Serrano’s Season Ends Perfectly

Of course it came down to defense. With Phelan Serrano, it almost always does.

The Diamondbacks’ defense came up with several crucial plays down the stretch, ultimately stopping Palm Springs on fourth down at the Serrano 23-yard line with 19 seconds left to play, and won, 25-18, in the Southern Section Division VIII title game Saturday night at Serrano.

It is the first section title for top-seeded Serrano and the town of Phelan couldn’t have been happier. An overflow crowd of about 5,000 flooded the field after the game and a police helicopter circled over the field sounding a congratulatory siren.

“It’s a phenomenal thing for these kids, our program and this town,” said Coach Ray Maholchil, who took over a struggling program in 1992 and has turned it into a perennial league champion.

Serrano (14-0) capped a perfect season, something it couldn’t do two years ago when it entered the final undefeated but lost to Fontana Kaiser. Credit a defense that has been the backbone of the team all season, having allowed only 10.5 points a game before Saturday.

Facing a third-seeded Palm Springs team that averaged 44.1 points a game and had been held under 30 only three times, the Diamondbacks yielded only two touchdowns.

Justin Jackson had the key play for Serrano, a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown that broke an 18-18 tie with 3 minutes 39 seconds left in the game. Seven plays later, with Palm Springs at midfield, Jackson had another interception with 2:02 remaining.

The Indians (12-2), also searching for their first section title, held Serrano to a three and out, used it timeouts on defense, and got the ball back on their 16 with 1:28 to play. They drove 61 yards before Serrano made its final defensive stand.

-- Peter Yoon

Westlake Village Oaks Christian 39, Oak Park 21 -- With injuries mounting and concern growing, Aaron Ware scored on an 11-yard run and a 60-yard pass play from Jimmy Clausen as the top-seeded Lions (14-0) pulled away in the second half at Thousand Oaks.

Second-seeded Oak Park (12-2) took a 21-20 halftime lead on Josh Moskowitz’s 26-yard pass reception from Doug Deakin late in the second quarter. Moskowitz, who earlier scored on an eight-yard run, finished with 91 yards in 17 carries. Deakin passed for 168 yards.

Oaks Christian was hampered in the first half when running back Marc Tyler left the game in the first quarter with an injured ankle. Marshall Jones had a 60-yard interception return and a 59-yard reverse run for first-half touchdowns for the Lions.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Simi Valley Grace Brethren 34, Ontario Christian 6 -- Chad Kackert cemented his name at No. 4 on the state’s single-season rushing list and the Lancers won their first 11-man title in the Division XII final at Ontario Christian.

Kackert, a 5-foot-8, 177-pound senior, rushed for 152 yards in 13 carries and scored twice for second-seeded Grace Brethren (12-1). His 55-yard touchdown run late in the first half gave the Lancers a 26-0 lead and moved him past DeShaun Foster of Tustin and John Bordenkircher of Dixon, who set their single-season marks in 1997. Kackert finished the season with 3,438 yards.

Grace Brethren didn’t rely solely on Kackert against the top-seeded Knights (12-2). Junior quarterback Rick Elmore scored twice on first-half runs and had three sacks on defense.

On Ontario Christian’s first possession of the second half, Elmore knocked the ball from the grasp of quarterback Lance Cromer and it was picked out of the air by his twin, Corey, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

-- Dan Arritt