Column: Rivalry lives up to hype when Serra edges Chaminade, 30-28

As the Goodyear Blimp floated above, Gardena Serra’s football stadium was being turned into a college environment on Friday night. Two lifts with TV cameras were preparing to rise for a live broadcast on Prime Ticket. A group of eighth-graders was escorted onto the field to view warmups, just like they do for recruits before USC and UCLA games. Parking was $10. A large strawberry lemonade was $8.

And Serra quarterback Jalani Eason showed up wearing lime shoes that stood out so brightly that he could have directed F-18s fighter jets landing on an aircraft carrier.

The big question question was would the Mission League opener against West Hills Chaminade live up to the hype? It sure did. Serra had to survive an onside kick in the final two minutes to hold on for a 30-28 victory.

“Chaminade is Chaminade,” Serra Coach Scott Altenberg said. “They’re always going to fight. They’re always going to come back.”

Sophomore quarterback Ryan Stevens rallied the Eagles (3-2) in the fourth quarter after starter Brevin White was replaced. Stevens threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mac Griffin and a seven-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Pledger with 1:37 left. But Serra got the onside kick to prevail.

“They gave us fits with their big people up front,” Chaminade Coach Ed Croson said.

There were three interceptions for each team. Jahlil Pinkett had two for Chaminade (3-2).

Serra opened a 23-7 halftime lead. Eason had touchdown runs of 80 and one yard, plus a two-yard touchdown pass to Deion Malone. He finished with 133 yards rushing and passed for 192 yards.

Chaminade briefly held a 7-3 lead on a 47-yard touchdown pass from White to Michael Wilson, but the Eagles struggled against an aggressive, effective Serra defense that featured a linebacker, Tysyn Parker, who was playing with a cast on his right arm because of an injury. It apparently didn’t bother him too much, because the one-armed Parker had an interception.

“The defense was awesome,” Altenberg said.

Some Serra fans were in panic mode after the team opened the season with three consecutive losses, but those were to outstanding teams —Saguaro from Arizona, Harbor City Narbonne and St. Joseph from New Jersey.

“If you want to have a shot at winning league, you have to beat Serra,” Croson said this week. “I don’t care what their record is.”

Eason was the backup quarterback to Khalil Tate last season. Tate is now at Arizona and he would have smiled at Eason’s 80-yard sprint for a touchdown. It was the kind of play Tate made last season. Eason also had a 56-yard TD run that was nullified because of a holding penalty.

Coach Scott Altenberg has always had confidence in Eason, a top student who knows the Serra playbook in his sleep. Eason had three passes intercepted by Chaminade, so he’s still a work in progress.

It was quite a night in the Mission League. Los Angeles Loyola upset La Puente Bishop Amat, 24-23, when Diego Cacho-Sousa made a 49-yard field goal as time expired. Mission Hills Alemany defeated Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 45-35.

“In our league, if you underestimate anyone, you can lose,” Croson said.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: @latsondheimer