PREP WRAPUP / ROB FERNAS : Serra Wins Playoff Game, Flip for Home-Field Edge

Thanksgiving came early for Serra High’s football team Saturday morning, as the Cavaliers won a coin flip to earn the home field for Friday’s second-round CIF Division VII playoff game against Arroyo Grande.

It spares Serra from having to make a three-hour bus trip to Arroyo Grande, located near Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County.

“The whole school was praying we would win the flip,” assistant coach Joe Griffin said. “Having the home field will help us.”

The second-seeded Cavaliers (11-0) opened the playoffs Friday night with a hard-fought 18-0 win over visiting Morningside, which gave Serra all it could handle with an aggressive defense.

“They are a fine team,” Griffin said. “They have the same kind of speed, size and quickness that we do. They had a very strong defense. They alternated between an eight- and nine-man front the whole night.”

Morningside’s tactics resulted in the lowest offensive output of the season for Serra. The Cavaliers, who averaged 40 points a game in the first 10 weeks, managed only one offensive touchdown and had to rely on its defense, which has now posted four shutouts.

“The defense is really the unsung hero of the team,” Griffin said. “Our offense has gotten so much press, but this is a fine defense.”

Free safety Clayton Lopez enjoyed one of his best games. He returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown, made his eighth interception and came up several times to deliver key tackles. Inside linebacker Steven Johnson was singled out for his play as well.

However, Griffin felt it was far from Serra’s best effort on offense.

“We were a little lethargic,” he said. “It was probably our second-worst game of the year. But I can’t take anything away from Morningside. They played us so tough. I think that frustrated our kids.”

Arroyo Grande (8-3), the second-place team from the Northern League, posted a 20-3 playoff win over La Canada.

West Torrance, the South Bay’s other survivor in the Division VII playoffs, lost a coin flip and will travel Friday to face Temple City in a second-round game.

Fourth-seeded West (10-1) cruised to its 10th straight victory Friday over Harvard, 29-9, behind the all-around play of running back/defensive back Josh Moore, who rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted his seventh and eighth passes of the year.

Moore, Serra’s Lopez and Mark Antrobius of Palos Verdes are tied for the South Bay lead with eight interceptions apiece.

Rio Hondo League champion Temple City (8-3) figures to provide West with its toughest challenge of the season. The Rams are traditionally one of the Southern Section’s top teams, and Friday they overpowered St. Bernard, 29-0.

Temple City reached the semifinals last season, including a 49-6 win over Serra.

Leuzinger prevented the Bay League from being swept from the playoffs by hanging on to defeat Buena High of Ventura, 10-6, in a Division II opener at Ventura High.

Because the Olympians (8-2-1) were on the road in the first round, they get the home game Friday against top-seeded Thousand Oaks (10-0-1), which advanced with 33-6 victory over Palmdale.

Third-string tailback Vernel Williams, pressed into action because of knee injuries to Leuzinger’s top two backs, scored the game-winning touchdown on a 56-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The final period wasn’t as kind to Bay League co-champions Palos Verdes and Hawthorne. Two Palos Verdes turnovers in the fourth quarter led to two touchdowns by Newbury Park in its 19-9 win, and a 79-yard scoring run by tailback Mike Castelo with 2:23 left to play lifted San Marcos of Santa Barbara past Hawthorne, 33-26.

The Bay League’s other playoff representative, fourth-place Santa Monica, was destroyed by Canyon of Canyon Country, 70-20. The Cowboys (7-3-1), who led 49-7 at halftime, rushed for 362 yards and five touchdowns.

Hawthorne had an equally difficult time stopping San Marcos’ Castelo. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries as the Royals (6-5) won their fifth straight game. They finished with 274 yards rushing against a Cougar defense that was weakened by injuries.

Inside linebacker Sione Mahe, Hawthorne’s leading tackler, played with a sprained ankle.

“The backbone of our defense has been Sione Mahe, and he was hobbling out there and couldn’t play with his full capabilities,” said Hawthorne Coach Goy Casillas, adding that Mahe did not fill the gap off right tackle quick enough on Castelo’s winning touchdown run.

“We had a stunt called; it was the perfect call for it,” Casillas said. “We just didn’t get there in time.”

The defensive lapse negated a furious comeback by Hawthorne, which rallied from a 25-6 deficit with 3:14 left in the third quarter to take a 26-25 lead on a 20-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jamil Williams with 3:06 left in the game. Tailback Chris Alexander sparked the comeback with 99-yard kick return for a touchdown and catches of 34 and 39 yards to help set up the two other scores.

Banning will play a 16-play California tie-breaker Monday against Crenshaw to determine the third and final L.A. City 4-A playoff entry from the Pacific League. Starting time is 2:30 p.m. at L.A. Southwest College.

The teams each finished with 4-3 conference records Friday, as Banning lost to Dorsey, 18-10, and Crenshaw fell to Carson, 39-12.

Here’s how the tie-breaker works, according to Banning Coach Joe Dominguez: The ball is placed at midfield and each team runs eight plays, alternating possession after each play. The team that moves the ball the farthest at the completion of 16 plays is declared the winner.

“I think it’s kind of crazy,” Dominguez said. “I’ve never been involved with anything like this before.”

Banning (6-3-1) lost to Crenshaw, 20-18, two weeks ago when Kevin Hicks ran back a punt 79 yards for a touchdown with 4:37 left to play.

“There’s no special teams involved in the tie-breaker, so maybe we’ll do OK,” Dominguez said. “But he’s a good athlete, no doubt.”

Dominguez hopes Banning quarterback John Ma’ae and tailback Travis Davis will be ready Monday. Ma’ae saw limited action Friday because of a knee injury and Davis missed the game with a sprained ankle.

The winner of the tie-breaker has one day to prepare for the City playoffs, which begin Wednesday because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

In a showdown for the Western League title, Venice scored a touchdown on a two-yard run and followed it with a two-point conversion with 13 seconds left to come away with a 29-27 homecoming victory over Westchester.

The decision means that Venice (10-0) will open the L.A. City 3-A playoffs with a home game Wednesday, while Westchester (8-2) must travel.

Westchester was dealt a blow with 10:21 left when tailback Tim Holliday, who rushed for 274 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, left the game with a leg injury and did not return. He is questionable for Wednesday’s game.