College Level Athletes caught up with Serra (Gardena) Head Coach Scott Altenberg, who coached USC's Marqise Lee, Robert Woods and George Farmer, along with several other notable players who have now moved on to the NCAA and NFL ranks.
"It's just exciting to see those guys play so well.. and the thing is, represent our school so well. We have three kids in the NFL this year for the first time. It says that we're putting out good kids," Alternberg told CLA after Serra's 42-6 victory over St. Francis last Thursday night.
Over the years we've witnessed the many star players that have contributed to the rise of Serra's dominance in the CIFSS. Players such as Jason Gibson (Cal Bears, LB), Conner Preston (SMU, QB) and many more have gone on to play at Division I colleges.
It's obvious that Coach Altenberg enjoys watching Marqise Lee achieve success, but don't think for one second that he's surprised at what the former Serra star has accomplished as a member of the USC Trojans.
"With Marqise Lee, as a sophomore (at Serra) I basically said, 'I'm never gonna be amazed again with him because you can't.' Anything is possible with that kid and he can do everything. Everyday in practice he'd do some amazing thing that you'd say, 'how does the body even work that way? I mean you can't do that,' and he'd do it. He's something else," Coach Altenberg told CLA.
Lee's performance can easily catapult him into the 2012 Heisman Trophy race, but with a USC loss on Saturday against Arizona, he'll have to have a few more big games to receive legitimate consideration for college football's most prestigious individual award.
This season, Head Coach Scott Altenberg has Serra primed for another CIFSS Playoff run. The Cavaliers are currently ranked #19 in California according to MaxPreps. Over the past three games, Serra has been clicking on all cylinders and outscored their opponents 138-15 and have a three-game winning streak heading into the final week of the regular season.
On Friday night, Serra's junior All-American and California State Long Jump champion Adoree' Jackson went nuts. CLA nicknamed Jackson "Adoree' Knows" over the summer, in reference to the legendary Bo Jackson, who won the Heisman Trophy for Auburn and went on to play in the NFL and MLB. Most notably, the elder Jackson played for the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Royals during his professional career.
Look for Serra to go deep into the 2012 CIF Playoffs if they can remain mistake-free on the offensive side of the ball. With senior running back Anterio "Taz" Bateman out for the season with an ankle injury, look for the Cavaliers to rely more heavily on Malik Roberson and Adoree' Jackson to make contributions to the offense.
Serra junior quarterback Jalen Greene has found his rhythm over the past few games and with the emergence of Mr. Consistency in senior leader Darrell Fuery at wide receiver, Greene has been able to find his comfort zone in the Serra offense. Fuery leads the team in receptions and is averaging nearly 20 yards per catch with 8 touchdowns, while the sophomore Roberson leads Serra in rushing and senior Marques Rodgers is averaging over 9 yards per carry with nearly 400 yards rushing.
On the defensive side of the ball Serra has been dominant all season and has registered over 20 sacks, 8 interceptions and 7 forced fumbles. Senior defensive end Nicholas Usher leads the team with 6.5 sacks on the year, while junior All-American linebacker Dwight Williams has registered over 70 tackles on the season thus far. Second on the team in tackles behind Williams is sophomore John Houston with 54 stops so far this season.
