The University City (UC) Centurions suffered a tough 34-7 loss to the Serra Conquistadors in a Western League football game at Serra on Friday, Oct. 16. “A lot of good things are happening for our guys,” UC coach John Hutsel said. “Now, we need to get it to reflect in the win-loss column and have it show up on the scoreboard.” Against the Conquistadors, the Centurions actually did get on the scoreboard first with a 70-yard drive on the opening possession of the game. That’s when junior running back Parris Jordan jolted Serra with a 12-yard touchdown run to give UC an early 7-0 lead with 9:26 left in the first quarter. Jordan had four carries for 66 yards on the drive, including a nice 51-yard run to bring the ball down to the Conquistador 15-yard line. “It’s a process,” Hutsel said. “We just have to keep competing.” The Centurions started to show signs of wanting to compete by stuffing kick returner Blake Bailey at the Serra 1-yard line and holding the Conquistadors to three plays on their opening possession of the contest to force a punting situation. On UC’s second possession, they matriculated the ball all the way down to the Serra 8-yard line, but that’s where the drive stalled. “We’re slowly growing together as a team,” Hutsel said. A quarterback sack by Charlie Campbell with an assist by Joe Gordon showed togetherness and also got the ball back once again for the Centurions. On UC’s third possession, the highlight was a 15-yard run by Jordan. “They (the Conquistadors) are a good, tough team,” Hutsel said. The Centurions were reminded of how good and how tough when Serra running back Tyler Bailey ran one in from 39 yards out and Parker Munoz added the extra point to tie the game up at 7-7 with 10:18 remaining in the second quarter. “We’re to the point where we’re getting better,” Hutsel said. UC continued to show signs of improvement as Jordan Johnson recovered a fumble with less than six minutes left in the second period to spark the Centurions. However, UC senior quarterback Brandon Green was sacked, turning the ball back over to the Conquistadors, who would then proceed to score two more touchdowns. That gave Serra a 20-7 cushion heading into the locker room at halftime. After the intermission, some of the highlights for the Centurions included junior Travis Giffen intercepting a pass on the Conquistadors’ opening drive of the second half and Green gunning the ball for pass completions to Gordon (for first down yardage), senior wide receiver Jelani Young (for 4 and 11 yards, respectively), and junior running back Kendrick Morris (for 15 yards). Unfortunately for UC, they would get no closer as Serra running back Brandon Johnson would take one in from 46 yards out with 4:53 left in the third quarter and another from 13 yards out with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter to pretty much seal the victory for the Conquistadors. The Point Loma High School (PLHS) football team buzzed to a victory Oct. 23, stinging host University City High School 28-5 in a Western League match that also served as the Centurions’ Homecoming. The Pointers scored three touchdowns in the third quarter. Defensively, the Centurions were held without a first down running or passing until midway through the third frame. The Centurions were unable to score until the last two minutes of the game. — Scott Hopkins contributed to this story.