CORONA – Explosive plays were the name of the game as No. 2 Servite used several big runs to take care of Corona, 45-17, Friday night in a nonleague game at Corona High.
Friars quarterback Travis Waller tallied three touchdowns. Tate Beachley turned his eight carries into a 147-yard, two-touchdown night, and Terrell Bynum pulled in five catches for 43 yards and a score.
Havili Eteaki had two sacks to lead the Friars (1-1) on defense.
Coming off a 21-point loss to Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas in their opener, Friars coach AJ Gass wanted his team to come out aggressive from the start.
The full-throttle approach paid off. Maurice Davison took the opening kickoff back 93 yards to give Servite a lead just 13 seconds into the game.
Servite led 17-0 after the first quarter. The Panthers (0-2) did not lay down, mounting a surge of their own. Kameron Fuller got Corona on the board with a 10-yard scoring dash.
The Friars’ next drive ended in short order as Anthony Romero picked off Waller, who was going deep for Bynum. Corona had stolen the momentum, but Jack Savage came up with a key interception that gave the Friars the ball on the Panthers 3.
Beachley converted the short yardage situation into points to extend Servite’s lead to 24-7. Waller followed with his touchdown to Bynum to make it a 24-point advantage.
“Our guys are workers. They understand game situation,” said Gass. “They felt the pressure. They felt the momentum swing. They felt that it was time that they make a stand.”
Servite put the game away with big plays in the third quarter. Waller scored on a 41-yard scramble, and Beachley broke loose on an 80-yard run to make it 45-10.
Francisco Perez recorded three sacks, and Ashton Gardner added two for Corona’s defense.
Jason Kandler and Joshua Smevog had catches of 47 and 49 yards, respectively for the Panthers.
