Servite 43 - Eagles 42
Servite survives shootout, wins in OT
NORWALK, CA., November 11, 2011 – It seemed fitting that 48 minutes weren't enough for Servite and Santa Margarita to settle things in Friday night's regular-season finale.
Manaitovini Pauu scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in overtime and Servite coach Troy Thomas decided to go for two. There was probably no way for the Friars to stop Santa Margarita quarterback Johnny Stanton on this night anyway.
Cody Pittman hit Ainslie Johnson for the two-point conversion and gave Servite a 43-42 victory at Cerritos College.
The Friars had already clinched their seventh consecutive Trinity League title with last week's victory, but this gave them the championship outright.
Stanton and Pittman are regarded as two of the county's top quarterbacks and they put on quite a show. Stanton was 20 of 31 for 277 yards and a touchdown and he rushed for 126 yards and three TDs on 24 carries. Pittman was 20 of 23 for 254 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed for 89 yards and one TD on 18 carries.
Stanton owned the fourth quarter as he scored two of his rushing touchdowns, including a 7-yard touchdown run to tie it, 35-35, with 1 minutes and 50 seconds remaining.
Servite was unable to do anything and it was off to overtime.
Stanton came through for the Eagles once again, scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles their first lead. John McGrory knocked in the extra point for a county record 107th consecutive time and the Eagles had a 42-35 lead.
Pittman fed Pauu and the Friars went in for the touchdown and winning 2-point conversion.
Servite took the game's opening kickoff and marched 82 yards in 11 plays for a 7-0 lead on Pauu's 10-yard touchdown run.
The Eagles responded with an impressive 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive of their own to tie it, 7-7, on the first of Ryan Wolpin's two rushing touchdowns.
The shootout was on. Both teams marched up and down the field at will.
Butch Pauu finished with four catches for 107 yards and Sam Hunt had 6 catches for 65 yards to lead the Friars receiving corps.
Wolpin scored two rushing touchdowns and he had a 60-yard touchdown catch for Santa Margarita.
There was a scary moment on the opening kickoff. Servite's Sean DeRosa took the ball and got hit and knocked out for 15-20 seconds. Servite principal Michael Brennan said DeRosa was moving all his extremities, but he was transported to UCI medical center for precautionary measures.
Servite, the top-ranked team in the county, will likely get the top seed in the CIF-SS Pac-5 Division when the pairings are announced on Sunday. The Friars finish the regular season with a 9-1 overall record and a 5-0 run through the Trinity League.
Santa Margarita (8-2), ranked No. 3 in the county, finished tied for second place with St. John Bosco of Bellflower. The Eagles beat St. John Bosco, so they will be the Trinity League's No. 2 representative.
| Servite | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 43 |
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
SER – Pauu 10 run (Beavans kick)
SM – Wolpin 1 run (McGrory kick)
SER – Johnson 8 pass from Pittman (Beavans kick)
SM – Wolpin 60 pass from Stanton (McGrory kick)
SER – Pittman 5 run (Beavans kick)
SM – Wolpin 4 run (McGrory kick)
SER – Pauu 9 pass from Pittman (Beavans kick)
SM – Stanton 11 run (McGrory kick)
SER – Pauu 3 run (Beavans kick)
SM – Stanton 7 run (McGrory kick)
SM – Stanton 5 run (McGrory kick)
SER – Pauu 2 run (Johnson pass from Pittman)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Stanton 23-121, Wolpin 12-35; SER - Pittman 1-5, Pauu 3-15
Passing: SM - Stanton 20-31-0-277; SER - Pittman 20-23-0-254
Receiving: SM - Wolpin 3-84, O'Brien 4-65; SER - Hunt 7-65, Johnson 1-1, Pauu 4-107, Pauu 1-1
By Carlos Arias
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Orange County Register
