SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — One of the biggest coaching changes in Southern California this offseason was JSerra hiring former NFL star Hardy Nickerson as its head coach.
Friday was his debut on the home sidelines at JSerra High and Sierra Canyon made sure to give him an unpleasant welcome to the Southern Section.
JSerra couldn’t overcome a dominant first half from Sierra Canyon in a 42-21 loss.
Nickerson played 16 years in the NFL and coached Bishop O’Dowd of Northern California to a state championship last season.
JSerra (0-1) trailed by as many as 35 points in the second half but scored 14 unanswered points to finish the game.
“We turned the ball over early and we gave up too many explosive plays,” Nickerson said. “The positive is, after getting down we kept playing. There’s something to learn from it.”
The last time Sierra Canyon (1-0) played at JSerra, the Trailblazers lost 35-7 and their upperclassmen players didn’t forget that game.
“The last time we were here two years ago we took a ‘L’ and that didn’t sit right with us,” Sierra Canyon senior Myles Baker said. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy game, but we prepared very well and came out with a victory.”
Baker made an impact in all three phases of the game Friday. The UCLA commit had a rushing touchdown, returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and had a tipped pass that led to an interception return for a touchdown.
Sierra Canyon forced a three-and-out from JSerra on the opening drive of the game and took possession at the JSerra 28-yard line after an 8-yard punt. A few plays later, Cal commit Jaxsen Stokes scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Sierra Canyon a 7-0 lead.
On the next play from scrimmage, Baker tipped a pass to defensive lineman Stephan Harrison who returned an interception 25-yards for a touchdown.
Faruq Muhammad and Baker each had rushing touchdowns for Sierra Canyon in the first half to give the Trailblazers a 28-7 lead at halftime. Baker returned the opening kick of the second half for a touchdown to extend the lead to 35-7.
JSerra only had 30 fewer yards of total offense than Sierra Canyon, but the Lions converted just one of 13 third down attempts and five failed fourth down attempts.
Receiver Clark Cokley, a Georgetown commit, was a bright spot for JSerra with 116 yards on 13 receptions.
“He’s one of our main targets and we were trying to get him the ball even more,” Nickerson said of Cokley. “He had a great night.”
Hayes Cloutier, who began his career at Santa Margarita before spending last season in Texas, threw for a game-high 162 yards for JSerra.
Cloutier threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Sam Fredericksen on a fourth down in the first half. Sophomore quarterback Jack Hilgenberg ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Lions.
Dylan Brown had an interception for JSerra and Leuzinger transfer Braylin Spencer returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown.
JSerra drove to the red zone late in the first half, but Jaxson Davis of Sierra Canyon intercepted a pass to end the first half. Orange Lutheran transfer and Ohio State commit Marcus Fakatou had two sacks for Sierra Canyon.
Demarco Hernandez threw for 150 yards in his first start for Sierra Canyon and threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Lance Brown.
Sierra Canyon travels to Florida to play Chaminade-Madonna on Thursday, Aug. 27.
“I thought we played really good football in the first half,” Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “I think we were humming on all cylinders and showed that we have amazing potential as a team.”
JSerra will host Wilson of Long Beach on Friday, Aug. 28.