Servite already thinking about bouncing back next season

Standing in the pouring rain on the 50-yard line at the Home Depot Center half an hour after Saturday night’s CIF state championship Open Division bowl game, Anaheim Servite Coach Troy Thomas was still trying to find the words to describe what had happened to his proud team against Concord De La Salle.

“We tried our best but they dominated us up front and I take the blame for that,” said Thomas, covered head to toe in a clear plastic rain suit. “We got beat by a better program tonight but I’d like to think we’ve reached a point in our own program where we can bounce back from this. We have the pieces in place to be very good again next season.”

Among the starters returning next fall are quarterback Cody Pittman, running back Sean DeRosa, wide receiver Sam Hunt, tight end Ainslie Johnson, defensive back Daniel Tejeda and outside linebacker Butch Pauu. Leading rusher Malik Felton, cornerbacks Karlton Dennis and Jordan Jones, defensive end Troy Niklas and kicker Connor Loftus all graduate in the spring.

The Friars, who had won 25 games in a row, trailed 19-0 by the end of the first quarter, 35-0 at halftime and fell behind 48-0 before scoring a touchdown against the De La Salle reserves with 5:53 left. Losing to the Spartans, who came in riding a 25-game winning streak of their own, was hardly shocking. However, the 48-8 final score surprised even De La Salle Coach Bob Ladouceur, who has witnessed his team administer countless blowouts. Yet few, if any, have come in a game of this magnitude against an opponent as battle-tested as Servite.

“Our offensive coaches told me we could run on those guys and to keep calling running plays, so that’s what we did,” said Ladouceur, who has compiled a 371-24-3 record since taking over the Spartans’ program in 1979. “The kids deserve all the credit. I didn’t do anything, other than follow my coaches’ advice.”

The Open Division game was the third of the day and by the time the two Catholic school powers took the field for warmups, the playing surface was a muddy mess. By the end of the game, there were puddles everywhere and standing water was visible in both end zones. None of that bothered De La Salle, which had 527 yards to Servite’s 197. Ladouceur reluctantly admitted this team might be one of his finest.

“I don’t like to compare teams because the kids get mad at me, but this one is right up there with the best,” he said.

Northern California teams, more accustomed to playing in inclement weather, won four of the five bowl games — as many as they had won in the first four years combined. Southern California has a 13-8 lead overall.

“We’ve won in the rain before, but I wouldn’t say we’re used to it,” Thomas said, referring to the Friars’ 16-6 victory over Huntington Beach Edison in last year’s Pac-5 Division final in a downpour at Angel Stadium. “We tried our best, we just lost to a great team. Bob [Ladouceur] has been winning as long as he’s been there.”

La Jolla Bishop’s from the San Diego Section was the only Southern California team to win, beating a school one-fifth its size, Brookside Christian, in the Division IV game Friday afternoon when the field was still in decent shape. Corona Centennial quarterback Michael Eubank said the slippery surface was troublesome throughout Friday night’s Division I game in which the Huskies were upset, 15-13, by Palo Alto.

San Diego Madison fumbled six times during its 30-14 loss to Escalon in the Division III bowl Saturday afternoon.

“We haven’t played in this kind of weather all year, so it was hard to adjust,” Madison quarterback Chase Knox said.

Escalon Coach Mark Loureiro joked that he had a secret on-off switch in his pocket: “I was dialing the weather man direct. When they had the ball I pushed the button to make it rain harder and when we had the ball I dialed it down a bit. Sure the rain is a factor but it still comes down to blocking and tackling and holding onto the football.”

Gardena Serra lost three fumbles to Folsom’s none in the Division II bowl Saturday and Folsom trainer Austin Bollinger rooted for the rain to increase as kickoff neared: “This is nothing. We put up 76 [points] on Vacaville in the playoffs when it was raining and a lot colder than this.”

Rain may have been a factor in the size of the crowds. Total attendance was 13,972 over the two days — 7,126 less than last year.

steve.galluzzo@latimes.com