Considering the program’s long-term success and its virtually unstoppable running game, De La Salle’s 45-17 win over Folsom in the Northern California Open Division championship at Diablo Valley College was no surprise.
The phenomenal defensive effort was a mild surprise as the Spartans lost a ton of talent from a team that beat Folsom 49-15 in this game a year ago. That, coupled with all-world quarterback Jake Browning and a more seasoned Bulldogs offense, was supposed to mean a few more points for Folsom.
The defensive effort included pressure from four down linemen and a special brand of physicality from the linebackers and defensive backs. Every time a Folsom receiver caught a ball, he got hit hard and it wore on them as the game progressed.
The Spartans’ game plan was flawless as the program racked up its 40th consecutive win and 65th straight over California opponents heading into its state bowl showdown versus St. John Bosco.
Browning didn’t throw a touchdown pass, his 75th of the season, until there were 48 seconds left and the Spartans’ backups were on the field. He ended up with 336 yards passing but needed 53 attempts and also threw two interceptions to David Ortega and one to Kevin Griffin.
De La Salle always has a strong ground game and it’s a big reason it has reached the state bowls every year since its inception in 2006. On this night, it was no different as the team totaled 383 rushing yards, including two 100-yard rushers, John Velasco (27 carries, 144 yards, 4 TDs) and Antoine Custer (13 carries, 150 yards). Velasco is just three yards shy of 2,000 for the season and Custer went over the 1,000-yard mark on Saturday.
Quarterback Chris Williams (4 of 5, 83 yards), who rushed for two scores, didn’t need to throw much but delivered a pretty ball to Marquis Morris for 50 yards that set up a Spartans score.
“It’s a great feeling right now, we’re going to enjoy this for the rest of the night and then get ready for St. John Bosco,” Velasco told Prep2Prep’s Derek Lytle.
There are concerns for De La Salle heading into Bosco as the program looks for its fifth straight CIF State Open title. The Spartans’ kicking game is worse than the Braves’ and, against Folsom, De La Salle missed two point-after kicks and had a botched snap on a field goal. The Spartans also lost two fumbles for the third time in their four playoff games.
As always, the line play holds the key and the Braves are very good up front and its strength may be the offensive line. While the Spartans’ defensive line had just one sack of Browning, it constantly delivered pressure and now has 52.5 sacks this season. It’s worth noting the sack totals for the previous state title winning teams: 39.5 in 2012, 31 in 2011, 35 in 2010, and 42.5 in 2009.
De La Salle would likely see Browning and Folsom again in 2014 and we wonder if the Bulldogs’ ground game will be better next season. After just six run plays in last year’s bowl loss to De La Salle, Folsom tried to stay committed to the run game but had to settle for 62 rushing yards on 24 carries.
De La Salle’s unbeaten streak against Northern California competition reached 250 games and we could be seeing the Spartans versus Browning and Folsom for the third straight year in 2014.
In the big shocker of the weekend, Sacred Heart Prep hammered El Cerrito 42-7 in the Division III NorCal Bowl at De Anza High School in Richmond.
The Gators, similar to De La Salle, were a physical juggernaut and led 21-0 at half and 28-0 in the third quarter before El Cerrito got on the board with an Adarius Pickett 12-yard touchdown run.
In a game that featured UCLA commit Pickett and Arizona State commits Jalen Harvey and Derik Calhoun, it was Sacred Heart Prep junior Ben Burr-Kirven who was the best player on the field. Burr-Kirven ran for 163 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries and also contributed 17 tackles and a sack on defense. He also delivered a big first half blow on Keilan Benjamin that knocked the El Cerrito quarterback out of the game.
After a school-record in the CCS championship win, Andrew Segre rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown as the team totaled 319 of its 374 total yards on the ground.
The Gators now play Corona del Mar in the state title game at 12pm on Saturday. Corona del Mar is the first Orange County team to go 15-0 and the Sea Kings are very balanced with an average of 178.5 passing yards and 216 rushing yards.
Serra was stuffed on a fourth-and-one with over seven minutes left at the Del Oro 20-yard line and never got any closer in a 28-20 loss to the Golden Eagles at San Jose City College on Friday night.
The Padres also couldn’t overcome 12 penalties for 110 yards while Del Oro had just two penalties for 10 yards.
Del Oro had the best players on the field on this night as Tanner Woods registered four sacks, Dylan Kainrath rushed for 233 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, and Tyler Meteer was all over the place on both sides of the ball and fought for a key 22-yard touchdown reception in the first half.
“We knew they were talented and would be very tough to stop. We try to make teams one-dimensional and make them throw. We tried to leverage them and not give up big plays and our defense did a really good job of that,” Del Oro coach Casey Taylor told Prep2Prep’s Jack Duffy.
Serra was also hurt by the Golden Eagles’ return game and Trey Udoffia scored on a 38-yard punt return that was a back-breaker and gave Del Oro a 28-14 lead in the third.
Del Oro quarterback Michael Moore was 11-of-17 for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Serra’s Matt Fa’aita passed for 201 yards.
After its first CCS Open championship, John Murphy makes a great point that Serra is a much more attractive option in the future for potential quarterback prospects.
In Division IV, McClymonds battled but still couldn’t get over the hump against defending state champion Central Catholic, 17-14, at Lincoln High School in Stockton.
It was the third loss to the Raiders in a little more than a year and the first time this season that Mack was held to less than 21 points.
The Warriors hurt themselves with four straight turnovers in the second quarter and finished with five in the game.
Despite losing Lavance Warren to a knee injury on the first possession, Mack never quit and had a 99-yard drive to cut the deficit to three with a minute left but the ensuing onside kick attempt went out of bounds.
Defending state champion Central Catholic deserves all the credit. On a night when leading rusher Matt Ringer was limited to 88 yards - his lowest total in the last eight games - the bend-but-don’t-break defense and quarterback Hunter Petlansky were clutch. The sophomore was 7-of-10 for 135 yards and a score.
It offset the 449 yards of offense for Mack as Emoni Fountain passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 78 yards but threw three interceptions. Louis White had 154 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Ian Bonde saved his best football for the end of the season and the result was St. Mary’s winning the school’s first-ever NCS football championship.
After a postponement from last weekend, the NCS Division IV title game was finally played and the result was a St. Mary’s 49-21 win against Fortuna at Humboldt State.
Bonde completed 20-of-25 attempts for 340 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
In his final two games, Bonde completed 66 percent of his passes for 572 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. In his final five contests, Bonde tossed 17 of his 31 touchdown passes.
Fifth-seeded St. Mary’s trailed 14-7 and the second-seeded Huskies were driving in the second quarter, but a key fourth-and-one stop at the Panthers 13-yard line signaled a swing in momentum. St. Mary’s followed with a scoring drive culminated with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Bonde to Liam Godfrey.
Godfrey caught two touchdown passes and ended up with 247 yards receiving on 13 receptions while Lorenzo Logwood had 130 yards rushing and two scores .
The underrated St. Mary’s defense sealed the game as Ron Smith and Arius Williams returned interceptions for touchdowns for the final scores of the game.
Overall, it was four forced turnovers as the school won its first ever NCS football championship.
The St. Mary’s win also gave the TCAL-Rock its third NCS title this year (El Cerrito in Division III and Salesian in Division V) which no league has ever accomplished before.
Players of the Week
Offense: Ben Burr-Kirven, Sacred Heart Prep. Burr-Kirven was a perfect example of how the Gators did not fear favored El Cerrito. He helped control the time of possession and was the most physical player on the field on his way to a 163-yard, four touchdown night.
Defense: David Ortega, De La Salle. We could pick many players from De La Salle after its splendid defensive performance but Ortega
Special Teams: Steven Bodley, Serra. Bodley kicked second-half field goals for 25 and 33 yards to keep the Padres in the game in their NorCal bowl loss.
Recruiting News and Other Tidbits
Milpitas running back Squally Canada, who finished 84 rushing yards shy of 2,000, will join De La Salle cornerback Kevin Griffin at Washington State.
“Washington State has been there all along but I really hadn’t heard that much about them before,” Canada told Prep2Prep’s John Murphy. “Then me and (running backs coach Jim) Mastro developed a relationship and I took my official visit there. I like how (remote) it is and how I’ll be able to focus on football. I also like the coaching staff and the team.”
St. Patrick-St. Vincent senior Jalen Canty has verbally committed to Fresno State for football. This is interesting as the 6-foot-7 Canty is a Division I recruited basketball player who was originally committed to Washington. This season, his first playing varsity football, Canty racked up 22 sacks in 11 games and had 328 yards receiving and three touchdowns as a defensive end/tight end.
Menlo quarterback Jack Heneghan committed to Dartmouth.
“I feel good,” Heneghan told Murphy. “I’m excited to continue my career as a student-athlete. I like the coaching staff and it’s a great academic institution. I’m excited to play there.”
Clayton Valley defensive back Xavier Crawford, who played at Pittsburg before this season, committed to San Diego State.
Freedom defensive end Patrick Choudja was offered by Fresno State, while Falcons running back Joe Mixon has a home visit with Cal this week before he decides his college future at the US Army game.
Offensive lineman Haniteli Lousi, who is at College of San Mateo and previously played at Washington-Fremont committed to Oregon.
Another College of San Mateo player, defensive lineman Trevor Kelly, who played at El Camino, will play at Cal.
It appears there may be no Open Division in the CCS next season.
Former Raider Napoleon Kaufman was named the new head coach at Bishop O’Dowd taking the place of another former NFL player, Hardy Nickerson.
Black Hat Football proposes public and private school state championships.
They Said It
“DL Sumner Houston of De La Salle a MAN. Hard to block. Says old coach Ladouceur ‘is trying to make us perfect in an imperfect game’” –Tweet from the Joe Davidson.
“Those guys are incredible. There isn’t a single defensive lineman in Sacramento that can start for De La Salle. It’s just hard to simulate. You can’t.” –Folsom co-coach Troy Taylor to the Sacramento Bee.
“Can't remember last time Folsom had just 3 points at the half. Not this decade. Likely BEFORE Kris Richardson/Troy Taylor era 10 yrs plus” –Tweet from Davidson.
“David Ortega deserved that. He's had a heck of a year” –Tweet from DLS radio announcer Scott Armstrong.
"He was going after his secondary guy and I just read his eyes. I wanted to get to the end zone, but I got close enough."–De La Salle linebacker David Ortega to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Defensively, we came to play and had some good stops and some turnovers, but in the end they kept pounding us and shoved it right down our throats, which is what they do. They’re a great organization.” –Folsom cornerback Mike McCuaig to the Folsom Telegraph.
“We’ll be playing a great team down there and we’re going to have to really be physical. We’ve also really, really got to play a clean game.” –De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh to CalHiSports on the upcoming matchup with Bosco.
“StubHub Center seats 27,000. We'll see if SoCal fans finally come out en masse for a real state championship football game.” –Tweet from the Los Angeles Times’ Eric Sondheimer.
"The 99-yard drive was a turning point and that was the difference. We have a resilient group of guys, but at the end of the day, we made too many mistakes to win the game." –Serra coach Patrick Walsh told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Serra, known for being a class program, losing its cool a bit here with two cheap-shots to the necks of Del Oro players. DO up 28-20,4th” –Tweet from Davidson.
“Here in a nutshell is why Del Oro beat Serra tonight: Serra 12 penalties, 110 yards. Del Oro 4-20. More disciplined. Less mistakes.” –Tweet from Mitch Stephens.
“Tanner Woods was an absolute monster for the Golden Eagles” –Tweet from NorCalPreps.
“Great players. They’re Players of the Year kinds of guys. Done it all year.” –Del Oro coach Casey Taylor to the Sacramento Bee on Meteer and Woods.
"We said we belonged here. Going into the game, I got interviewed and said we're not going to roll over for them. I don't think they expected us to come out and hit like we did." –Sacred Heart Prep’s Ben Burr-Kirven to the Mercury News.
“The Sacred Heart Prep 42-7 win/score over El Cerrito is shocking and shakes my confidence in knowledge of sports.” –Tweet from Mitch Stephens.
“Last night was by far best performance I've seen by a team in my two years back on prep scene. It was like DLS in early years.” –Tweet from Darren Sabedra on Sacred Heart Prep in response to Stephens.
“McClymonds: Great talent, stud WR, strong DL ... but turnovers and playcalling opened door for CC to win NorCal title” –Tweet from Richard Estrada.
"The turnovers were huge. You can't win like that. Our defense played well enough to win. We should have won the game. It was a tough loss." –McClymonds coach Michael Peters to the Contra Costa Times.
”Bonde was incredible. Our Big Three (seniors Bonde, Godfrey and Logwood), and Phillip, performed really well,” –St. Mary’s coach Keith Minor to the Times-Standard.
“How long 'til Cali adopts position of several other states & splits privates from publics? How can section commissioners not see reality?” –Tweet from Estrada.
We’ll have previews of the De La Salle-St. John Bosco and Sacred Heart Prep-Corona del Mar games this week.
