The more someone tries to look for the secret to the success of the football program at De La Salle, the simpler it seems to become, and all the more frustrating for those who try to duplicate the formula.
Most people who follow high school football, especially those in Northern California, are familiar with the statistics surrounding the program. The Spartans now have won 23 consecutive North Coast Section titles, have not lost to a California opponent north of Fresno since 1991, and reeled off 151 straight wins from the start of the 1992 season until the start of the 2004 season.
The loss that ended the 151-game win streak, at the hands of Washington state power Bellevue, occurred when the current Spartans were in elementary school, but there are constant reminders, especially this yearr's release of the movie "When the Game Stands Tall." The movie chronicled De La Salle's ability to handle both the winning streak and the setbacks of that season. Attention from the media and the public in general, however, is nothing new to this program, which has learned to focus on the task at hand.
"We've always had attention surrounding our program, so we teach our players to commit to the moment," coach Justin Alumbaugh said. "Football is a very humbling game, and we play some great opponents, so we have to focus on that daily commitment."
De La Salle will play in its ninth consecutive CIF-State divisional championship when it faces Centennial-Corona in the Open Division final Saturday night at StubHub Center in Carson. This will be the fourth meeting between the schools, but first without legendary Coach Bob Ladouceur running the Spartans.
"Lad," as he is referred to around the Bay Area, stepped down from the head coaching position after beating Centennial in the 2012 Open Division final, just one win shy of 400 victories for his career, which began in 1979. Prior to his taking the reigns at De La Salle, the Spartans had won just 17 games over the previous seven years.
Alumbaugh took over as coach before the 2013 season, after having been on Ladouceur's staff since 1998.
Since his resignation from the head coaching position, Ladouceur has continued to be an active figure among both the De La Salle community and the football program. He still teaches his religion classes, and has continued with the football program as an assistant coach, primarily on the offensive side of the ball with the running backs. In fact, a flu bug caused him to miss his first Spartans football game in the last 35 years, earlier this postseason. Other than that, he has remained very active with the team, joining forces with his former player and assistant coach to continue helping mold young men through the trials of a high school football season and beyond.
Focus on 2014
This year's version of the Spartans has faced its share of adversity, losing starting quarterback Anthony Sweeney for most of the season, as well as defensive standout Simba Short, the Northwestern-commit at linebacker. Neither will play in the state playoff bowl title game, but continue to contribute on a daily basis to the success of the program.
"Simba has been like an extra coach this season, on and off the field," Alumbaugh said. "He regularly holds extra film sessions for the linebackers, and is doing that again this week, making sure they are prepared to do their jobs in his absence."
Having such senior leadership has been critical for a De La Salle defense that is amazingly stocked with a large number of juniors among the starting unit. That fact has led other coaches around the Bay Area to comment on not only how solid the Spartans have been this season, but to marvel at how good they can be next season.
While senior Cameron Lissarrague has been a consistent force at inside linebacker, junior Keanu Andrade has led the team in tackles, and three juniors received first-team all-league honors on the defensive line. Damon Wiley leads the team in both sacks and tackles for a loss, while the imposing figure of Boss Tagaloa on the interior line and the rangy frame of Devin Asiasi at defensive end have caused opposing offensive line coaches to try to find ways to use multiple double-teams on each play.
"We've just gotten better every week defensively," said Alumbaugh. "With all of those (juniors), we've just focused on daily improvement and growth."
Offensively, no one has yet found a way to slow down De La Salle running backs Antoine Custer and Andrew Hernandez, both juniors finishing their second full varsity seasons. Their success in the run game, where those two have combined for over 3,300 yards on the ground despite early exits from each game, has occurred despite some instability at the quarterback position due to injury. Sweeney's season ended with an elbow injury, and fellow junior Chris Vanderklugt even missed most of the section semifinal game against California with a hip injury.
"They have such a balanced attack, so it's just so difficult to defend, regardless of who is under center, which back is getting the ball, or which receiver is being targeted," said California coach Eric Billeci, an ex-Spartan whose team lost to De La Salle twice this season. "In the past, there has been one real dominant running back, but now they have two equally good running backs that can really hurt you."
Success begins up front
As anyone who has ever watched a dominant run game can tell you, the success for that starts with the offensive line, the position that Alumbaugh coaches. Seniors Drew Sullivan, Matt Medeiros and Blake Ogburn have been stable forces on that unit, definitely making things easier for the young guys both alongside them and behind them.
"Having a three-year starter like Drew has been tremendous for our line,â? said Alumbaugh, referencing the unit that has paved the way for the Spartans to average nearly 400 yards per game on the ground. â??Antoine and Andrew have also been working real hard, and it shows in the year they've had as well."
Alumbaugh was also full of praise for Vanderklugt, making sure to point out that none of the reads in the Spartansâ?? veer option attack are pre-determined. The quarterback in De La Sallee's system has to quickly read multiple defenders on every play, something that the junior has done almost flawlessly.
"Vanderklugt has done a tremendous job making reads in our offense," said Alumbaugh. "When the running backs in our offense are gaining that many yards, it shows what great decisions the quarterback is making."
Alumbaugh stated at the beginning of the year that the Spartans have two simple goals entering each season" Be physical and be disciplined. There are no creative motivational phrases, no hashtags on Twitter creating a school or program motto and no references to the success they have had in the past as ways to motivate the current team. Instead, there just seems to be a daily focus on the task at hand, or as Alumbaugh said, a commitment to win every moment.
