Royals deflated by St. Bonaventure

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

If the winner of a football game was decided by the first three minutes of play, San Marcos would have beat Channel League powerhouse St. Bonaventure last night, hands down.
But while the thought of victory was briefly floating through the minds of San Marcos fans at about 7:04 p.m., it was quickly squashed, and two hours later, belonged to the visiting Seraphs, who strolled to a 47-7 victory, which earned them a league championship and ensured the Royals would drop 0-9 going into the final week of the regular season.

While there was no question the game, which was plagued by dense fog, was an epic rout, the Royals hung tough despite losing star running back Andy Segal halfway through the second quarter, and though the Royals failed to find their first win, Head Coach Dare Holdren was pleased with his team’s effort.
“I thought our guys came out and played hard,” Holdren said. “I’m proud of our effort. It’s always fun to play the best.”
San Marcos came out ready to play and got their only points during their first drive, stunning the Seraph’s defense, which looked like it forgot, somehow, to watch game tape on Segal.
Starting at their own 25-yard-line, Segal got eight carries, the fourth of which was a 38-yard scamper that put the Royals at the Seraph’s 15-yard-line. Segal got three more touches and pounded the ball into the end zone on six-yard run that gave the home team their only lead of the night.
St. Bonaventure Head Coach Todd Therrien gave credit where credit was due.
“That Segal could be playing on any team,” he said, adding that he thought his team played a good game, with the exception of the opening minutes of the game.
“Aside from the first series of defense we did all right,” Therrien said.
Despite not playing for the majority of the game, Segal managed to accumulate 98 rushing yards on 18 carries. After Segal’s absence, the Royals rushed for only 67 yards.
But the Seraphs kept the scoreboard operator busy.
On their first play out of scrimmage, St. Bonaventure quarterback KC Serna tossed a short pass to running back Patrick Hall, who broke several tackles and exploded for a 59-yard touchdown run -- his first of four on the evening.
The Seraphs repeated this scene all night, scoring promptly after only three or four plays on most drives. The most plays they ran before scoring was seven, and they only punted once, compared to six by San Marcos.
But despite the first quick touchdown, which leveled the score at 7-7, a stubborn Royal’s defense forced the Seraphs to turn the football over on downs on their next possession, after they failed to get a first down on a fake punt.
The Royals took over, ran three quick plays and punted away with 9:51 remaining in the second quarter.
On the second play from scrimmage, Serna handed off to Hall, who darted down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown run, capping a drive that consumed 20 seconds of playing time and made Royal’s defenders appear helpless.
Hall rushed for 125 yards on seven carries and had one reception for 59 yards.
During the Royals’ next series, Royal’s quarterback Sean Kerr handed off to Segal, who picked up five yards before being muscled out of bounds, which would end Segal’s night.
Holdren said Segal’s injury, which was a tweaked right knee, shouldn’t keep him out of next week’s game against Ventura.
St. Bonaventure took over with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the half and on the third play, Hall rumbled for a 14-yard touchdown run. A two-point conversion attempt failed, which left the score at 20-7. The Seraphs got the ball back with 1:27 remaining in the half and kicker Derek Kirk nailed a 24-yard field goal, which send the Seraphs into the locker room with a 23-7 lead.
On the first possession of the third quarter, Hall scored his fourth and final touchdown of the night on a 21-yard run, which put St. Bonaventure up 30-7.
Hall left the game shortly thereafter to join the Seraph’s lead running back Darrell Scott on the sidelines. Therrien said Scott was held out the game in order to get some rest before next week’s game against Buena.
On the Seraph’s next possession, Serna showed just how deep the league champion's’ depth charts go, after handing off to Isiah Burton, who capped off a six-play, 45-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.
With 3:35 remaining in the third quarter, the Seraphs struck again when Marcus Langklide ran for a 30-yard touchdown to give the Seraphs a 44-7 lead.
The Seraphs sealed the deal and the scorekeeper went home after Kirk found the uprights for a 19-yard field goal with 9:10 remaining to play.
While the game was all but over, the Royals brought in junior varsity quarterback James Crook, who seemed to pass the ball well under pressure, and found wide receiver Marcos Arredondo for a 20-yard reception.
With the win, the Seraphs move to 8-1 on the season and will play Buena next week. The Royals play Ventura next Friday at Valley Stadium.