Serra coach Brian Basteyns had stern, yet encouraging words for his troops at halftime as they trailed the visiting Mission Bay Buccaneers 31-14.

“I told them we're the best second-half team in the county,” Basteyns said.

His Conquistadors (7-2, 4-0) got the message.

All it took was one thunderous hit on the second-half kickoff by senior Nick Siphengphone to deliver it to the Bucs as the Q's rallied behind four unanswered second-half touchdowns to defeat Mission Bay (4-4-1, 2-1-1) and claim their second Western League title in four years with a thrilling 41-38 victory.

“The message I sent with that hit was we have heart and weren't going to give up,” said Siphengphone, who also sacked Bucs signal-caller Dillon Baxter, causing a fumble that was recovered by teammate Calvin Bryant to set up a Serra score. Once again the maestro of the comeback was Conquistadors quarterback Arthur Stewart, who was 20-for-35 for 256 yards and five touchdowns.

The slippery Stewart also ran for a score, helping account for all of his team's points.

“God bless this team,” Stewart said. “We have a lot of heart.”

Stewart praised three of his receivers: Andrew Nycum (10 catches, 68 yards, three TDs), Colton Bradley (7-152, one TD) and Josh Magallanez (3-45, one TD).

“We have the best receiving trio in the county,” said Stewart, who found Magallanez for the winning points on an 8-yard strike with less than a minute to play. “We'd been running that play all game long.”

Baxter was a one-man offensive machine for the Bucs, churning out 264 yards rushing and 191 passing to go with a pair each of rushing and passing touchdowns. But it wasn't enough.

Bradley, who hobbled off the field in the first quarter with an ankle sprain, electrified the crowd and his teammates with a spectacular 77-yard catch-and-run for the Q's second score of the night, but it was the second-half heroics of Nycum that saved the day for the home team.

The lanky wideout caught a pair of 4-yard scoring passes from Stewart, plus an 8-yarder to bring Serra within three at 38-35.

The Conquistadors' defense stopped the Buccaneers on the ensuing possession to give Stewart all the time he needed to once again work his comeback magic.

“He always finds a way,” Basteyns said. “He has an uncanny way of getting things done in the clutch. I wouldn't have anyone else lead this team.”

Stewart echoed why his coach has such confidence in his leadership abilities.

“I prayed for this title,” he said. “We knew what we had to do and we came out and took care of business.”

A spectacular play by the Serra special teams unit on a Mission Bay field goal attempt set the stage for the game's first points.

Conquistadors junior Blake Bailey blocked the kick, which was scooped up by Kaylen Bryan and returned nearly the length of the field down to the Buccaneers 8-yard line. After moving the ball to the 1-yard line, Stewart punched it in for a 7-0 lead for the home team.