SAN MATEO — The Serra Padres are in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
One week after an emotional gut-punch against St. Francis, they returned to their home field and beat Valley Christian 41-30 on Saturday in a game that was far from flawless on both sides.
Serra turned the ball over five times — three interceptions, two fumbles — and Valley Christian had numerous self-inflicted penalties that stalled its momentum.
But the second-seeded Padres survived, beating Valley for the second time this season. They advance to play host to No. 3 seed Bellarmine in the semifinals next Saturday.
“When the offense turns it over that many times, it’s rare to win,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh said. “It’s a testament to the fortitude of this team. We had a very emotional week, obviously, after last Saturday and seven days later it’s just getting pushed and different things, weird things, that we overcame.
“I was very proud of the resiliency of this team.”
Seventh-seeded Valley Christian finished 6-5, with its losses coming against Serra (twice), St. Francis, Pittsburg and Bellarmine, all top-10 teams in the latest Bay Area News Group rankings.
Dominique Lampkin threw four touchdown passes for Serra (9-1), the good part of a day that included the three interceptions, and ran for a touchdown.
The senior needed nearly all of the good to overcome Valley’s dynamic duo of quarterback Jakson Berman and receiver Jurrion Dickey. The junior receiver caught two 77-yard touchdown passes and intercepted two passes. He finished with eight catches for 240 yards while playing both offense and defense.
Berman also went both ways. The senior threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns with one interception and ran for a touchdown. He also intercepted a pass himself and recovered a fumble while playing defense.
Not a bad final game for the Class of 2022 standout.
“I just want our 2022 legacy to be we’re hard workers,” Berman said. “We’re not the most talented team. We are not the biggest. We are not the fastest. But we were the most hard-working and we’ll leave 100 percent on the field.”
When the game ended, longtime Valley coach Mike Machado gathered his players in a customary postgame huddle and told them how proud they made him. The San Jose program lost about a dozen players during the coronavirus shut down, many of whom left the area with their families.
But the Warriors still qualified for the CCS’s top division, which includes the section’s eight-best teams.
“These kids have a lot of heart,” Machado said. “They don’t quit, and I appreciate that about them the most.”
Valley kept the score close for much of the afternoon.
Trailing 14-6 at halftime, the Warriors evened the score in the third quarter when Berman scored from the 1 and then ran into a two-point conversion.
“Great kid, great leader,” Machado said.
But every time Valley made a threat, Serra answered. The Padres went back in front, 21-14, when Lucas Schumaker scored on an 11-yard run with 5:11 left in the third quarter.
Valley closed to within 21-17 late in the third when Carter Will booted a 30-yard field goal.
Serra again responded with a quick 62-yard drive that Lampkin capped with a 4-yard run across the goal line, the touchdown stretching the Padres’ advantage to 28-17.
Berman’s second 77-yard bomb to Dickey made it 28-23, but Lampkin followed with a 37-yard TD pass to Grant McGovern that made it 34-23 with 8:23 to go.
Lampkin and McGovern connected again from 37 yards out to extend the advantage to 41-23 with 4:23 left. The Serra quarterback finished 12 of 19 for 185 yards.
Given his long history of battles against Machado’s team, Walsh knew it wouldn’t be easy Saturday.
“They’ve got a ton of pride and coach Machado does such a great job,” Walsh said. “With Jurrion Dickey and Berman, those guys are in every single game. It’s one of those things where they are one score away, no matter where they are. When you play a team like that, the game is always going to be in question.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com