PREP WRAPUP : Unbeaten Serra Defeats Notre Dame, 12-3, to Make Division VII Finals

Serra High, the little school that could, reached the promised land Friday night on the football field at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks.

“It feels so good,” said senior quarterback Fred Safford. “At the start of the year, no one gave us any credit. We told ourselves we had a mission to accomplish.”

The Cavaliers are one win away from completing that mission after beating Notre Dame, 12-3, in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division VII playoffs to reach the finals for the first time since 1980.

“One more game, four more quarters,” Safford said. “It’s the moment of truth.”

In the only Southern Section final matching unbeaten teams, second-seeded Serra (13-0) will play top-seeded Lompoc (13-0) for the Division VII title at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in a game tentatively scheduled for El Camino College. If that arrangement falls through, Serra Athletic Director Joe Griffin said the teams would most likely play at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

Serra is the host school because Lompoc has been home for all three of its playoff games. The Braves advanced Friday with a 48-38 win over Temple City.

“Lompoc is not bigger than we are,” said Griffin, an assistant coach for Serra, “but they have a great running back.”

Junior tailback Napolean Kaufman leads a Lompoc team that is averaging 42 points a game in the playoffs.

But if Serra plays defense Saturday the way it did against Notre Dame, it could turn out to be Napolean’s Waterloo.

The Cavaliers limited Notre Dame, which finished with an 11-2 record, to 185 total yards and forced five turnovers, including two fumbles inside the Serra 5-yard line late in the first half.

And Notre Dame’s outstanding tailback, 6-foot-2, 210-pound Errol Small, gained just 61 yards on 17 carries playing on a sore ankle. He entered the contest with more than 1,400 yards rushing.

“Our defensive speed is very good,” said Serra Coach Leo Hand, who will make his first appearance in a CIF final. “I don’t know who (Notre Dame) has played in the past, but they probably haven’t seen a defense this fast.”

Junior defensive back Jerald Henry, who had two interceptions, said Serra was determined to shut out Notre Dame after taking a 6-3 halftime lead.

“At halftime we told each other we had to come together as a team,” said Henry, who also rushed for 64 yards on six carries. “We knew the offense was not playing well, so the defense had to do it for us.”

Others who came up with big defensive plays for Serra were linemen Louis Laffitte and Rodney Lands, linebacker Ryan Williams and defensive back Chris Long. The key plays, in order, were:

--After Notre Dame had driven to the Serra four-yard line late in the second quarter, Laffitte caught an errant pitchout that bounced off the helmet of fullback Fano Malietaulua and returned it to the 18.

--Minutes later, on second and goal from the Serra one, Notre Dame quarterback Greg Andrachick fumbled on a sneak and Lands recovered.

--With Serra still protecting a 6-3 lead early in the fourth quarter, Long, a sophomore who was brought up from the frosh-soph team, intercepted an option pass from Small at the Notre Dame 43.

--On Notre Dame’s next series, Williams laid a vicious hit on Small for a three-yard loss on second and two. After an incompletion, Notre Dame punted.

Although Serra gained 315 total yards, including 261 rushing, the Camino Real League champions clung to a three-point lead for most of the game.

“We made little mistakes that held us back,” Safford said.

The Cavaliers didn’t put the game away until fullback Dennis Gerard scored on a two-yard run with 13 seconds remaining. The touchdown came one play after Notre Dame turned the ball over on downs.

Serra produced its biggest offensive play early in the second quarter when backup quarterback Alex Marcelin hit wide receiver Donald Godden for a 34-yard touchdown on fourth and 17. Hand put Marcelin, a better passer than Safford, in the game for the one play, and the junior threw a perfect strike down the right sideline to Godden, who split two defenders.

“Lucky guess,” Hand said of the call.

Godden has now caught a touchdown pass in each of Serra’s three playoff wins.

“He’s the most unselfish kid in the world,” Hand said of Godden, whose catches have been limited in Serra’s run-oriented offense. “The thing that makes this such a great team is because the players are unselfish.”

After Friday’s quarterfinals, it appears that Carson’s road to a second consecutive L.A. City 4-A football title is paved with rematches.

The Colts, who defeated Crenshaw, 39-12, two weeks ago in their Pacific League finale, will face the Cougars again Friday night in the 4-A semifinals at Veterans Stadium.

Carson (9-1) advanced with a 31-0 shutout over Kennedy of Granada Hills, while Crenshaw (8-4) defeated Taft of Woodland Hills, 27-13.

If Carson gets past the Cougars again, there’s a good chance it will meet another league rival in the finals. Dorsey (8-3), which suffered a 29-8 loss to Carson on Nov. 3, meets El Camino Real in the other semifinal.

The top-seeded Colts rolled to their ninth consecutive Friday night win behind quarterback Armin Youngblood, who passed for three touchdowns to set a Carson single-season record with 27 TD throws. He also ran for a score.

The South Bay’s three participants in the L.A. City 3-A football playoffs were all eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Westchester, playing without injured tailback Tim Holliday, fell to No. 1 seed South Gate, 26-0. San Pedro squandered a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter and lost a tiebreaker to Garfield, 11-10. And Gardena proved no match for Franklin for the second time this season, losing, 24-0.