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SAN JOSE — A fired-up Bellarmine defense kept No. 1-ranked Serra within range in a one-score game until the Padres broke two long scoring plays late in the third quarter to pull away for a 28-7 victory Friday at San Jose City College.

Serra (6-0 overall, 3-0 in the West Catholic Athletic League) was locked in a tight struggle, leading just 14-7 and trading punts with the  Bells, when Danny Niu broke a 44-yard touchdown run with 2:37 left in the third quarter.

“Bellarmine plays hard and has a great defense,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh said. “We have a lot to learn, a lot to improve on. I’m grateful to the Bells for showing us that. They went toe to toe with us and that’s what I expect every week the rest of the season. It’s a long arduous climb in the WCAL.”

Seamus Gilmartin, Serra’s 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver, sprang Niu with a devastating block along the sideline.

Back-to-back sacks by Collin Tahitua and Jabari Mann forced a three-and-out and a punt. And on Serra’s first offensive play Maealiuaki Smith hit Joey Villaroman with a 41-yard touchdown pass on the next to last play of the quarter.

“One small mistake and it’s a big play with the kind of athletes they have on that team,” Bellarmine coach Jalal Beauchman said.

Bellarmine (3-3, 2-1) had its standout running back Ben Pfaff go down with a sprained ankle after one carry against Riordan last week. The Bells, behind a terrific defensive effort, held on for a 3-0 victory

Against Serra, Bellarmine drove 61 yards on its first possession and scored on a fourth-down plunge by Riley Paran from the one-foot line to take a 7-0 lead. That was as many points as Bellarmine had scored total in its last five games with Serra.

But after that opening drive Serra’s defense shut down the Bells the remainder of the game.

“A lot of what we do on offense goes through Ben,” Beauchman said. “When that guy goes down it’s back to the drawing board.”

Beauchman set Pfaff’s prospective future return as ”week to week.”

After Bellarmine’s early touchdown, Serra went 73 yards in seven plays with Smith passing to Jayden Weber for a 43-yard touchdown.

Niu’s first touchdown of the night, a 6-yard scoring run, gave the Padres the lead with 7:21 left in the second quarter. Smith and Weber connected three times on the drive for a total of 39 yards.

Smith finished 15 of 24 for 215 yards.

“He did a good job,” Walsh said. “And the amazing thing is he’s got so much room for improvement. That’s the beauty of it, he’s started six high school football games.”

Weber had a game-high six catches for 95 yards.

Bellarmine ended up with 111 yards rushing on 44 carries and just 36 yards passing.

“Another tough road victory,” Walsh said. “We’ve found a way to score more points than Folsom, De La Salle, St. Francis and Bellarmine on the road. I’ve been around a long time. That’s a huge accomplishment in itself, but we’ve still got a long way to go. We need to stay humble and get better.”

Serra has won its last seven games with the Bells, outsourcing them by a combined 286-27. Bellarmine leads overall 49-30-2 in a series that began in 1946.

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