SAN MATEO — Archbishop Riordan coach Adhir Ravipati likened his team’s 42-35 win over Serra to a heavyweight bout.
“This is a title match,” he said. “You’re gonna have to throw some jabs, some counterpunches.”
And then?
“You gotta throw the knockout.”
The Crusaders fell behind 14-0 in the early going and were “out of sorts” by their coach’s own admission. But steadily, Riordan rallied to tie the game at 14 early in the second half.
The San Francisco school never trailed again. Buoyed by a resurgent second-half performance led by quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. and running back Adonyae Brown, the Crusaders connected on the knockout blow with 3:15 to play, when Brown ran up the middle untouched for a 53-yard touchdown, giving Riordan (10-0) a 42-28 lead and its first West Catholic Athletic League championship since 2000.
“It feels great,” Mitchell said after the game. “It’s always nice when you know you’ve been working at something and you finally get it.”
Riordan’s journey to this point started in 2022, when Mitchell enrolled in the City and Ravipati took over the Crusaders. They steadily built year by year, going 3-7 in 2022, 7-4 in 2023 and 7-5 in 2024.
This year, Riordan is unbeaten and has completed the arduous climb to the pinnacle of the WCAL. The Crusaders also avenged a 53-7 loss to Serra two years ago in San Mateo, which knocked the Crusaders out of WCAL championship contention that season.
“Last time I was on this field, when I walked off, I told myself, ‘Never again on this field will I feel like this,” Mitchell said. “I thought about that throughout the entire game. I think it’s important to move on from the past, but that’s the type of thing where it’s something you can’t move on from. And I told myself, ‘I’m not gonna let that happen again.’”
Brown, who was then a freshman, wasn’t on Riordan’s varsity team that season. Now a junior, he’s the centerpiece of the Crusaders’ rushing attack, a thunderous, bruising speedster who is a load to bring down in the open field.
He fought through cramps to return to the game after a long run in the second half left him briefly sidelined. Riordan tried to keep him on a pitch count, but eventually, the Crusaders had to throw their best fastball.
Brown was ready, scoring three TDs, including the backbreaking blow that sent Serra down to the canvas.
“I got it warmed up again, got back in, and I just fought through it the whole entire time,” Brown said. “Because I got to come through for my team. My team needs me, and I know I need my team, so I’m gonna do whatever it takes. They were just trying to pitch me in. But at one point they told me, ‘You just got to go.’ So I was like, ‘All right.’”