TJ Lateef, Orange Lutheran’s talented senior quarterback who was slowed last season by a shoulder injury, apparently thought he was Superman on Friday night as he went airborne trying to hurdle Wesley Ace Jr. of Gardena Serra in the first half. Lateef made it but officials gave him a 15-yard penalty (you can’t try to hurdle defenders in high school football).
Lateef, a Nebraska commit, was making a point that he wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way. He later scored a touchdown on a two-yard run and picked up a key first down on a fourth-down run to help the Lancers to a 21-13 victory.
“I was trying something new,” Lateef said. “I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed. I got to put that away.”
Lateef completed 18 of 25 passes for 185 yards with one interception and had an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Hennessy. The Lancers received big help off the bench after starting running back Steve Chavez was injured on his first carry of the game. Sophomore Jae Nembard, who played in the junior varsity game Thursday, rushed for 93 yards in 25 carries. The Lancers used their big, physical offensive line to run out the clock on a final drive after Serra quarterback Jimmy Butler scored on a 13-yard run with 5:01 left.
Orange Lutheran defense gets physical against Gardena Serra.
(Craig Weston)
“I thought we were super physical on defense,” Orange Lutheran coach Rod Sherman said.
Junior nose tackle Auma Jennings had two sacks and teamed with Jireh Moe to leave Serra without any kind of running game.
Serra left the field at halftime trailing 14-7 and wondering about lost first-half opportunities. Three times the Cavaliers had the ball deep inside Orange Lutheran territory and settled for zero points on two missed field goals (bad snap on one) and a dropped fourth-down pass in the end zone.
Butler‘s passing was off much of the night even though he threw for 196 yards and ran for two touchdowns. Serra’s star on defense was linebacker Daylawn Reed, who had an interception and several impressive tackles. CJ McBean caught three passes for 111 yards.
As always, Serra’s season usually involves lots of ups and downs depending on injuries because there’s little depth. When the Cavaliers are healthy, their talent level makes them a Division 1 team, especially this season with a veteran quarterback, good receivers and an exceptional secondary. Yet coach Scott Altenberg is always cautious knowing when one lineman goes down, it might mean having to find two replacements.
It was the fourth consecutive season Orange Lutheran has beaten Serra in its opener. Both teams usually go on to play in the Southern Section Division 1 or 2 playoffs.
“They have some exceptional athletes and are every bit a top-50 team in the country,” Sherman said of Serra.
As for Lateef doing any more hurdling, Sherman said, “I think when you’re a highly recruited and exceptional player you get so excited to make plays. I’m not going to fault a kid on how excited and passionate he was.”