St. Bonaventure’s Serna is calling the shots now

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The prospects of contributing significantly didn’t look good for Casey Serna when he entered the season as the backup quarterback at St. Bonaventure. Things got worse after an injury sidelined him for the first couple of weeks. But to his credit, the 5-foot-11 senior never got down on himself. Never got discouraged. His confidence never wavered.

Even when Tony Macarena completed more than 70% of his passes and threw four touchdowns in the first three games, Serna remained steadfast. He knew he’d have an opportunity. And it finally presented itself in Week 6. He’s been the starter since and heads into Saturday’s 4 p.m. Northern Division championship game against Hart at the Home Depot Center with plenty of confidence.

Serna wasn’t spectacular in his debut against Ventura but he did guide the Seraphs to a 36-3 victory. Then again, if you have a running back like Darrell Scott in the backfield, there’s no need to be flashy. Perhaps the defining moment of Serna’s season came when he completed 7 of 9 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-13 victory over Westlake in the quarterfinals.

‘Casey has provided a spark, a spark that was missing early on in the season,’’ Coach Todd Therrien said.

There’s no question about who should be the man underneath center any longer. This is Serna’s team. His days of holding a clipboard on the sidelines are over. Guess it’s not where you start out the season, but where you finish.

-- Sean Ceglinsky, guest blogger