La Serna shows dominance against Santa Fe to win Del Rio League title – The Whittier Daily News

WHITTIER – The La Serna football team is again the Del Rio League champion after a dominating 49-7 victory over Santa Fe at Pioneer High School on Friday night.

Lancers quarterback Grady Long threw for 107 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a 36-yard pass from Jordan Bonilla.

“We were just rolling as an offense,” Long said. “Our O-line is playing great. It gives me good time in my pocket. The receivers play. We just play football and have fun.”

Entering Friday’s game, La Serna (7-3, 4-0) and Santa Fe (7-3, 3-1) were undefeated in the league. But the Lancers got the win with the help of six straight touchdowns to start the game.

“We were their Super Bowl,” Long said after Friday’s game. “So we just had to show what we can do and keep doing what we’ve been doing. Keep improving and get a good football win.”

When Friday’s game began, Santa Fe looked poised to score on its first drive after leading receiver Sebastian Macias hauled in a 56-yard reception to put his team in scoring position. But La Serna’s defense wouldn’t break, forcing them to turn the ball over on downs after a Xavier Nunez sack.

“They made a play from the start and we just got back to business,” La Serna coach Andy George said. “We never hesitated and kept them out of the end zone on that drive.”

Macias played a vital role in any of Santa Fe’s success Friday night as he had seven receptions for 135 yards.

“We have talent in all areas,” Santa Fe coach Ryan Bateman said. “We have talented receivers.”

When La Serna’s offense took the field, they needed just three plays to score. Julio Alcaraz booted a 36-yard field goal to get things started offensively for the Lancers. Long finished with an 18-yard pass to Miguel Telles and a two-yard touchdown pass to Eli Perez to give them their first score of the night.

Long’s other touchdown pass was to Emre Lowe for 29 yards. His one receiving touchdown came on a double reverse trick play that ended with him catching the ball 36 yards and taking it into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

The Lancers’ running game was also effective in their victory as they had three different rushers score touchdowns. The first came on a 30-yard run by Daniel Moreno. Aidan Contreras later kicked a 53-yard field goal and Bonilla made it five yards late in the game.

After Long threw his first touchdown pass, Santa Fe drove 58 yards in search of a field goal, but came up two yards short after Kaimana Tufaga made an incredible one-handed interception to keep the Chiefs from scoring in the second quarter.

“So I read the tight end and the natural instincts, I just put my hand up and caught the ball,” Tufaga said.

Tufaga had a second interception less than three minutes into the second quarter that was returned for a touchdown.

Santa Fe’s first score came in the third quarter on a 61-yard touchdown run by Devin Clark, who finished the season with 22 touchdowns.

Clark, who has carried the Chiefs on his back all season, had just 88 yards, which is less than his average of 133 yards per game. Santa Fe tried to move him all night, passing him the ball 14 times, but La Serna’s defense was resilient and found a way to keep him quiet for most of the night.

“Our offense runs through Devin,” Bateman said before the kickoff. “With that said, the offensive line plays a role in that.”