#30 Nickolas Des Champs comes down with a Monarch interception early in the first quarter vs Palo Alto.

#20 Mathew Marani puts the stop on Vikings Eli Givens.

#1 Andrew Cairns finishes a beautiful reception with a TD.

Hull was 17/43 because of Monarch defensive play

#87 Nick Labruna made life difficult all night for Viking QB Justin Hull

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Monarchs are 2-0 and take on Palo Alto - Friday (9/18 ) at Foothill

#5 Derek Bauerle, a Soquel resident, ran for game-high 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries.

Monarchs quarterback #7 - Sam Serra, a Santa Cruz resident, ran for a touchdown and passed for two others.

#2 Matt Tafano and #26 Nikolas Taylor - put the squeeze on Aptos wide reciever Ethan MacAnerney

#30 Nickolas Des Champs runs down an Aptos reciever.

#52 Jacob Martinez puts the finishing touches on a tackle against Aptos

# 5 Derek Bauerle - Put on a determined show of ability to knock off the Aptos Mariners.

PALO ALTO BOWS TO MITTY

By Gordon Kass  - Daily News Correspondent

Posted:   09/19/2015 12:51:34 AM PDT

LOS ALTOS HILLS -- Palo Alto fought Mitty-San Jose for a half, but the Monarchs pulled away for a 52-28 nonleague football victory at Foothill College on Friday evening. The Vikings dropped to 1-2, while the Monarchs stayed spotless at 3-0.

Senior quarterback Justin Hull threw 43 times for Paly, completing 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Wideout Riley Schoeben caught eight balls for 103 yards and two scores. Paly speedster Eli Givens, often covered with multiple defenders, had four receptions for 47 yards.

"We hung with them most of the game, but the depth issue kicked in," Paly coach Jake Halas said. "They kinda wore on us. Most of our guys are playing both ways. They have a very explosive offense with great coaches and phenomenal football players."

Paly jumped on top early in an exciting first half. A bad Mitty punt snap sailed back into the end zone where Vikings defensive end Jon Samos alertly covered the ball for a touchdown. Paly defensive back Jordan Schilling picked off an errant pass on Mitty's next possession, returning it 20 yards to the Monarchs 13. Hull found Schoeben for a 15-yard touchdown pass and the Vikings enjoyed a 14-0 lead only 4:52 into the game.

Mitty was paced by quarterback Sam Serra's four touchdown passes. Running back Derek Bauerle rushed for 158 yards and a score on 18 carries for the Monarchs, adding 52 yards and a touchdown on two catches.

Hull led a 19-play, 84-yard drive to even the score at 21-21, with 1:16 left in the half. That possession featured two successful fourth-down conversions, both on passes to Schoeben.

With 14 seconds left in the half and the ball on their own 30-yard line, the Monarchs dialed up a pass play that produced a shocking result. Serra found his receivers covered, scrambled up the middle and then turned the corner on the left edge. Serra roared down the sideline to the end zone as the clock expired to put Mitty up 28-21.

"I got past the linebackers and I saw the edge," Serra said. "I saw I had three receivers that could block. I just took off."

"That scramble really hurt the momentum," Halas said. "It stung."

Schilling recovered a Mitty fumble on the first play from scrimmage of the second half. Paul Jackson III then weaved through tacklers for a 31-yard gain to move the ball to the 4-yard line. On fourth down, Hull threw a fade pass to Schoeben, who made a highlight reel catch under heavy coverage for a touchdown, the score tied 28-28.

Palo Alto          14 7 7 0 -- 28

Mitty          14 14 14 10 -- 52

First Quarter

PA -- Samos recovers punt snap in end zone (Dorward kick) 9:26

PA —-- Schoeben 15 pass from Hull (Dorward kick) 7:08

M -- Cairns 16 pass from Serra (Eppel kick) 3:40

M -- Bauerle 1 run (Eppel kick) 0:56

Second Quarter

M -- Bauerle 44 pass from Serra (Eppel kick) 9:18

PA -- Hull 1 run (Dorward kick) 1:16

M -- Serra 70 run (Eppel kick) :00

Third Quarter

PA -- Schoeben 9 pass from Hull (Dorward kick) 9:20

M -- McKinnon 16 pass from Serra (Eppel kick) 6:53

M -- Cairns 20 pass from Serra (Eppel kick) 5:05

Fourth Quarter

M -- Eppel 20 FG 8:21

M -- Collier 1 run (Eppel kick) 6:57

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Palo Alto, Rider 4-26, Jackson III 6-24, Ochoa 6-21, Caballero-Santana 3-12, Inostrosa 1-7, Delgadillo 1-4, Soltero 1-2, Givens 1-0, Hull 4-(-4). Mitty, Bauerle 18-158, Serra 7-101, Kause 2-13, Collier 3-9, McKinnon 1-0, Tran 1-(-1).

PASSING -- Palo Alto, Hull 17-43-177-3. Mitty, Serra 11-19-161-1, Tran 3-3-59-0. Totals 14-22-220-1.

RECEIVING -- Palo Alto, Schoeben 8-103, Givens 4-47, Jefferson 1-8, Jackson III 1-8, Wolfgramm 1-7, Rider 2-4. Mitty, McKinnon 3-66, Bauerle 2-52, Cairns 3-46, Serra 1-24, Faraj-Washington 2-13, Dawson 1-8, Kause 1-6, Jochen 1-5.

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Trio of locals help Mitty top Aptos...

By Jim Seimas, Santa Cruz Sentinel  - Posted: 09/12/15,12:00 AM PDT

Archbishop Mitty, led by three standouts from Santa Cruz County, proved too much for Aptos in the first meeting between the schools’ football teams on Friday night in front of a packed house.

Mitty — runner-up in the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs last season — scored on its first three possessions and pulled away in the third quarter for a 34-21 win.

Monarchs quarterback Sam Serra, a Santa Cruz resident, ran for a touchdown and passed for two others. Running back Derek Bauerle, a Soquel resident, ran for game-high 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries. And safety and Aptos resident Matt Marani recorded a sack in the fourth quarter for a 10-yard loss.

When added up, it meant the end of Aptos’ 23-game winning streak against CCS opponents and another big win for the Monarchs (2-0), who last week routed Los Gatos.

“It’s a great win for our football team,” said Monarchs coach Keith Burns, a former NFL and NCAA assistant coach.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Aptos (1-1), which edged Salinas in their opener last week. The back-to-back CCS D-III champion Mariners host six-time section champion Bellarmine on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Bells (2-0) stunned Del Oro in Loomis 34-31 to stay unbeaten Friday.

The game took a turn for the worse for Aptos in the pivotal third quarter.

Aptos, on Mitty’s 15-yard line and threatening to produce the game-tying touchdown, fumbled a pitch and Nick Labruna scooped up and streaked 64 yards to Aptos’ 16.

Five plays later, Serra ran in a 1-yard keeper for a 27-14 lead.

On Mitty’s next series, Bauerle scored on a 4-yard run to put the game away.

Aptos produced the final score with 7:25 left in the fourth, when quarterback Gavin Glaum connected with Jack Harris for 5-yard touchdown.

“Losing sucks,” said Mariners coach Randy Blankenship. “But I’d rather play a game like this than beat someone 50-0.”

Glaum, also the Mariners’ punter, completed a pair of passes for first downs while in position to punt on fourth down.

“We’ve got to work on that,” Burns said of the trick plays, which set up a pair of scores. “Having a quarterback back there, it’s a huge advantage.”

Monarch punter Stefan Soriano also shined on the rare instances he was needed. He booted a 52-yard punt with NFL-worthy hang time after the Monarchs’ first series in the third quarter and pinned Aptos on its own 4-yard line.

Mitty jumped to a 21-14 lead at the half after scoring on each of its first three possessions.

Bauerle scored on a 1-yard run to cap the opening drive of the game and Serra completed touchdown strikes to Tyler Jochen and Andrew Cairns.

Serra finished 11-of-17 passing for 120 yards with no interceptions, though Harris nearly had a pick-six on the drive capped by Jochen’s score.

Aptos’ Jack Wolf and Danner Pardue ran for touchdowns to keep the Mariners close in the first half.

Wolf capped the Mariners’ opening drive to tie the score 7-all. The drive was extended by a pass completion on fourth-and-2 at the Aptos 22.

Pardue’s score came with 31 seconds left in the second quarter. The drive featured another big completion for a first down on fourth-and-10.

Aptos converted 5 for 6 on fourth down.

Glaum finished 11 of 25 for 159 yards with a touchdown and interception. He was hurried throughout the night.

“It wasn’t the same as facing our own guys in practice, that’s for sure,” Glaum said. “They were a lot bigger and faster than I thought they’d be. But I think we put up a fight.”

Wolf and Miles Beaudoin each ran for 59 yards to lead the Mariners in rushing, helping the Mariners post 356 yards on offense.

Aptos entered the contest ranked No. 8 in the section by MaxPreps.com and Mitty, a two-time section champion, jumped to No. 9 in the poll after pulling away in the fourth quarter to rout powerful Los Gatos 45-16 last week.

The rankings will be updated early next week.

“Our approach is we have five games like the playoffs,” Blankenship said of his nonleague schedule. “The best thing? We still get to play next week. We’ll get better. I thought we battled.”

Contact Jim Seimas at 706-3256.

Archbishop Mitty 34, Aptos 21

Archbishop Mitty 14 7 13 0 — 34

Aptos 7 7 0 7 — 21

AM — Derek Bauerle 1 run (Nikolas Eppel kick), 8:35

APT — Jack Wolf 3 run (Desmond Mendoza kick), 5:09

AM — Tyler Jochen 27 pass from Samuel Serra (Eppel kick), 2:45

AM — Andrew Cairns 40 pass from Serra (Eppel kick), 6:38

APT — Danner Pardue 4 run (Mendoza kick), 0:31

AM — Serra 1 run (snap fumbled), 2:53

AM — Bauerle 4 run (Eppel kick), :01

APT — Jack Harris 5 pass from Gavin Glaum (Mendoza kick), 7:26

TEAM STATISTICS

AM APT

First downs 14 18

Rushes-Yards 39-196 47-197

Passing yards 120 159

Comp.-Att.-Int. 11-17-0 11-25-1

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 3-34 5-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Mitty: Derek Bauerle 23-148, Justin Collier 4-29, Samuel Serra 11-15, Collin McKinnon 1-4. Aptos: Jack Wolf 11-59, Miles Beaudoin 11-59, Jerry Gonzalez 2-41, Danner Pardue 7-26, Tate Stone-Hinds 1-(minus-4), team 1-(minus-4), Ben Sherriffs 7-29, Gavin Glaum 7-(minus-9).

PASSING — Mitty: Samuel Serra 11-17-120-0. Aptos: Gavin Glaum 11-25-159-1, Marshall Blanton 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Mitty: Austin Cairns 1-40, Tyler Jochen 2-36, Derek Bauerle 5-20, Austin Kause 2-18, Logan Dawson 1-6. Aptos: Jasob Bonsall 3-49, Anthony Bella 1-39, Marshall Blanton 2-31, Zac Pepperdine 2-21, Jack Harris 2-11, Miles Beaudoin 2-8.



DEFENSIVE STATISTICS — Fumble recoveries: Mitty, 1 (Nick Labruna); Aptos, none. Sacks: Mitty: 1 (Matt Marani); Aptos, none. Interceptions: Mitty, 1 (Justin Collier); Aptos, none.

Records — Mitty 2-0; Aptos 1-1.

Sam Serra on a run for a memorable night as he rushed for 3 TD's!

#12 Nikolas Eppel was busy all night kicking for the Monarchs with 6 extra points and a field goal!

AIR SERRA... Going cross country...

Mitty rolls over Los Gatos   45-16
By Darren Sabedra
dsabedra@mercurynews.com

LOS ALTOS HILLS -- Sam Serra clearly is more than a basketball player.

Back on the Archbishop Mitty football team after sitting out last year, the senior quarterback had a game he'll never forget in the season opener Friday night, leading the Monarchs to a 45-16 victory over Los Gatos at Foothill College.

Serra scored on a 15-yard run and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass in the first half and then scored on runs of 30 and 54 yards in the second half to give new head coach Keith Burns, a former Raiders and San Jose State assistant, a victory in his first game. "I am really proud," Burns said, "First game you never know. I thought the coaches did a great job getting these guys prepared. You can't say enough about Sam Serra. But every time he was down the field, that meant we were doing a great job up front blocking."

Mitty also looked awfully strong defensively, putting heavy pressure on quarterback Hunter Bigge for much of the game. The Monarchs had three sacks in the first half and two in a key sequence in the second half -- two from another basketball player, 6-foot-5, 221-pound Nick LaBruna. "We practice pass rushing every day, and we want that to be one of our strengths, being able to get to the quarterback," LaBruna said. "We never want him to be comfortable." Mission accomplished Friday.The Monarchs also intercepted two passes in the fourth quarter to put away an opponent that came in ranked fourth in the Mercury News' preseason Top 15. Mitty is eighth.

Burns said during preseason preparation that he wanted to have an exciting, up-tempo spread style, and the new coach wasted no time letting the ball fly.

On Mitty's first offensive play, Serra dropped back and lofted a perfect 39-yard pass down the middle of the field to Tyler Jochen, who fell down at the 1.

The drive went in reverse after the big pass play, but Serra responded with a 15-yard scramble on third down for a 7-0 lead.

"It was a lot of fun," Serra said. "First play we had dialed up to take a shot deep, and I saw it open. I saw the safety come down. I threw it and got hit. So I didn't see the play actually happen. But I heard the fans cheering, and I knew we had the ball."

Mitty struck again on its next series, capitalizing on good field position to extend the lead.

Serra finished off the 45-yard scoring drive with another big third-down play, throwing a 15-yard pass to Andrew Cairns in the left corner of the end zone for a 14-0 cushion.

As strong as Serra and the offense started, Mitty's defense was equally impressive, sacking Bigge twice in a dominant opening quarter. Later in the half, a sack by LaBruna stalled a drive after Los Gatos had started to seize momentum.

That sack led to Nikolas Eppel's 29-yard field goal in the first half's closing seconds, stretching Mitty's advantage to 17-9 at the break.

Los Gatos had closed the gap, scoring a safety when a swarm of defenders tackled Mitty running back Derek Bauerle in the end zone and then a touchdown as Bigge threw a 6-yard pass to Jake Tonges.

Bigge's 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter pulled Los Gatos to within 24-16.

But it was all Mitty after that.

Asked what he told his players after the game, Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said, "I told them we're not very good, and we played very poorly. We've got to look ourselves in the mirror, a little gut check for us, and come back ready tomorrow morning and look at film."

ARCHBISHOP MITTY 45, LOS GATOS 16

Los Gatos          0          "‚9          "‚0          "‚ 7--16

Mitty          14          "‚3          "‚7          "‚21--45

AM -- Serra 15 run (Eppel kick)

AM -- Cairns 15 pass from Serra (Eppel kick)

LG -- Safety, Mitty runner tackled in end zone

LG -- Tonges 6 pass from Bigge (Claythorn kick)

AM -- Eppel 29 FG

AM -- Serra 30 run (Eppel kick)

LG -- Bigge 2 run (Claythorn kick)

AM -- Serra 54 run (Eppel kick)

AM -- Bauerle 3 run (Eppel kick)

AM -- Kause 7 run (Eppel kick)

Records -- Los Gatos 0-1; Archbishop Mitty 1-0.

For more on high school sports, see the Varsity Extra blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/highschools. Follow Darren Sabedra on Twitter at twitter.com/DarrenSabedra.

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