Sports
FOOTBALL: Plenty of Talent Returning for Milpitas in 2012
Trojans football team will lose Sammy Fanua, Jordan Lockett and Rodney McKenzie, but a new core of budding stars is more than ready to step in and fill the void.
After three months of football, the Central Coast Section High School Football Playoffs is the second season that separates the good from the great.
In the end, the Milpitas High football team only had two quarters of great in them Saturday afternoon.
No. 1 seed Serra High-San Mateo never slowed down, scoring early and often behind it’s triple threat running attack.
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Serra racked up big yardage on the ground en route to a 49-28 victory over Milpitas in a CCS Division I semifinal held Saturday in San Mateo.
Down 14-0 in a blink of an eye, Milpitas responded in a big way.
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Back-to-back touchdowns--the second coming off 69-yard touchdown scamper from sophomore Squally Canada--evened the score up at 14-14 midway through the second quarter.
Milpitas and Serra went into the half tied up at 21.
“We had a good solid plan and it looked like we had it going at times,” Milpitas head coach Kelly King said. “We missed a few tackles and we didn't have the defensive line depth that we needed so we didn't get a chance to switch out some guys and I think that made us tired. But I think we played well overall as a group.”
A pair of turnovers early in the second half sunk the upset hopes of the Trojans. Serra cashed in touchdowns off each costly mistake by the visitors and was able to pull away in the fourth quarter for good.
The Padres, a member of the West Catholic Athletic League, outscored Milpitas 28-7 in the second half of play.
While the CCS title run ended for the Trojans, a solid core of talented contributors will be back next fall to start the title journey all over again.
Canada, defensive tackle Vita Vea, quarterback Ronnie Reed and wide out Trey Hartley headline the returning group.
“We have a good core coming back,” King said. “We're losing only one guy off our o-line, so we'll have most of the line coming back. We're losing most of our receiving core, but we'll have Tre Hartley coming back and (David)Kruskamp will be healthy next year. And I think Ronnie has a good shot at quarterback. I think we'll be bigger and faster for next season.”
On the biggest stage to date, Canada scored an electric touchdown to pull his team even with the Padres in the first half.
With starting wide out Jordan Lockett out with a concussion, Hartley stepped up and caught five passes for a team-high 129 yards and a touchdown.
Reed hit Hartley on a crossing route in the fourth quarter, then watched the speedy sophomore bolt 65 yards for six points.
The duo will have two more years together to add to their touchdown numbers.
“It's pretty exciting that a lot of us are coming back,” MHS junior defensive tackle Vita Vea said. “We're all basically family. My goal is to work hard in the off-season and comeback ready to play.”
Milpitas finished the season 8-4 overall and 4-3 in Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division play.
