FOOTBALL
Serra at Lompoc
(Huyck Stadium, Lompoc, CA)
Carried Live on TAP TV <~~ Click to Watch
The Series
Braves lead 3-1. In '89 Serra won a CIF Championship game at Huyck 34-31. In '91 a 5-5 Braves team, that missed the playoffs for the 1st time in 17 years, won 20-7 at home. The two teams then played each other deep in the playoffs in back-to-back years (2002, 2003) with Lompoc winning both times.
In 2002, Lompoc skipper Andrew Jones played his last HS football game, quarterbacking Lompoc to a Championship with a 16-13 comeback victory at Serra. The next year, the Braves outlasted the Cavaliers 40-33 at home in a CIF Semifinal Contest. It was the
de facto CIF Championship as Lompoc tub-thumped Morningside the next week in the final.
Junipero Serra
About the School
Located in Gardena, CA, it was founded in 1950, and is currently operated by the Department of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The initial graduating class was in 1953.
In addition to Gardena, the school also serves Carson, Compton, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lennox, South Central Los Angeles and Torrance.
Enrollment: 642,
Colors: Royal Blue/Scarlet,
Nickname: Cavaliers
The Athletics Program
The school has a history of success in track, and recently in both boys & girls basketball. Serra was named the Division 4 State School of the Year, and finished 1st among 579 schools in the CIF Southern Section in number of CIF championships.
In addition to the Title in 1989, Serra football won back-to-back Championships in 2009 & 2010 and 20 league Titles, with their streak of 5 in a row broken this year. During that span they had a number of players who went to DI schools on athletic scholarships, including 3 to USC football - George Farmer, Robert Woods, and Marquise Lee.
Their CIF run last year hit a very unexpected bump when they were the #1 Seed and lost 21-14 to Culver City, despite holding a 14-0 lead. In the last 8 years Head Coach Scott Altenberg is 73-19.
This Season
10-2 (4-1 Mission League #2). Last Week - Defeated Santa Monica 58- 6 at home.
Date H/A Opponent 2012 2011 Division Result
08/24
A Notre Dame
8-4
6-4
Pac-5 (I)
Won, 26-23
08/31
H
Long Beach Poly
9-3
10-2
Pac-5 (I)
Won, 20-12
09/07
A Mira Costa
8-4
4-7
Northern (III)
Won, 27-20
09/14
H Banning 3-7
3-7
Los Angeles
I
Won, 43-0
09/21
H
Narbonne
12-0
11-3
Los Angeles
I
Lost, 22-9
10/05
A Chaminade*
11-1
10-3
Western (IV)
Lost, 28-20
10/12
A
Cathedral*
10-2
3-7
Western (IV)
Won, 42-3
10/18
A
St. Francis*
4-7
9-3
Western (IV)
Won, 42-6
10/26
H
St. Paul*
1-9
7-3
Western (IV)
Won, 53-6
11/02
H
Hrvrd-Wstlk*
6-5
5-5
Western (IV)
Won, 35-8
11/09
H
Oxnard 6-5
5-5
Western (IV)
Won, 49-14
11/16
H
Santa Monica 8-4
11-2
Western (IV)
Won, 58-6
11/23
A Lompoc 12-0
14-0
Western (IV)
7:30pm
The 10/18 St Francis game was on a Thursday.
General:
The team is traditionally known for its speed and this year is no exception. The did suffer a significant blow mid-season with the loss of [#2] Anterio 'Taz' Bateman (5-9,175,Sr), a speedy multi-purpose (RB/WR/DB/KR), Swiss Army Knife kind of player, who broke his left ankle for the 2nd year in a row.
Offense:
Overview -
Serra usually operates out of the spread, but runs 60% of the time. They like to play fairly quickly, and rarely huddle, but do substitute often. The substitutes, however, appear to mostly be from a relatively narrow pool of players - many of whom go both ways. They average about 48 plays/game, and have lost 7 of 9 fumbles this season.
When they throw, it is frequently quick outs, middle crossing patterns, bubble screens, etc., typical of the spread. It is not unusual for them to face and convert several long 3rd downs in the course of a game.
Rushing relies on the middle read option to the RB, with junior QB [#3] Jalen Greene keeping it a good deal of the time - he narrowly leads the team in rushing attempts. Special note should be made of [#21] Adoree' Jackson, who is the primary 'Big Play' guy for the team. The 5-10, 170 lb, junior RB/WR/DB/KR/PR won the State Long Jump crown back in June as a sophomore. The OLine is led by the mammoth monolith LT [#78] Emerald Faletuipapai (6-6,345,Sr), and includes OG/DT [#50] Inoke Raikadroka (6-0,255,Sr), C Manase Raikadroka (5-10,262,Sr), RG [#68] Rasheem Green (6-3,256,So), and RT [#64] Robert Jackson (6-2,279,Sr).
Rushing -
The primary rushers have been:
[#20] Malik Roberson (5-8,165, So) 94-1071 (11.39) 10TD and
[#18] Marques Rodgers (5-10,178,Sr) 66- 634 (9.61) 9TD with
[#3] Jalen Greene (6-3, 204, Jr) 98- 702 (7.16) 8 TD and
[#2] Anterio Bateman (5-9, 175,Sr) 28- 208 (7.43) 1 TD.
[Inj]
Secondary contributers:
[#22] Justin Manson (5-6, 173, Sr) 31- 194 (6.28) 1 TD,
[#24] Joshua Thomas (5-10, 185,Jr) 12- 73 (6.08) 0 TD,
[#29] Jacob Ortiz (5-8, 174, Jr) 7- 62 (8.86) 0 TD, and
[#12] Deontay Burnett (5-10,167, So) 6- 25 (4.17) 0 TD the #2 QB.
4 other players (including Jackson 2-41) have 5 att for 84 yards (16.8).
Passing -
Greene, who was also the starter last year, has reportedly improved over the last several weeks, but hasn't been the most accurate of throwers.
[#3] Jalen Greene (6-3, 204, Jr) 139-214 1672 yds 19 TD/11 Int 103 Rtng
[#12] Deontay Burnett (5-10,167, So) 8-11 65 yds 1 TD/0 Int 118 Rtng
Receiving -
This is where they miss Bateman, who is still the team leader in receptions. Darrell Fuery has stepped up to carry the workload, and they do have Adoree' Jackson. 14 Players have receptions, but most of them, along with the majority of the yardage and TD's have gone to just 7 of them. Among those are RB's Rodgers & Roberson. As you can see, no-one averages more than 2-3 catches a game, so they spread it around, but Fuery has far and away the most TD's.
[#2] Anterio Bateman (5-9, 175,Sr) 31-305 (9.84) 2 TD
[Inj]
[#6] Darrell Fuery (6-2, 171, Sr) 28-507 (18.11) 9 TD
[#21] Adoree' Jackson (5-10,170,Jr) 23-360 (15.65) 2 TD
[#18] Marques Rodgers (5-10,178,Sr) 14-257 (18.36) 2 TD
[#11] Jordan Lasley (6-1, 171, Jr) 13-179 (13.77) 2 TD
[#10] Gregory Webb (6-0, 180, Jr) 9-168 (18.67) 1 TD
[#20] Malik Roberson (5-8,165, So) 7- 91 (13.00) 1 TD
The other 7 account for roughly 10% of yardage and 14% of receptions, specifically 20-204 (10.2) 1TD.
Defense:
The defense appears to be primarily built around pass defense. They tend to move around a lot, and never really settle pre-snap. Combined with extensive zone blitzes, it would seem designed to cause confusion, and allow free rushers. They do have 30+ sacks, with DE [#19] Nicolas Usher (6-3,214,Sr) leading the pack with 10.5 (66 yds), and has 44tackles. OG/DT [#50] Inoke Raikadroka (6-0,255,Sr) usually lines up on the same side and he has 7.5 sacks among his 61 tackles.
The pressure has also caused some errant passes leading to 18 picks on the season (4 by Jackson, plus 45 tackles). OLB Dwight Williams (6-2, 205, Jr), a 3 star recruit, leads the team in tackles with 110 (45 solo). [#35] John Houston (6-3,211,So) [82 total, 35 solo] and LB/DB [#5] Ardis Perez (5-10,209,Sr) [77 total, 24 solo] are number 2 and 3 respectively in the tackle department.
Other defensive stalwarts include DB [#8] Keanu Hill (6-1,195,Sr), 36 tkls, 3 Ints; DB [#14] Glen Ihenacho (5-11,177,Jr) 3 Int, 7 passes defensed, 41 tackles; and DE [#34] Olajuwon Tucker (6-3,229,Jr) 43 tackles, 3 sacks, 6 passes defensed, and 2 caused fumbles.
Special Teams:
Punting has been split, with K [#27] Sifa Maama (5-9,186,Jr) getting the majority of work and averaging 39+ per kick. Mr Jackson steps in about a quarter of the time, and is kicking the ball in excess of 40 yards/attempt. Kicking has also been split, with Maama kicking almost exclusively early in the year, but giving way increasingly to [#41] Ryan Dobson (5-10,174,Sr). The pair have combined to hit a bit over 80% of PATs and 3 FG's.
Kickoffs do not appear to be a strong point, The focus seems to be on keeping the ball away from capable returners through pooch kicks and other fairly short deliveries. Coverage seems to be good, not great. Returns are often handled by RB's Roberson and Rodgers, and of course, by Adoree' Jackson.
Lompoc
About Lompoc
For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Lompoc is a city of about 45,000 located between Vandenberg AFB and La Purisima Mission SHP. It is also close to various forms of agriculture, mining, and many other interests, and is about 10 miles from the ocean in two different directions. The current high school campus was built in the early 60's and is located in the middle of town.
Enrollment: 1425
Colors: Blue/White,
Nickname: Braves
The Program
The Football program was established in 1921, but didn't do much until the early 1960's under Bob Leck and Jim Spruill. Mike Warren took teams to 4 consecutive CIF finals in the late 1970's, before leaving to coach at UCSB. He was followed by Dave Reynolds, Dick Barrett, and Robin Luken (who became the winningest coach in program history). All three helped maintain a streak of CIF playoff appearances that ran from 1974 to 1990. In fact, from 1970 to 2005, the Braves missed the postseason only 8 times (72, 73, 91, 01,06,07,08,09). Since 1970 they have also been CIF Finalists 13 times, including back-to-back Championships twice in the last 10 years.
Lompoc has sent many players on to college, and pro carreers, but the most well known is probably Napoleon Kaufman who helped the Braves win a CIF Championship, the Washington Huskies a National Championship, and played for the Oakland Raiders.
The Braves are led by Andrew Jones, who was, as was mentioned above, the QB on the 2002 Championship Team, defeating Serra in the final. Since taking the helm, Jones' squads have compiled a record of 37-3 (92.5%) with 2 CIF Titles, and, according to the seeding, are favored to win another. All 3 losses came fairly early in the first year and each of those teams have subsequently been beaten twice by Lompoc.
The Braves have won 32 straight games - the current longest winning streak in both the CIF & the State of California -15th best in the US.
This Season
Date H/A Opponent 2012 2011 Division Result
Fri 08/24
H Arroyo Grande 8-2 13-1 Northern (III) W, 31-0
Fri 08/31
H Frontier (Bak.) 7-3 5-6 1 [Cntrl Sect] W, 21-14
Fri 09/07
A Pioneer Valley 2-8 5-5 Northern (III) W, 42-3
Fri 09/14
A Dos Pueblos 7-3 3-8 Western (IV)
W, 31-14
Fri 09/21
H Morro Bay* 7-3 1-9 Western (IV) W, 49-14
Fri 10/05
A Templeton* 7-3 7-5 Western (IV) W, 42-3
Fri 10/12
A Santa Maria* 1-9 1-8 Western (IV)
W, 49-0
Fri 10/19
H Santa Ynez* 1-9 5-6 Western (IV)
W, 56-7
Fri 10/26
A Nipomo* 2-8 4-6 Western (IV)
W, 58-13
Fri 11/02
H Cabrillo* 4-6 11-3 Western (IV) W, 66-0
Fri 11/09
H St. Francis 4-6 9-3 Western (IV) W, 42-7
Fri 11/16 A Culver City 7-4 10-4 Western (IV) W, 49-6
Fri 11/23 H Serra 10-2
8-3
Western (IV)
7:30pm
Offense: The greatest asset the Braves have is depth - especially at the skill positions. Pac-12 signee out for 5-6 games - not a problem. Starting QB gets hurt? Bring in the guy who was 14-0 and won a CIF Title to run things. Lompoc
RUNS the ball!! Then they run it some more. They can throw it too, but often do so seemingly just for the novelty of it. They currently average almost 305 yds rushing a game, and a shade over 7.3 per carry.
As St. Francis Head Coach Jim Bonds put it - "They got horses." 14 guys have toted the rock this season, 4 have 500 or more yards (2 over 800), 8 are averaging at least 6 yards per attempt (3 10+ ypa), 9 have a TD. The rushing totals in their last 3 league games were - 388, 415, 467, Total = 1270. That pace slowed somewhat (242) against St. Francis, partially because they had a large increase in return yardage, but returned to form versus Culver City (386). Usually, the Braves alternate RB's on each play, and it is a rare occasion when one gets more than 20 carries in a game (Nikko Hayes hasn't had 20 in a game this season).
RB: Att Yds Ave Lg TD
# 1 Lavon Coleman (6-0, 210, Sr) 114 840 7.37 72 9
# 5 Taylor Cornejo (5-7,165, Sr) 90 616 6.84 66 9
#21 Nikko Hayes (6-0, 190, Sr) 80 967 12.09 79 15
WR
#25 Rafael Arellano (5-10, 170, Sr) 28 258 9.21 91 6
RB: Mop-up
#23 A.J. Florez (5-8, 165, Jr) 85 513 6.04 52 7
#22 Austin Hayes (5-9, 160, So) 28 293 10.46 64 3
#27 Brandon Fronteras (5-7, 150, Jr) 39 99 2.54 14 -
WR: Mop-up
# 6 Chris Westbury (5-8, 175, Sr) 6 26 4.33 10 1
The QB's - while not really a running threat as a group, are better than average. The starter, [#4] Tyler Ornales, has some escapability. Backup [#9] Luciano Lopes (6-3, 215, Sr) runs like the LB he is and has scored a TD. In the same general category is TE/DL/FootballMonster [#35] Ainuu Taua (6-1, 285, Jr) he may be the best athlete on the team, and has been used in short yardage situations. Then there are the late 4th Quarter guys [#14] Antoni Droulliard (5-6, 150, Jr) & [#16] Jonathan Garrett (5-7, 145, Sr) who have combined for 11-65 5.9 ave. . This listing doesn't even include guys like the injured Keith Joseph, or Quentin Cayabyab, or Derrick Portis, or ....
The Passing attack
The QB's are mostly asked to hand off, but when they do throw they tend to go big - even if they throw short, because their receivers can bust it the distance at any time. The Braves have 15 TDs on just 53 completions (better than 28%). Starter [#4] Tyler Ornales (5-10, 200, Sr) can throw the ball as evidenced by his 177 QB rating against Culver City, with [#17] Jordan Pickles (5-9, 160, Jr) often getting in for 'mop-up duty' - a.k.a. the second half..
When Ornelas went down with an injury against Cabrillo, however, the staff pulled Luciano Lopez back over to offense. He did play the 1st quarter against AG, and has had regular, though not abundant 'reps' in practice. He was a bit rusty, but he does have that 14-0 record as a starter and a CIF Championship from last year. In addition, Lompoc has called up Frosh Phenom [#12] Torey Sims (5-10, 145, Fr) who can run and pass, and, perhaps most importantly, think while both running and passing.
The receiving corps is not huge - mostly consisting of
[#25] Rafael Arellano 19-412, 21.68 ave, 58 yd Lg, 5 TD and
[#15] Greg Mitchell 12- 402, 33.50 ave, 70 yd Lg, 4TD, with
[#24] Ivan Rodriguez 3-26, 8.67ave, 13 yd Lg, 1 TD on in limited relief. Backup TE
[#42] Vincent Raya 3-22, 7.33 ave, 15 yd Lg, 1 TD usually sees time in the 4th quarter.
If the deep routes aren't open, the ball can always be dumped off to Coleman, Cornejo, Hayes, Hayes, or Taua who have 4 TD's on 8 receptions. Or there are the FB's, who we have not mentioned yet. [#31] Anthony Gonzalez (5-10,190,Sr) and [#34] Willie Iribarren (6-3,220,Sr) alternate at FB, and sometimes #2 TE, with occasional work from [#32] Alex Gonzalez. (5-9,170,Jr). Those three have 8-113, 14.12 ave, 31 yd Lg, 2 TD. The Lompoc backs are coached by former NFL player Sheldon Canley.
The O-Line has been outstanding, and though not real deep, is anchored by tackle [#51] Josh Powers (6-3, 270,Sr), and T/G [#77] Samuel Wellmaker (6-4, 290, Sr). G [#55] Matt Zandonatti (6-2, 240, Jr), C [#71] Chris Morales (5-6, 200, Jr), G [#53] Sheldon Carpenter (6-0, 215, Jr), and G/T [#56] Glen Taylor (6-0, 240, Jr) have been outstanding all year. It also doesn't hurt to have Taua at TE. Coach Matt Sims (All-CIF lineman and Utah Collegian) has had an tremendous effect on this crew.
Defense: Not really scary looking, you just can't score until they take their foot off your neck. If you do (i.e. Santa Ynez) they get riled up and punish you for your audacity. They have allowed 81 points in 12 games, often as the result of a late score against the 3rd/4th/5th team. The front line of [#35] Ainu Taua, DL/FB [#45] Maurice Kirby (5-8,220,Sr), and DE [#52] Brian Piemme (6-4,200,Sr) have gotten a lot more active as the season has progressed, and now spend much of their time in the opponents backfield. LB's Lopez (the leading tackler), Gonzalez, and Iribarren fly to the ball, and will thump you when they get there. The secondary consists of many interchangeable parts, many mentioned earlier - all of whom can play.
Special Teams: K [#80] Jose 'Pepe' Morales (6-0,200,Sr) is a weapon, and his relief man [#19] Ricky Reyes isn't bad either. Tyler Ornelas has been the punter in addition to his QB duties, providing some interesting moments for opposing coaches, and averaging about 38 yard a kick. After Ornelas tweeked a knee versus the Conqs, however, Pepe has been doing what little punting has been required. Morales is a more than adequate punter and has also thrown a 20 yard pass. Lompoc has punted only18 times so far (5 inside the 20) with a 37.94 average. Backup QB/FB/PutMeOnTheFieldCoach [#7] Aaron Greene handles the holding duties, the plethora of RB/WR types serve the return functions, though it is often Arellano & Austin Hayes back deep.
