Serra Catholic defeats Sto-Rox with late touchdown to advance to Heinz Field @SerraCatholic @SerraCatholicFB

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | November 20, 2021

For the first time since 2007 Serra Catholic will play for a Championship. Serra Catholic got revenge from last year by beating Sto-Rox and this year they did it by dominating on defense in their 13-12 victory. “That’s how we been living all year, our defense stands out, these guys come to play, they put that effort in, defense wins championships” said Coach Regus.

From the start of the game it was a defensive slugfest. Serra Catholic’s first drive was going somewhere and they did get into Sto-Rox territory but a couple plays after that the ball was intercepted and ended the drive.

Sto-Rox started their first drive at their own 38. That drive would get into Serra Catholic territory but penalties stalled the drive. Serra Catholic went three and out on their second drive. Sto-Rox had good field position on their second drive starting at the Serra Catholic 43 yard line, but on the first play the ball was fumbled and Serra Catholic recovered.

The first score of the game occurred late in the first quarter. Serra Catholic punted it away and on the kick the ball was muffed and Serra Catholic got the ball at the Sto-Rox 3 yard line. On the first play Pharoh Fisher ran it in for a 3 yard touchdown. That made the score 7-0 Serra Catholic with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter it didn’t take long for Sto-Rox to answer right back. It only took 3 plays to get into Serra Catholic territory and a couple plays later the drive was finished off when Josh Jenkins connected with Zay Davis for a 32 yard touchdown. The extra point was no good and Serra Catholic still had a 7-6 lead.

Sto-Rox had plenty of opportunities in the first half but they just couldn’t convert. Again it was just Serra Catholic’s defense that dominated they forced 5 total turnovers in the game overall. It wasn’t just in this game it was also last week as they held Laurel to zero points. “Two weeks in a row our defense stood out strong, we kept points off the board and did what we had to do” said Coach Regus. The score at half remained 7-6 Serra Catholic at half. Sto-Rox did have an opportunity to take lead at the end of the half but the attempted field goal was no good.

The second half got off to an interesting start Serra Catholic tried a surprise onside kick and it was successful as they recovered the ball and they started at the Sto-Rox 41 yard line. Unfortunately they went three and out and punted it away.

The third quarter was and also the game in general was certainly not pretty with all the turnovers and missed opportunities. “It wasn’t but it was pretty enough” said Coach Regus.

Sto-Rox had one of the major mistakes occur in the third quarter when a pass was caught but it was fumbled and went out of bounds in the end zone for a touchback.

The score at the end of 3 was still 7-6 Serra Catholic. In the fourth quarter missed opportunities continued to plague Sto-Rox. On one of the drives Sto-Rox started at Serra Catholic’s 33 yard line. They got a first down to the 3 yard line eventually. After not finding the end zone on first and second down the ball was intercepted.

After the turnover Serra Catholic went three and out and had to punt it away. It was after that where the late game dramatics occurred. The next Sto-Rox drive started at their own 35 yard line. On the first play they were already into Serra Catholic territory at the 49. After 2 more completed passes they were at the Serra Catholic 24 yard line. On second down another pass was completed down to the 5. The drive was finished off on the next play on a 5 yard run by Jaymar Pearson. That score gave Sto-Rox a 12-7 lead with 4:41 left in the game. Josh Jenkins came up big on that drive who was 4 of 5 on the drive.

Serra Catholic wasn’t done yet though, they started the following drive at their own 35 yard line. After a completed pass and personal foul call they were at the Sto-Rox 43 yard line. On third down Max Rocco connected with Terrell Booth for a 43 yard touchdown making it 13-12 with 2:42 remaining. “Amazing man, Amazing I knew the play was going to work once I heard it called to, I trust Terrell and he’s a great receiver, once I got it into his hands, I knew he was gonna run all the way with it, it was a special feeling” said Quarterback Max Rocco about the game winning score. “Once I got the ball in my hands, I knew I needed to score, seal the game” said Terrell Booth about the game winning score.

Sto-Rox still had one last possible shot in the end to win it but after a penalty in Serra Catholic territory it stalled the drive as a run fell short of a first down and ended the game. That made the final score 13-12 Serra Catholic. “I’m looking right at that scoreboard, and it is Beautiful” said Coach Regus with excitement. “Oh my gosh this is Amazing, we’re going to Heinz” said Quarterback Max Rocco with great enthusiasm.

Next week Serra Catholic will play Beaver Falls for the 2A Championship at Heinz Field on Friday at 5pm. “I’m so proud for these boys, they gave me their all from day one, these boys been here they just been putting out” said Coach Regus with emotion. “It’s a dream come true, a once in a lifetime event” said Quarterback Max Rocco

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