PREP EXTRA: SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : First-Half Touchdown Stands as Servite Blanks Villa Park

If Servite was looking for a good test to determine its playoff worthiness, Friday’s game against Villa Park provided the blue book.

The Friars, in particular their defense, aced the exam. Servite scored the game’s only touchdown in the first quarter on a two-yard run by David Bedard and made it stand for a 7-0 victory before an estimated 1,600 at Cal State Fullerton.

By posting their second shutout in as many weeks, the Friars (10-2) advance to play El Toro, which beat Loara, 21-3, Friday night, in the Southern Section Division V semifinals. The Spartans finish the season 10-2.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the week we would only score one touchdown and win, I would not have believed it,” Servite Coach Larry Toner said. “Villa Park is such an explosive team. And the fact we only scored one touchdown was my fault; too often I had people in the wrong formations or the wrong situations.”

The questions--could the Friars contain Sean McMahon and the Spartans’ passing game? Would Servite’s backfield of Bedard and Frank Patti buckle under the Villa Park defense?--took all 48 minutes to answer.

But it was the Servite defense that spoke the loudest; it harassed McMahon, who completed only five of 22 passes for 85 yards (of which 52 yards came on the Spartans’ last drive), and held Villa Park to 154 total yards.

“We dropped some passes and didn’t do a real good job, especially in the first half,” Villa Park Coach Pat Mahoney said. “But they also did a good job of keeping us out of second down-and-short situations. I knew their defense was tough; we just couldn’t get anything going.”

They almost did at the end. With two minutes left to play, Villa Park moved the ball from its 35 to the Servite 19. Then came the biggest play; with 20 seconds to play, McMahon avoided the Friars’ rush and appeared to hit a leaping Sam Stremick in the end zone for a touchdown. But Stremick could not hold the ball when he came down.

At first it appeared as if Stremick had his vision blocked momentarily by Servite defender Joe LeVecke, but Stremick denied it. “He managed to hit me just as I was getting the ball and I couldn’t hold it,” Stremick said. “It was a great defensive play.”

On offense, the Friars went to their running trio of Bedard (72 yards), Patti (85 yards) and Marvin Smith (27 yards). Frank Martin had another quiet night passing, three of seven for 33 yards with one interception, but it did not hurt the team.

Villa Park’s defense kept Servite out of the end zone in the first half, but it was not able to overcome the one key mistake that cost them the game.

The Friars had just concluded their first possession at the Spartans’ 38, and had to punt. But Villa Park fumbled the punt, and Smith recovered at the 10. Five plays later, Bedard burrowed into the end zone from two yards.