Monday Morning Lights: Special season ends for Serra coach, son

Welcome back to Monday Morning Lights our weekly feature that sheds more light on the high school football weekend and peeks ahead to the new week If you haven t already please subscribe Your contributions keep us going SERRA FATHER SON CHERRISH MOMENT Long after the final whistle Patrick Walsh stood outside the Serra locker room blinking back tears Not because the Padres season had ended but because of who he got to share it with Moments earlier his son junior receiver Charlie Walsh no longer the barefoot kid in a Chewbacca suit running down the Serra sidelines had walked off the field in tears after Serra s heartbreaking - loss to St Mary s-Stockton in the NorCal Division -AA title championship on Friday night NORWALK CA - DECEMBER Serra head coach Patrick Walsh coaches on the sideline with his son Charlie while playing Corona del Mar in the first quarter of the CIF State Football Championship Division -A Bowl Battle at Cerritos College in Norwalk Calif on Saturday Dec Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Serra's Charles Walsh looks on after defeating Valley Christian at Valley Christian High School in San Jose Calif on Saturday Sept Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group In the quiet of the locker room father embraced his son telling him how proud he was that he had the opportunity to coach him this season For Walsh seeing Charlie thrive on the field brings out the dad in him There s been opportunities for me to move on and coach at other levels but to be able to coach my son that is the Super Bowl for me Walsh announced I love these kids and I have for years But when it s my own blood and my wife s in the stands and we re sharing stories at home it just hits different Charlie grew up living the Serra tradition Every practice every film session every meeting felt like a continuation of a childhood spent darting across the sidelines soaking in the scheme s heartbeat long before he put on the Serra blue and gold But getting to experience this season with his father was something Charlie will invariably cherish He s just been there for me no matter what He s been the best dad anyone could ask for Charlie noted I cried in his arms right after the match and I ll never forget that The journey will continue for the Walsh duo Charlie was a do-it-all player for Serra ending the year with all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns The -foot- receiver is slated to be one of Serra s featured players next season along with quarterback William Orr running backs Jeovanni Henley and Andrew Takapautolo and highly-touted safety Malakai Taufoou I love that kid and I m proud that we can build a future around him because he truly loves Serra Walsh mentioned of Charlie Nathan Canilao BISHOP O DOWD NO ONE WOULD EVER HAVE THOUGHT Bishop O Dowd coach Hardy Nickerson laughed on Saturday morning when appealed about taking his gang to a state championship competition Well at Week and Week no one would ever have thought Nickerson declared hours after his crew returned home on a bus from edging Chico - on Friday night for the NorCal -AA championship But I just kept preaching to our kids Hey don t worry about the record We going to keep playing ' Except for a late-season hiccup at James Logan which cost O Dowd an outright league championship the Dragons have sizzled They have won five in a row and nine of bouncing back from a - start that included consecutive losses to Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista Rancho Cotate and Cardinal Newman We played a few really tough opponents early in the season and it would have been easy for us to just fold up and count the season as it was Nickerson explained But we ve got a special group of kids and they really are resilient They continue to work hard and they re looking to improve at every opportunity It s just been fun to watch O Dowd s season will end Friday against Christian of El Cajon at Buena Park High School Stadium At stake The -AA state championship Darren Sabedra PITTSBURG PIRATES KEEP HEADS UP Pittsburg s RJ Mosley Jr makes a one handed touchdown catch against Central East s Jontae Della in the first quarter of their CIF NorCal Division -A Championship competition at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg Calif on Saturday Dec Central East defeats Pittsburg - Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Pittsburg s season didn t end the way it demanded The Pirates suffered a crushing - loss to Central East-Fresno on Saturday night in the Division I-A title championship Pittsburg s worst loss since But following the defeat coach Charlie Ramirez didn t sulk He and his crew marched into the locker room with their spirits intact For Pittsburg the pain of the moment couldn t erase the pride it carried As a activity this was mission accomplished in my opinion Ramirez revealed We made a NorCal title championship for the fifth year in a row There s something to be proud of about that because it s never happened before in this campaign We re here showing everybody that doubted us this year Before the start of the season there were questions about whether Pittsburg could get to this point again after graduating more than half its roster and a majority of last year s starters But with a young band Pittsburg went on to win a league and section title while making it to another NorCal championship contest It s a tough way to go out but the Pittsburg Pirates have a lot to be proud of this season senior wide receiver RJ Mosley mentioned We came a long way from spring ball to get to this point now so I m just super proud of this organization Nathan Canilao MENLO-ATHERTON HAKA HONORS POLYNESIAN WAY OF LIFE There may be no better way to get ready to play a football match than to perform a pregame haka The haka is a traditional dance originating from M ori heritage in New Zealand which involves vigorous movements rhythmic shouting and powerful expressions of unity respect and identity It is majority commonly associated with the dynastic All Blacks rugby company from New Zealand but a number of football teams featuring Polynesian players have adopted it as a pregame ritual Menlo-Atherton is one of those teams The Bears performed a haka before their NorCal -A playoff encounter against El Cerrito and it transformed what had been a sleepy pregame atmosphere into a game-ready surroundings It s really vital for our Polynesian student-athletes to be able to engage with something culturally major that way M-A coach Chris Saunders explained But also I think it really embodies something about our school We are extremely diverse and you can see that in our football squad and coming together in a really cultural thing that way And two it s something the football unit has traditionally done So there s another element and thread of tradition embedded in there for us Related Articles Photos Highlights from the regional championship games Bay Area prep football Where to find our complete Week coverage We go to war with anybody McClymonds fends off Roseville to win NorCal title Pittsburg s season ends in lopsided loss to Central East in NorCal title competition Why not EC One year after postseason ban El Cerrito beats Menlo-Atherton to reach first state title encounter M-A went on to narrowly lose to El Cerrito - Christian Babcock BY THE NUMBERS De La Salle will try to win its first state championship in years Saturday night in the Open final against Santa Margarita at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo Number of state championships DLS has won in appearances since the CIF added state games in The seven state titles are the largest part all-time two ahead of Folsom Number of state championships McClymonds has won in six appearances The Oakland powerhouse is in the -A final Bishop O Dowd s state championship win total The Dragons will be appearing in their second state final Friday Previous state championship competition appearances for state-bound St Ignatius El Cerrito and Lincoln-San Jose Darren Sabedra