PREP EXTRA: SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Servite Clinches Share of League Title

Servite finally plucked what was ripe for the taking.

The Friars clinched a share of a Golden West League championship, the first, with a 32-8 victory over Westminster Friday.

It’s a milestone, clearly. How impressive of one, well, that’s a little hazy.

For a supposed big-time title game, it had more than a few gaffes--from Westminster botching an onside kick attempt in the opening seconds to Servite’s Mike Daniels dropping a sure interception on the game’s final play.

But what does one expect in a league where four of the six teams started the night with two or fewer victories? Still, the Friars are champions.

“We sort of fell into it,” Friar Coach Larry Toner said. “We made mistake after mistake after mistake. It was ugly.”

Not exactly a rousing acceptance speech. But, a title is a title.

“Yes, that’s satisfying,” Toner said. “But I think our kids are looking toward the playoffs. They want to test themselves against the best.”

Well, that’s happened before. If those game films still exist, the Friars can watch that 55-14 thrashing at the hands of Mater Dei.

“We’ve come miles since then,” Toner said.

The Friars (7-2, 4-0) made a bit of a U-turn Friday, but eventually got pointed in the right direction.

Servite rushed for 243 yards, 127 by David Bedard. He scored two touchdowns. Martin Smith (51 yards), scored three touchdowns. Frank Patti chipped in 75 face-first yards. That was the extent of the offense.

Not that the Friars were in danger of being overwhelmed.

Westminster wasn’t going to wow anyone on offense. The Lions (6-3, 3-1) have yet to beat a team with a winning record. The Lions seemed well aware of this, as they looked for any shell game that would work.

The onside kick attempt on the opening kickoff caught Servite napping. But the ball bounced through the arms of a Lion player and out of bounds.

Westminster also tried a slight-of-hand offense late in the first half. Its formation of seven players wide left and the quarterback, center and a couple receivers right, confused the Friars for a time. The Lions even made some modest progress.

But any chance of building on it vanished when quarterback Jerry Allison was carried off the field with a leg injury in the second quarter. Mike Vit, his replacement, was six of 17 and created a slew of divots.

“When their quarterback went out, the whole complexion of the game changed,” Toner said.

And the Friars feasted. The Friars forced four turnovers. Tony McCanta recovered two fumbles. Matt Paul intercepted a pass and forced a fumble.

Westminster finished with 217 yards, but 47 on a fake punt when the game was well out of reach.