Servite relies on old and new to continue winning ways, 20-0

For the first time in his seven years as coach at Anaheim Servite, Troy Thomas allowed his 8-year-old son, Houston, to join him on the sideline.

That’s about the only change you can find in a championship football program in which players come and go, but the winning and teaching continues nonstop.

On a cloudless Thursday night in Oceanside, the No. 1-ranked Friars found some new players to contribute while relying on a tough, determined veteran in linebacker Butch Pauu to come away with a 20-0 season-opening victory over the seven-time defending San Diego Section champion Pirates.

How Servite has been able to win consecutive Pac-5 Division titles was on display. Last season, the Friars turned to an unknown running back, Malik Felton, who started scoring touchdowns in bunches.

This time, it was junior Charlie Etiaki, who broke off a 72-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to help the Friars open a 13-0 halftime lead.

Etiaki finished the game with 115 yards rushing in 12 carries.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said.

Another promising Servite running back, sophomore Andrew Moore, contributed a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.

The defense, which graduated some key secondary players, had a coach on the field in Pauu. He recovered a fumble and was hitting players again and again.

“It’s a new story, a new chapter,” said Pauu, a three-year starter who’s committed to Brigham Young. “I’ve got a bunch of new boys I have to lead.”

As the game went on, he received plenty of help. Jherremya Leuta-Douyere had two sacks and Ainslie Johnson had another. Servite three times stopped Oceanside on fourth-down situations.

The Friars finished with five sacks. Connor Hoffman made the defensive play of the night, intercepting a pass at the two-yard line in the third quarter to deny the Pirates a scoring opportunity.

Among the surprises was kicker Conner Bevans, a senior playing in his first-ever football game. He was recruited off the soccer team on the advice of former kicker Connor Loftus. His first field goal, a 30-yarder, barely made it over the cross bar. Then he added a 22-yarder.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com