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ND - Never in Doubt
The outcome of Friday's Serra-Notre Dame game was in doubt for maybe sixty seconds.
Notre Dame kicked off to the Cavs and stopped them on the first play from scrimmage. But that was that. Five minutes, fourteen plays, eight runs and six passes -- all completed -- and the Cavs took the lead, and it just kept building.
Passes, runs, it didn't matter they were all working. Eason, Jackson, Torres, Smith, Anyanwu, Williams, Leclair, Malone-- everyone was having a good night.
When the Cavs went over to defense, doubt lasted a few plays longer The Knights had some success on the ground. Five plays, 2 first downs, and 35 yards to the Serra 44. But that was that. The Cav defense firmed up, and forced the first of seven Notre Dame punts.
Serra scored on five of its six possessions in the first half: First series, 15 plays, 90 yards, 7 points, 7-0. Second series, 7 plays, 86 yards, 7 points, 14-0. Third series, 14 plays, 90 yards (including penalty yards made good), 3 points, 17-0. Fourth series, never happened. Max Williams took Notre Dame's punt 60 yards for a touchdown, 24-0. Fifth series, 3 and out; the only punt of the first half. Sixth series, 5 plays, 75 yards, 7 points, 31-7.
On defense, Notre Dame scored once on an obvious mix-up in the Cavalier secondary. Notre Dame receiver Asemota was left uncovered. A one yard out turned into a 60-yard touchdown. But for that one mistake, the D had the Knights in control all night long.
After the Cavs scored a sixth time on the first series of the second half (38-7), Coach Altenberg sent in the reserves. No more scores, but the Cav back-ups held the fort for the remaining 18 minutes. Most noteworthy, after intercepting the Knights at the Serra 3, with ten minutes remaining in the Third, Blaze McKibbin and the Cav reserves mounted an impressive eight-play drive to midfield eating up four-and-half minutes of clock. Unfortunately, the ninth play resulted in an interception, that kept the McKibbin unit off the boards.
A happy end to the 2016 home stand that started with a painful loss to Narbonne. Altenberg comes over as a genius. Taking on overwhelming power early in the season, the progress of the '16 Cavs is obvious. Serra (3-0 in league play) has an inside track to the Mission League title with three games remaining.
Friday was Senior Night. Honoring the long suffering parents of some 30+ Senior football players and cheer athletes. An honor that doesn't do half justice to the hard work and sacrifices that both athletes and parents make to provide Serra with world class athletics.
Next week, it's off to La Puente and Bishop Amat. Judged by scores against common opponents Amat doesn't look impressive. The Lancers lost to Loyola 24-23, and just squeaked by Notre Dame 17-14. But wins over Servite (14-10) and J. Serra (35-28) tell a different story. Never take anything for granted. But take.
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This year's honoree is George "Mac" McDaniel. George did just about everything at Serra during the '80s. He began at Serra in the fall of 1978 as a teacher. He was eventually made Dean a few years later and then the Head Varsity Basketball Coach. He was named the CIF Coach of the Year after taking his team to the CIF Finals. 
