JSerra Can't Overcome Turnovers, Loses to Damien, 41-39

After watching Damien run up and down the field for 226 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, JSerra coach Jim Hartigan decided to play the second half by an old football adage: “If you can’t stop them, don’t give them the ball.”

It took awhile as Damien scored a touchdown on its first second-half possession and ran an interception back for a touchdown to lead by 16 points. But JSerra then held the ball for 30 consecutive offensive plays, sandwiched around two successful onside kicks, to get back into the game with less than eight minutes remaining.

From there, the Lions had their chances to take the lead but could not overcome six turnovers and then failed on a two-point conversion with 12 seconds left to fall to Damien, 41-39, in a thrilling nonleague game Friday night at Saddleback College.

JSerra fell to 3-2, while Damien improved to 4-1.

The game wasn’t decided until the final minute with Damien leading 41-33 when Spartans punter Tristan Vizcaino fumbled the ball and the Lions’ Taro Doone recovered it at the Spartans' 44. Seven plays later, Lions quarterback Jake Hall passed 21 yards to Jonavaughn Williams, who came back for the ball with a diving catch at the goal line, to score with 12 seconds left to cut the deficit to two.

But on the ensuing conversion, Hall’s pass was tipped away from Tucker Johnson by the Spartans’ Andy Sherwood in the end zone to preserve the two-point victory.

After recovering their second onside kick, the Lions’ offense gave the ball back four consecutive times on three interceptions and a fumble before scoring in the final seconds. The Spartans scored once, but threw an interception, were stopped once on fourth down and fumbled the punt.

All in all, the game was sloppy at times but also entertaining to the end.

“We just made too many mistakes. Turnovers, obviously, was a factor,” Hartigan said. “We couldn’t slow down their offense. They were running double tight [ends] and running the ball. Credit to them, they beat us. We fought hard. But eventually turnovers and not being able to stop the run had a lot to do with the fact we lost the game. Even though we moved the ball offensively, there were some mistakes.”

JSerra should have known it would be one of those nights after the first five minutes of the contest. The Lions took the opening kickoff, were forced to punt, but recovered the punt, drove 40 more yards, then had the ball intercepted at the Spartans' 12. On the next play, Sherwood caught a pass over the middle from quarterback Gage Pucci, shook off a Lions’ tackler, and ran 88 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Lions got on the scoreboard on their next possession, an 80-yard seven-play drive capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Parker Wells. The kick failed but after a Damien punt, the Lions took the lead, 12-7, on a nine-yard run by Casey Eugenio after another 80-yard, seven-play drive.

But Damien rallied in the second quarter with two short touchdown drives, both starting near midfield. Tailback Jalen Castille (23 carries, 104 yards) scored from four and one yards to give the Spartans a 21-12 lead with 0:36 left before halftime.

However, JSerra wasn’t finished as the Spartans kickoff was returned to the Lions' 46, and on the next play, Hall found a wide-open Eugenio, who weaved around defenders and down the sidelines for a touchdown with 0:14 seconds left. Rusty Padia’s point-after made the score 21-19 at halftime.

In the second half, Castille’s 11-yard touchdown run and a 30-yard interception return by Alex Arevalo gave Damien a 35-19 lead, the Lions marched 70 yards in 16 plays, capped by an 11-yard run by Eugenio. Wells then recovered the first onside kick, which led to a nine-yard touchdown pass went to Williams, who came back to recover the next surprise onside kick, giving the Lions the momentum temporarily until both teams began giving the ball away.

“We felt that was the only way we had a chance to get back into the game,” Hartigan said. “We had a chance to tie it up but we didn’t get it done.”

Eugenio, a 5-8 sophomore, finished the game with 107 yards on 17 carries and three  touchdowns, one through the air, while Hall was 21 of 42 for 300 yards and scored one touchdown but threw five interceptions. Williams made 12 catches for 168 yards, 11 in the second half when he was nearly unstoppable.

JSerra finished with 498 total yards and 24 first downs on offense, while Damien accounted for only 293 yards (67 in the second half) and 11 first downs. But the Spartans came out ahead where it counted—the scoreboard.

Next Friday, the Lions open Trinity League play against St. John Bosco at Saddleback College. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Damien lost to Bishop Amat, 28-7, in a nonleague game on Sept. 23.