It was a close one, but the Serra Rugby Padres edged Bishop O'Dowd Saturday to win the Northern California D1 School Championship.
These two teams had met a week ago and Serra won 47-19. However, the Dragons tested the Padres at every turn.
Serra pulled it out 31-29.
Serra scored three tries in the first half for a comfortable lead.
Serra managed the brisk wind at O'Dowd's field, mostly, and their pack engineered an almost perfect maul with Parker Van Doren scoring as the drive crossed the tryline. Serra was on the verge of scoring again when Bishop O'Dowd took advantage of a series of Serra penalties to initiate an 80 yard run where they broke several tackles and worked the ball through multiple sets of hands.
O'Dowd scrumhalf Sam Kennedy capped off a brilliant, multi-player, 80-meter counterattack to get O'Dowd's first try. No. 8 OC Lehner added the conversion to make it 7-5 O'Dowd. Serra answered with tries from Drew Takapoutolo and Paula Tofavaha. Both were converted and it was 19-7 at halftime.
In the second half, center Anthony Hassell opened the Dragons account with a try after just three minutes. Lehner added the extras and the score was now 19-14. Serra answered back
