La Serna's season of destiny would 'not be denied' in gritty CIF D2-AA title win over Grant
MISSION VIEJO, CALIFORNIA — La Serna football coach Andy George was in high demand Friday night near midfield at Saddleback College. There were pictures, TV interviews, trophy raises, hugs, embraces and finally, family photos.
Asked to do one more interview following his team's gritty and ferocious 21-19 CIF State Division 2-AA championship win, George took a deep breath and answered one last series of questions about the stars, his stars, determination, physicality and inner fortitude.
He got an electrifying 22-yard touchdown run by Kaimana Tufaga off a reverse, a tenacious 13-yard scramble and TD by quarterback CJ Ceron, who also completed a 19-yard scoring pass to do-everything Idaho-bound Owen Long.
La Serna won its first state title in first state-title game appearance.
Photo: Joe Bergman
Long's juggling catch put the underdog Lancers up 21-13 with 11 minutes, 3 seconds remaining and after one last significant Grant push via a 10-play, 92-yard drive capped by a Devin Green, La Serna's most memorable trait made their ninth-year coach proud.
They stopped seemingly unstoppable Wayshawn Parker, a Washington State commit (27 carries, 145 yards), on a 2-point conversion run with 2:17 remaining.
"We knew they were going to try to run it down our throats and we just lined up and made a play," George said.
They made all the plays when they needed to in order to to pull off their 11th straight win and their first state title. Their section title came after losing in the finals twice under George, once to La Mirada in 2015 and 42-41 at home to Pacifica-Oxnard in 2019.
They got over the hump to beat Corona del Mary 49-29 for the 2023 Division 4 Southern Section crown — so really all was gravy from there.
But Friday's win was particularly sweet, and brought moisture to George's eyes as he talked about the gritty win.
Grant, the defending state Division 3-AA champion, came in with the big numbers and flashy backfield of Washingto State-bound Parker (1,907 rushing yards, 24 TDs coming in), UNLV commit Devin Green (613 yards, 14 TDs in seven games) and quarterback Luke Alexander (3,051 passing yards, 42 TDs).
Wayshawn Parker, a Washington State commit, has a way to make guys miss.
Photo: Joe Bergman
Parker did his part with 27 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown, and Green (11, 79, 1) got it going in the second half. But Alexander was knocked out of the game late in the first half with a legal hard blow that looked to knock him woozy.
"They do a lot of great things, but so do we," George said. "Not many people gave us a shot against these guys, but you know what? You can't measure La Serna's heart. It's off the charts. That's what we're all about.
"I don't think they expected us to be that physical. But that's what we do."
Grant took its opening drive and traveled 57 yards in just six plays, capped by a 4-yard pass from Alexander to Koby Shabazz, a freshman, making it 7-0. La Serna closed to 7-6 on the reverse by Tufaga midway through the first on a terrific play call.
Parker scored on a 7-yard run to give Grant a 13-6 lead, but Ceron's fantastic 13-yard touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Lazlo Haas gave La Serna the lead for good, 14-13 with 1:57 left in the half.
Long, who entered with 1,431 rushing yards and 26 total touchdowns, made his circus touchdown catch to give the Lancers a 21-13 lead with 11:03 remaining. He also had a game-high 14 tackles while teammates Adrian Castro and Eli Perez added a dozen tackles each.
Green ripped off a 45-yard run, setting up his own 6-yard TD run with 2:17 setting up the potential game-tying 2-point conversion. But Parker took a handoff off left tackle and he was stopped yard short.
When the Lancers recovered the onside kick, and got one first down, this one was over and the celebration was on.
"Tonight was the pinnacle of everything," George said. "It all came together, the stars aligned for this team of destiny. We weren't going to be denied."
Final box score, La Serna 21, Grant 19
Courtesy CIF
Andy George, a 1995 La Serna graduate, is now 85-23 over nine seasons
Photo: Joe Bergman
(Photo gallery below by Joe Bergman)
