Servite turns offensive to get share of title

NORWALK - Servite rescued itself with a simple solution: score, score, score.

St. John Bosco of Bellflower’s Leon Brooks returned the second-half kickoff 98 yards to give the Braves their first lead. But Servite’s offense would not be contained.

The Friars reeled off 20 consecutive points, scoring touchdowns on six of their first seven possessions on the way to a 48-31 victory at Cerritos College on Friday night. (Full game stats.)

Servite finished the regular season in a three-way tie atop the Trinity League, for the fourth consecutive year.

“I didn’t think we’d score 48 on Bosco, but it was one of those games where we had to,” Coach Troy Thomas said.

Friars quarterback Cody Fajardo passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more, while running backs Gregory Portis and Bijon Samoodi combined for three scores.

Portis rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, while Fajardo gained 74 yards rushing on 11 carries. He also completed 10 of 17 passes for 183 yards.

Servite’s defense also pitched in during the second half, keeping Bosco’s offense out of the end zone until the fourth quarter, when the Friars (7-3, 4-1) already held a 17-point advantage.

Braves quarterback Keith Price ran for 106 yards and passed for 196. But Servite defensive tackle Joshua Gatsonsealed the victory by intercepting a Price screen pass.

There will be coin flips Saturday to determine playoff positioning among Servite, Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran. Bosco (6-4, 3-2) finished fourth and will miss the postseason.

“There’s a lot of pressure off us now,” Portis said. “We’re just going to get ready for the playoffs.”

Portis also had plenty of praise for his young offensive line, which gave him plenty of room.
“The underclassmen really pushed us this week,” Portis said. “Our offensive line — mainly juniors and one sophomore — they really stepped up today and let me run, and gave Cody Fajardo a lot of time to throw.”

Portis scored the game’s first touchdown, from 24 yards out, and its last, from 22.

Fajardo threw his two scores as Servite rallied in the third quarter.

First, he connected with Christopher Nicholls on 24-yard pass and later hit Troy Niklas from 25 yards out.
Samoodi scored on Servite’s next drive, on a 10-yard run.

Price threw for a pair of first-half touchdowns, but the Friars held him to 54 yards passing in the second half. He scored the Braves’ lone second-half offensive touchdown on a 1-yard sneak.

On his team’s final offensive play, on fourth and long from his 6-yard line, Price had nowhere to throw and was forced out of bounds after a 2-yard run.

“We were confident,” Portis said of his team’s mindset entering the night. “As Coach Thomas preached to us, if we just did our job, we’d be the team.”

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com