LA VERNE — Damien lost to Servite 28-9 on Friday night to end nonleague play. But that’s not the loss the team and coach James Stewart are worried about.
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Sophomore quarterback Anthony Randolph left the game with some kind of shoulder or collarbone injury early in the third quarter. His status for next week’s Baseline League opener against Chino Hills is uncertain at the moment, pending test results.
His departure came when Damien (3-3) was already without star running back Malachi McFarland who has now missed two straight games due to an upper body injury. Stewart said McFarland’s status for next week is uncertain too.
“We have to see how he progresses in terms of his recovery,” Stewart said of McFarland who rushed for 301 yards and four touchdowns in the team’s first four games.
The good news though is that McFarland is expected back in the next few weeks at least.
If Randolph can’t play next week, fellow sophomore Luke Nocero will get the start. He filled in for Randolph, completing 6 of 11 passes for 64 yards.
“I’m very proud of (Nocero) and how tough he was,” Stewart said. “He obviously got thrown into the fire very quickly against a very good team. I was happy to see him compete.”
Nocero led Damien to its only touchdown drive of the game. It came late in the fourth quarter as Damien trailed 28-3. Nocero completed all three of his passes on the drive for 43 yards. He hit senior receiver Travon Garrison for two 18-yard completions before running back Malcom Isaac ended the six-play, 64-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
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Garrison had a big game, catching five passes for 106 yards.
Despite the injuries to two major offensive weapons, Damien made Servite (3-2) work. The Friars play in the powerful Trinity League with Santa Margarita, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. Servite also played in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs last season.
The Friars looked the part early of a commanding Division 1 team. They took a 7-0 lead on their first offensive drive in the first quarter when junior running back Jorden Wells scampered into the end zone untouched from 24 yards out on a fourth-and-2. That capped a nine-play, 76-yard drive.
But the Spartans defense held Servite scoreless for the rest of the half, trailing only 7-3 at halftime. The defense even got an interception toward the end of the second quarter when Dupri Stevenson-Dorsey intercepted a Gino Wang pass at the Damien 7 to stop Servite from scoring before halftime.
Damien’s three points came in the second quarter courtesy of a 32-yard field goal from Connor Guzman.
Damien got the ball to start the third quarter at its own 18. Two plays later, Randolph got hurt. He fumbled while getting hit during a scramble. The ball bounced to the 4 where Caleb Ota picked it up for Servite and ran it in for a touchdown to give the Friars a 14-3 lead.
Servite scored two more touchdowns to put the game out of reach, including a 14-yard scoring run from Wells. That was his second touchdown of the game. He finished with 145 rushing yards on 22 carries. Wells has offers from Arizona and Sacramento State.
Stewart said the final score doesn’t reflect how hard Damien played.
“I thought the guys competed,” he said. “It was really tough with the injuries. It rattles the team when the quarterback goes down but I was impressed with the effort.”
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