Serra football bests Alemany for bounce-back win

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MISSION HILLS — The Serra football team came into Friday’s Mission League game against Alemany hoping to bounce back from a 14-point loss to Sierra Canyon last week that left a bad taste in their collective mouths. The Cavaliers were also looking to keep their CIF Southern Section playoff hopes alive, which they did with a 28-12 victory over Alemany.

“We had to win that, they battled really hard and I’m just glad to get the win” Serra coach Steve Altenberg said.

Serra tailback Cincere Rhaney rushed for 77 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and wide receiver Zach Williams had four catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.

With no healthy quarterback available, Alemany ran a wildcat offense that led to it dominating the time of possession, but Serra was efficient when it did have the ball, scoring on four of its seven drives.

“We treated this as a bounce-back week, we came into practice looking forward to the game and now we gotta focus on the next one with Chaminade,” Williams said.

Serra (6-3 overall, 3-1 Mission) scored on its first three possessions – a rushing touchdown from Rhaney in each of the first two quarters and a 45-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Butler to Williams at the end of the first quarter. Butler finished the game 6-of-8 passing for 114 yards with one touchdown and an interception.

Alemany (2-6, 0-4) was able to remain competitive in the first half, with Paden White and Jeremiah Claiborne anchoring the wildcat offense. Alemany capitalized on a trio of Serra penalties (two offsides infractions and a facemask) on a drive that ended with White’s 31-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the second quarter.

“It’s just a different thing going against the wildcat,” Altenberg said. “You know you’re not gonna have a lot of offensive plays, and we struggled a bit at times, but anytime you win on the road in the Mission League it’s a good thing.”

White attempted just three passes, but he did connect with Jonah Martinez for an 11-yard touchdown pass in the final moments of the first half to cut Serra’s lead to 21-12. White left the game with an injury in the third quarter, and Alemany was unable to get much going on offense the rest of the night.