WEST HILLS — The Chaminade football team’s defense came out Friday night determined to protect its home field against a physical Serra team.
While the Eagles’ defense played valiantly, Serra was able to wear it down as the game progressed by using a balanced rushing and passing attack.
The Cavaliers utilized a bevy of different running backs and pass-catchers to keep Chaminade on its heels, with quarterback Jimmy Butler directing Serra’s offense both with his arm and legs.
Butler finished with 235 passing yards and four total touchdowns, including a 34-yard touchdown run, to lead Serra to a 33-21 victory over Chaminade.
“Jimmy Butler, he’s such a smart player, he makes all the right reads, he gets in the right place,” Serra head coach Scott Altenberg said about his quarterback. “I think he’s amazing. I’m really excited about his future. It’s just how smart he is, that’s the part that people don’t understand. We put so much on him and he handles it flawlessly.”
Before Butler started scoring touchdowns through the air, he gave his team a two-score cushion in the second quarter by way of a 34-yard touchdown run off an option play.
The senior threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Marcellous Ryan to close out the first half and found Jaydn Robinson in the third quarter for a 16-yard score.
Butler connected with nine different pass-catchers, finding several different wideouts and running backs.
He even threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Robert James III, usually a defensive lineman, at the goal line, to the elation of Serra’s sideline.
“Robert and Khary [Wilder] get in there in that heavy package and do a great job. We have that play, we had never called it yet. He came in and got open and made a great catch,” Altenberg said.
Chaminade’s offense was held scoreless in the first half, but came out with more firepower in the final 24 minutes to bring the score within striking distance.
Quarterback Cameron Pooley found Devin Olmande behind the defense for a 49-yard touchdown to start the third quarter.
Olmande scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter and Ronnell Hewitt scored on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Chaminade was without running backs Jackson Tyler and Niles Davis, and Marquis Jones got hurt in the first half
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“We have to execute and I think that has been the rallying cry for the last six weeks. We have a good play and then we get a penalty. We miss a read or we drop a ball offensively and then defensively we can’t give up a third-and-17,” Chaminade head coach David Machuca said. “Things like that are unacceptable and that’s on me.
“We got to get better and we got to get better fast because like I just told the team from here on out our backs are up against the wall. It’s a one-game playoff from here on out.”
Serra will face Notre Dame next week on the road, its fifth road game in a row. Chaminade will travel to play Loyola next week.