Football: JSerra Scores Second Straight Upset
- Updated: 11/07/2015
JSerra’s Avery Williams fights for yards in the Lions 45-40 win over OLu. Photo/Craig Takata.
By Adrian Peters
No. 7 JSerra used a balanced attack and scored 21 unanswered points in a span of 6:37 of the fourth quarter to rally for a 45-40 win over No. 4 Orange Lutheran to put themselves in a position to be selected for a CIF-SS Pac-5 Division at-large berth in the Trnity League finale for both on Friday night at Saddleback College.
The Lions finished with a 7-3 overall record and a 2-3 mark in Trinity League play. Orange Lutheran (5-5, 2-3) won a coin flip after the game to secure the Trinity League’s third and final guaranteed berth in the Pac-5 playoffs, while JSerra as the fourth finisher and Servite (4-6, 2-3) took fifth.
Matthew Robinson (No. 2) switched off at QB with Riley O’Brien in JSerra’s 45-40 win over OLu. Photo/Craig Takata.
After not qualifying for the playoffs in any of their initial 11 seasons, the Lions will be looking to make it in for the second consecutive year. The at-large berths will be announced at 8 a.m. on Sunday, November 8th.
SCORE: JSerra 45, Orange Lutheran 40
RECORDS: JSerra (7-3, 2-3), Orange Lutheran (5-5, 2-3)
KEY STATS: JSerra ran 61 plays for a whopping 540 yards (297 on the ground and 243 through the air) and 25 first downs. … The Lions dominated the time of possession 29:24 to 18:36 and had only four penalties to the Lancers’ nine. … Orange Lutheran had a productive night as well as it 58 plays for 493 yards and had 18 first downs. … There were only two punts in the game –– both by the Lancers. … JSerra’s QB duo of Riley O’Brien and Matthew Robinson alternated series to keep the Lancers off balance. O’Brien finished 9 of 12 for 161 yards and two touchdowns passes, while Robinson was 6 of 8 for 82 yards. O’Brien added 46 yards rushing and a key go-ahead score in the 4th quarter and also had three receptions for 34 yards. Robinson added 38 yards rushing. … Lion running back Avery Williams ran for a game-high 214 yards on 23 carries, while adding a reception and a sack on the night. … Lancer quarterback LJ Northington completed 7 of his 14 passes for 154 yards and one score. He also rushed for a team high 132 yards on 18 carries. … Austin Liles led the visitors with three receptions for 107 yards, while Markell Quinn added 91 yards rushing on 10 carries, including a score.
PIVOTAL MOMENT I: On the game’s final play, LJ Northington launched a pass into the Lion end zone that was in Austin Liles’s hands momentarily before he was hit hard from behind by Nathan Bowman to jar the ball loose and secure the Lion victory.
PIVOTAL MOMENT II: After Riley O’Brien scored to make it 38-34 with 4:06 left, Lion sophomore Tristan West scooped up a Lancer fumble on the ensuing kickoff and ran it back 25 yards to paydirt to make it 45-34 just 13 seconds later. It proved to be the difference.
PIVOTAL MOMENT III: With Orange Lutheran up 34-31 with 7:45 left, Lion Nick Harris stopped Dominik Austin on third down to force a Lancer punt. The Lions then went on an 8-play drive without putting the ball in the air to go up for good.
QUOTABLE I: “Orange Lutheran is a good team,” JSerra coach Jim Hartigan said before the game. “We’ve got to stop the option, not go three-and-out and score in the red zone when we have our chances.” Although Orange Lutheran ran for 339 yards on the night, the Lions didn’t punt and scored on all of their red zone possessions.
QUOTABLE II: “We had a slow start, but we had a strong finish,” Hartigan said. “Our offensive line played well especially our tackles (Jake Parks, Nick Harris and Luke Wattenberg), our protection was good and our guards pulled and made plays. (Offensive Coordinator) Sergio Muniz called a good game and we were able to keep them off balance.”
QUOTABLE III: “We gave up some big plays in the first half but we came out after halftime with energy and kept our composure through the second half,” Hartigan said about his team’s ability to gain control of the game in the second half.
NOTES: After stopping Orange Lutheran on a fourth-and-1 from the Lions’ 27 on the Lancers’ opening drive, the Lions went on a 8-play, 73-yard drive capped by Avery Williams’ 1-yard run with 6:25 left in the first quarter. The Lancers responded by going on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended in a Dominik Austin 1-yard TD run to tie it at 7 at the 1:33 mark of the first quarter. … The Lions got a 26-yard field goal from Ethan Worden to make it 10-7 at the 10:31 mark of the second quarter. … On the OLu’s next drive, it went 80 yards again to regain the lead 14-10 when Markell Quinn went in from 17 yards out. … On the JSerra’s very next offensive snap, Williams raced 66 yards for a score to make it 17-14 JSerra. … Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Xavion Steele ran the kick back 95 yards to make it 21-17 in favor of the Lancers. … That was three scores in a span of 50 seconds. … On JSerra’s next drive, a botched fake field goal was converted one play later into a 74-yard touchdown strike from Northington to Liles to get the visitors up 27-17 with 2:23 remaining in the half. … The hosts quickly responded as O’Brien connected with Nathan Bowman on a 50-yard catch and run touchdown pass to close the lead to 27-24 at the half. …
On JSerra’s opening drive of the third quarter, O’Brien was intercepted by Liles who returned it 26 yards to the Lions’ 6 where Austin went in from there to make it 34-24 at the 11:29 mark of the third quarter. … From that point until 1:43 was left in the game, the Lancers had two punts and a turnover to give the Lions the momentum they needed to claw back into the game. …
Riley O’Brien found Conor O’Brien from 16 yards out to close the lead to three at 34-31 with 10:20 left in the game. … The Lions forced a punt and finally took back the lead with 4:06 left on a Riley O’Brien’s 6-yard run to make it 38-34. … On the ensuing kickoff, Tristan West scooped up a fumble and raced in untouched to make it 45-34 Lions just 13 seconds later. … Quinn scored from 10 yards out with 1:43 remaining to cap a 13-play, 80-yard drive and the Lions failed to convert on fourth down after recovering an onside kick with 0:44 left to give the Lancer’s one last chance from their 40 with no time outs. … A Northington to Quinn pass on third-and-3 converted and a Northington scramble for an 18-gain gave the Lancers the ball on the Lions’ 28 with 6 seconds left. … Northington’s pass was on target to Liles, but Bowman’s hit jarred the ball loose and the Lions prevailed. …
The CIF-SS Pac-5 (Division I) Playoffs begin next week. The pairings will be announced at 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 8th. Orange Lutheran received an automatic qualifying berth as the third place Trinity league finisher by virtue of winning a coin flip with JSerra (4th place) and Servite (5th place). … JSerra and Servite will learn at 8 a.m. on Sunday if they have been selected as one (or both) of the two Pac-5 “at-large berths” –– high school speak for “wild cards.”
