay and Kingsburg don’t quite have the strength of schedule, according to CalPreps, to necessarily sway the committee.
If Servite wins the Pac-5, it wouldn’t be out of the question to put the Friars in the Open Division championship and take either Crenshaw or Westlake for the Division II game.
SoCal Division III
Relevant Score
Serra 42, Oaks Christian 41
Outlook - Serra of Gardena punched its ticket to the Division III bowl with its thrilling 42-41 win over Oaks Christian.
SoCal Small Schools
Relevant Score
Parker 55 Bishop’s 20
Outlook - St. Margaret’s, the defending champion, still has to play its championship game Saturday night against Ontario Christian, but it will likely be for naught. Parker defeated Bishop’s 55-20 to win the San Diego Section Division V championship and secure the Small Schools berth. Parker has a 28-20 win over St. Margaret’s this year.
Senior writer Mitch Stephens and correspondent Martin Henderson contributed to this report.
