Fajardo, Servite too much for San Clemente

NORWALK - The Servite football team walked off the field at the end of its CIF-SS Pac-5 first-round game last year knowing the season was over.

Friday night, the Friars experienced a different emotion.

Servite (10-1), behind another solid performance from senior quarterback Cody Fajardo, defeated San Clemente, 38-10, in a Pac-5 first-round game at Cerritos College.

San Clemente, the third seed from the South Coast League, finished 6-5.

Fajardo rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 11 of 13 passes for 123 yards and another score.

Servite was eliminated by Lakewood last year.

The Friars will face Long Beach Poly in a second-round game Friday. The Jackrabbits defeated Los Alamitos, 24-7, Friday.

This will be the second time that the Friars and Jackrabbits will face each other this season. Servite defeated Poly, 30-7, when the teams met in Week 0.

"We executed really nicely tonight," Fajardo said. "We didn't have any turnovers; our defense played phenomenal; our receivers weren't dropping anything and the offensive line gave me time ...we played as a great unit tonight."

Leading 3-0 after a Connor Loftus first-quarter field goal, the Friars opened the game up in the second quarter.

Chris Nicholls capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with 6:03 left in the second quarter. Later, Fajardo scored on a 1-yard run to give Servite a 17-3 halftime lead.

"This is a good football team we have here," Servite coach Troy Thomas said. "They play together as a team, and I think that's what is special about them.

"There's no individuals ... There is a different guy stepping up every week."

The Friars put the game away in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns, a 9-yard pass scoring pass from Fajardo to Rudy Guerrero and an 11-yard touchdown run by Fajardo.

Chris Nicholls gained 120 yards (83 rushing and 37 receving). Sean DeRosa rushed for 83.

San Clemente scored its lone touchdown on a 5-yard run by David Espino late in the fourth quarter.

San Clemente quarterback Chase Rettig completed 13 of 31 passes for 116 yards.