SAN JOSE – Patrick Walsh began his head coaching career at Serra in 2001, a fresh-faced 26-year-old who was less than a decade removed from his days as a standout running back at De La Salle.
Over the next 24 seasons at the San Mateo private school, Walsh turned the program into a powerhouse, capturing West Catholic Athletic League, NorCal and state championships.
On a temperate Friday night at San Jose City College, an older and grizzled Walsh reached another impressive milestone in a tenure filled with them after the Padres routed Bellarmine 47-6.
Two-hundred career victories. All with Serra.
“I’ve never been a climber in this business, and I’ve always been happy where my feet are and happy with the community here at Serra for over two decades now,” Walsh said. “With the players I’ve had and the coaches who have surrounded me, it’s been a great joy. This has never really been a job for me. Its been more of a vocation.
“I love what I do and I feel grateful for that,” Walsh continued. “I usually don’t think of these sort of things, but now that it’s hitting me, it’s kind of heavy.”
Junipero Serra Head Coach Patrick Walsh after winning his 200th football game after the Padres 42-6 win against Bellarmine in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
As his team and staff congratulated him, the always-honest Walsh admitted that he could have never imagined accumulating so many victories.
“You know, frankly, when I was 26, I didn’t think I’d be here 24 years later,” Walsh said.
But Walsh never left, transforming the Padres into a juggernaut that represented NorCal in each of the past three Open Division state title games.
“But you know, as I settled down and realized that God put me in this position and God put me in a place to raise my kids,” Walsh said. “My wife and I just settled into San Mateo, and it’s been a great joy to be here.”
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This year’s Serra team will understandably not reach the heights of the last three teams, having graduated almost every major piece from that core.
But against a rebuilding Bellarmine team, the San Mateo program looked – for a night – like the dominant Padres of recent vintage.
Nano Latu rushed for 142 yards and four touchdowns behind crushing blocks by center Jonah Alapti, and Chris Yoon and Iziah Singleton each ran for one score. Clay Hinsdale caught three passes for 58 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore defensive back Malakai Taufoou always seemed to be around the ball for a defense locked up the Bells.
It wasn’t until late in a running-clock fourth quarter, when Michael Fox caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Dominic Sotelo, that Serra gave up the shutout. Bellarmine dropped to 0-8 and 0-4 in the WCAL, with each loss coming by at least 21 points.
Getting win No. 201 will probably be much more difficult for Walsh and the Padres (4-4, 2-2).
Their next two opponents are likely CCS Division I playoff teams in Archbishop Riordan and Valley Christian.
Junipero Serra’s Nano Latu (15) runs the ball in for a touchdown in the first quarter of their football game against Bellarmine in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)