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Some advice for those planning on attending a Serra game: don’t leave early if the Conquistadors fall behind. Serra has picked up three of their six wins this season with improbable comebacks.
“It’s all about heart, really,” said Conquistadors head coach Brian Basteyns. “It’s about heart and execution that leads to us being able to do that.”
Serra’s first comeback of the year came Sept. 19 at home against Kearny. The Conquistadors trailed 27-6 in the first half before rallying to win 28-27. Serra wasn’t done there, even at a risk to their coach’s health.
“It’s keeping me old, that’s for sure,” Basteyns said.
“But at the same time, we call a timeout, we look in the huddle and the kids are wide-eyed and ready to roll. They know they’re going to get it done. I don’t know, it’s just them. It’s their heart and their spirit.”
In their last two games, the Conquistadors have overcome fourth quarter deficits to beat La Jolla and Point Loma. Against La Jolla on Oct. 24, Serra tight end Colton Bradley caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Arthur Stewart with 35 second left to lift the Conquistadors to a 21-17 win in which they trailed 17-7 in the final quarter.
The following week, the Conquistadors trailed Point Loma by four before embarking on a fourth quarter scoring drive that required four fourth down coversions. Serra’s defense then forced a Pointers fumble out of the end zone to seal the 34-31 win.
Stewart, engineer of the game winning drives over the Vikings and Pointers, said it all starts with practice.
“We practice these situations. We do two-minute drills every Tuesday so we just know we are going to get the job done,” Stewart said. “We have faith in each other so it just comes natural, I guess.”
Stewart said he keeps his cool in the pressure situations by trusting his preparation. Outstanding play from his offensive line and receiving corps in the waning minutes has also helped.
“I study [the game] in great detail so I just know the plays to call out when we’re out there with the no huddle,” Stewart said. “It’s just a time for me to coach the team out there.”
Of course, consistent play in the first half could eliminate the need for such heroics. Against La Jolla and Point Loma, Serra turned the ball over a combined five times in the first half.
“A lot of it’s execution in the first half. We play hard and do well, but we have the tendency have a couple turnovers,” Basteyns said. “Our turnover ratio comparing the first to the second half is unbelievable.”
Stewart said the Conquistadors’ first half struggles relate directly to the offense.
“We definitely need to work on coming out in the first half and just being consistent. Our defense does a good job, it’s just our offense needs to come out earlier in the game,” Stewart said.
Whatever the formula, the Conquistadors keep finding a way to win. Serra (6-2, 3-0 Western League) faces off against Mission Bay (4-3-1, 2-0-1) Friday night in a game that has league championship implications.
“This is the game that’s going to do it for us; this is the championship game. We win this, we win the league championship,” Basteyns said. “The next games really don’t matter except for playoff seeding.”
Friday night, the key for Serra offensively will be to limit mistakes that they have played around all year. Defensively the plan is simple: stop Buccaneers’ running back-turned-quarterback Dillon Baxter.
“When they go shotgun look, we are going to have to follow him because he wants to run the majority of the time or throw deep. The thing I don’t think they can do against us is throw against us very well because our defensive backs are so good,” Basteyns said. “So they’re going to have to run the ball and we’re going to have to find a way to stop the run.”
Stewart said on Friday night he hopes to deliver Serra’s home fans something they have not seen since September – a comfortable win.
“(The Fans) always tell me get out there in the first half and do our best so we don’t have to do all those – they’re coming close to heart attacks,” Stewart said. “So for the good of the fans, I think we should go out and try to win this game by a good margin.”
But even if they fall behind, Serra should not be counted out. After all, it wouldn’t be their first improbable comeback win.
Some advice for those planning on attending a Serra game: don’t leave early if the Conquistadors fall behind. Serra has picked up three of their six wins this season with improbable comebacks.
“It’s all about heart, really,” said Conquistadors head coach Brian Basteyns. “It’s about heart and execution that leads to us being able to do that.”
Serra’s first comeback of the year came Sept. 19 at home against Kearny. The Conquistadors trailed 27-6 in the first half before rallying to win 28-27. Serra wasn’t done there, even at a risk to their coach’s health.
“It’s keeping me old, that’s for sure,” Basteyns said.
“But at the same time, we call a timeout, we look in the huddle and the kids are wide-eyed and ready to roll. They know they’re going to get it done. I don’t know, it’s just them. It’s their heart and their spirit.”
In their last two games, the Conquistadors have overcome fourth quarter deficits to beat La Jolla and Point Loma. Against La Jolla on Oct. 24, Serra tight end Colton Bradley caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Arthur Stewart with 35 second left to lift the Conquistadors to a 21-17 win in which they trailed 17-7 in the final quarter.
The following week, the Conquistadors trailed Point Loma by four before embarking on a fourth quarter scoring drive that required four fourth down coversions. Serra’s defense then forced a Pointers fumble out of the end zone to seal the 34-31 win.
Stewart, engineer of the game winning drives over the Vikings and Pointers, said it all starts with practice.
“We practice these situations. We do two-minute drills every Tuesday so we just know we are going to get the job done,” Stewart said. “We have faith in each other so it just comes natural, I guess.”
Stewart said he keeps his cool in the pressure situations by trusting his preparation. Outstanding play from his offensive line and receiving corps in the waning minutes has also helped.
“I study [the game] in great detail so I just know the plays to call out when we’re out there with the no huddle,” Stewart said. “It’s just a time for me to coach the team out there.”
Of course, consistent play in the first half could eliminate the need for such heroics. Against La Jolla and Point Loma, Serra turned the ball over a combined five times in the first half.
“A lot of it’s execution in the first half. We play hard and do well, but we have the tendency have a couple turnovers,” Basteyns said. “Our turnover ratio comparing the first to the second half is unbelievable.”
Stewart said the Conquistadors’ first half struggles relate directly to the offense.
“We definitely need to work on coming out in the first half and just being consistent. Our defense does a good job, it’s just our offense needs to come out earlier in the game,” Stewart said.
Whatever the formula, the Conquistadors keep finding a way to win. Serra (6-2, 3-0 Western League) faces off against Mission Bay (4-3-1, 2-0-1) Friday night in a game that has league championship implications.
“This is the game that’s going to do it for us; this is the championship game. We win this, we win the league championship,” Basteyns said. “The next games really don’t matter except for playoff seeding.”
Friday night, the key for Serra offensively will be to limit mistakes that they have played around all year. Defensively the plan is simple: stop Buccaneers’ running back-turned-quarterback Dillon Baxter.
“When they go shotgun look, we are going to have to follow him because he wants to run the majority of the time or throw deep. The thing I don’t think they can do against us is throw against us very well because our defensive backs are so good,” Basteyns said. “So they’re going to have to run the ball and we’re going to have to find a way to stop the run.”
Stewart said on Friday night he hopes to deliver Serra’s home fans something they have not seen since September – a comfortable win.
“(The Fans) always tell me get out there in the first half and do our best so we don’t have to do all those – they’re coming close to heart attacks,” Stewart said. “So for the good of the fans, I think we should go out and try to win this game by a good margin.”
But even if they fall behind, Serra should not be counted out. After all, it wouldn’t be their first improbable comeback win.