It's called picking up your teammate. This teammate, however, was very special so
Tre’ Harrison decided to pick 6.
A few plays after star quarterback
Maalik Murphy went out Saturday with what looked to be a severe ankle injury, the
Serra (Gardena) freshman recorded a 10-yard pick-6 leading the Cavaliers to a tough 21-16 California Interscholastic Federation 1-A championship bowl win over Liberty (Bakersfield).
A 1-yard touchdown pass from Murphy to
Kai Honda gave Serra a 14-9 lead midway through the third quarter. Both defenses held, until Murphy was sacked hard after a long scramble. The game was delayed several minutes and after Serra punted deep intol Liberty territory, Carson Woods was picked off by Harrison at the 10.
He scooted into the end zone, making it 21-9 with 6:37 left and despite a 13-yard touchdown run by Woods, the Cavaliers held on for their third state title in four tries, their last title coming in 2012.
Murphy, a Texas commit, finished 15 of 29 for 174 yards.
Liberty (11-3) took a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by Dylan Lynch midway through the first quarter before the Cavaliers answered on an 11-yard touchdown run by Troy Tw Crozier with 1:32 left in the quarter.
Woods put the Patriots up 9-7 on a 3-yard run by Woods with 1:56 left in the half. A two-point conversion try failed and the Central Section power held a 9-7 halftime lead.
Murphy finished off a 13-play, 79-yard drive with his 1-yard touchdown pass to Honda and Serra was up for good thanks to some tremendous defense from Jason Mitchell (8.5 tackles), D'Angelo Davis (eight tackles, sack) and Melvin Bailey (6, sack).
Jalen Hankins had 22 carries for 105 yards and Woods added 207 total yards and both touchdowns. Luke Wattenbart had eight tackles for Liberty.
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Maalik Murphy, Serra
Photo by Louis Lopez
