FOOTBALL: Trojans' Season Ends with Loss to Serra in Semi-Finals

The football team’s season ended on Saturday with a 49-28 loss to Juniper Serra in the Central Coast Section Division I semi-finals.

Led by junior Eric Redwood and seniors Joey Erdie and Erich Wilson, Serra’s high-powered offense proved too much for the Trojans' defense. The three players combined for 440 rushing yards and wreaked havoc for Milpitas.

Both teams headed into the third quarter tied at 21, but two costly turnovers early in the second half allowed Serra to put up quick scores en route to knocking out the Trojans from the playoffs.

“[Serra] is a good football team,” said Milpitas Coach Kelly King. “They were able to capitalize off of those turnovers and that hurt us. They run a good offense, and we couldn’t afford to make mistakes with them.”

It looked as though the game would turn into a blowout after the Padres opened up the scoring with a 69-yard rushing touchdown by Wilson and a 2-yard quarterback sneak by Erdie, putting Serra up 14-0 within the first six minutes of play.

But, like they had done all season in times of adversity, the Trojans' defense held its ground and the offense righted their ways and battled back to tie the score.

“We just came out knowing that they would run it,” said junior defensive lineman Vita Vea. “We just knew that we had to stop them.” 

After spotting Serra with two early touchdowns, the Trojans pounded their way down the field before senior running back Sammy Fanua found a gap up the middle and scored on a two-yard run to put the Trojans on the board with 3:27 left in the first quarter.

Milpitas’ defense then forced Serra into a rare three and out, which led to a 69-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore Squally Canada, who sped his way down the right sideline untouched on his way to the end zone to tie the score at 14.

Each team added another touchdown in the second quarter to tie the score at 21-21 heading into halftime, and it had looked as though the Trojans had figured out a way to contain Serra’s running game.

Serra scored twice off a fumble and an interception to start the third quarter to regain their 14-point lead over Milpitas - and never looked back.

 “We just relaxed in the second half and got in a hole that we couldn't dig out of,” said senior wide receiver Rodney McKenzie.

The Padres outscored the Trojans 28-7 in the final two quarters and controlled the second half with their suffocating defense and potent running attack.

“I think we started to come back and play hard,” said senior quarterback Tony Sauceda. “But we just didn’t stay at that level of play and couldn’t keep up with their tempo like we should have, and that's what lost us the game.”

The loss ends the Trojans season, which started off with a three-game winning streak and followed up with a four-game winning streak later in the season. Milpitas also beat its longtime nemesis, Los Gatos, in back in October.

Despite not fulfilling their overall goal of winning a championship, Coach King said he is happy with this season’s outcome and the way his team played during the 2011 campaign.

“I’m really proud of our guys. We played some tough games and had a little bit of let-down late," King said. "But we corrected that mistake and won a playoff game. We're looking forward to next year and having a great off-season.”