Servite gets defensive to beat Orange Lutheran

FULLERTON - Servite's mastery of Orange Lutheran continued Friday night, and the Friars can thank their defense.

On the strength of two  fourth-down stops in the fourth quarter, No. 7 Servite turned back the No. 3  Lancers, 14-10, in a rugged Trinity League game at Cal State Fullerton on  Friday. (Full game stats.)

Servite (5-3, 2-1) climbed  back into the league race by defeating Orange Lutheran (6-2, 2-1) for the third  consecutive season.

"We won on defense — we  had to," said Servite  coach Troy Thomas,  whose team is tied for second in the league behind Mater Dei (7-2, 3-0).

"Ten points (allowed). That's a huge, huge win."

The Friars defense bent  but didn't break in protecting its 14-10 lead going into the fourth. Servite  stopped the Lancers on a fourth-and-2 from the Friars 7-yard line with 9:09  left.

Servite later silenced  Orange Lutheran on a fourth-and-12 attempt from the Friars' 29 with 2:29 remaining. Dontaie Ferguson broke up  the Lancers' final pass, and the Friars ran out the rest of the clock. Ferguson also had two  sacks in the first half.

Just two weeks ago,  Servite allowed 42 points in a loss to Mater Dei. But last week, the Friars held  Santa Margarita to 19.

"It changed in practice,"  Servite senior Bijon Samoodi said. "We just started practicing the way we used  to and we found our swagger. Now, we just have to keep building."

Running back Greg Portis led Servite's offense with 150 yards on 20 yards. The senior broke an 80-yard  touchdown run on a dive play with 2:06 left in the third quarter to give the  Friars a 14-10 lead.

Orange Lutheran took a  10-7 lead early in the third on a 40-yard touchdown run on a draw by Kyle  Dravis.

The Lancers outgained the  Friars, 300-259, and had one less turnover.

"We didn't cash in," said  Orange Lutheran coach Jim Kunau, whose Lancers entered ranked second to Long  Beach Poly in the Pac-5 Division.

Servite cashed in on its  first chance.

A fumble recovery in the  middle of the first quarter by cornerback Michael Marcoux  at Orange Lutheran's  43 helped set up a Friars' touchdown. Five plays after the turnover,  quarterback Cody Fajardo threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Anthony  Ferraro.

The Friars protected the  lead early in the second quarter as lineman Matthew Jakubiec, a 6-foot-8  junior, blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Parker Flynn.

But Flynn cut Servite's  lead to 7-3 by connecting on a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the first  half. The Lancers used a late pass interference penalty against the Friars to  move into field goal position.

Servite had six penalties  for 66 yards in the first half but only one in the second half. Orange Lutheran  hurt itself in the second half with six penalties for 54 yards.

The Friars offense chewed  up valuable time in the fourth quarter by running a variation of the wishbone.  Servite used 269-pound lineman Kirifi Taula, a one-time transfer from Orange  Lutheran, in the backfield as blocker for Portis and Samoodi.

In the final 9:09, Samoodi  gained 45 yards on five carries.

Dravis  gained 91 yards on 15 carries.

The Friars play JSerra next week; Orange  Lutheran takes on Santa Margarita.

• Click here for full game stats, and links to season totals and team rosters.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com