Only one Concord school undefeated after 2 weeks….and it’s Mt. Diablo! 2001 De La Salle team named best ever by ESPN

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Sept. 3, 2023) — After only two weeks of the high school season just one local school is 2-0 and that’s an unlikely one at that. The Mt. Diablo Red Devils beat Mission of San Francisco 40-14 as transfer star Herschel Turner scored four touchdowns to go with his six last week getting the Concord school off to a great start under new coach Fetuao Mua, who takes his team on the road for the first time this Friday at Oakland Tech.

In the same week that ESPN named De La Salle’s 2001 team as the greatest high school team ever in America, the 2023 Spartans were shutout for the first time since 2005 (7-0 to Clovis West).

Their 28-0 loss to Serra in San Mateo Saturday afternoon was the largest shutout defeat in 44 years since Salesian blanked DLS 32-0 in 1979 when Bob Ladouceur was in his first year as head coach. The legendary Coach Lad was in San Mateo Saturday to watch one of his star protégé’s Patrick Walsh coach the top-ranked Padres to their second successive win over his alma mater.

The greatest of all time

ESPN released a list of their 50 greatest high school football teams of all time last week. The 2001 Spartans won the school’s fourth successive mythical national championship that year including the historic 29-15 win over Long Beach Poly (No. 50 on the all-time list). Two books were written about that game which featured seven future NFL players including De La Salle running back Maurice Jones-Drew, now a coach and parent for his alma mater.

That 2001 Spartan team outscored its opponents, including Southern California powerhouses Long Beach Poly and Mater Dei, by a combined 531-65. In just two games this year’s DLS team has surrendered 63 points while being held scoreless for the last three halves while losing to two of the State’s top six teams in Orange Lutheran and Serra.

De La Salle’s 2003 team, the one which completed the national record 151-game winning streak, is No. 15 in the all-time top 50, which restricted schools to a maximum of two entries on the list.

Mt. Diablo was the only local team to win in Week 2. Northgate scored 21 unanswered fourth quarter points but came up just short to Tamalpais in Mill Valley 44-42 in a wild game. Clayton Valley Charter fell from the unbeaten ranks 37-27 in Concord to Higley, Arizona’s second ranked 5A team.

High school football scores

Week 3 Schedule – Sept. 8-9

Clayton Valley Charter (1-1) at Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (3-0)

College Park (1-0) at Oakmont-Roseville (0-3)

San Lorenzo (1-0) at Concord (0-2)

De La Salle (0-2) at St. Francis–Mountain View (1-1)

Mt. Diablo (2-0) at Oakland Tech (0-1)

Twelve Bridges-Lincoln (3-0) at Northgate (0-2)

9/9 – Kennedy-Richmond (1-1) at Ygnacio Valley (0-2)

Week 2 Scores – Sept. 1-2

Higley-Gilbert, AZ (2-0) 37, Clayton Valley Charter (1-1) 27

Alameda (2-0) 49, Concord (0-2) 0

Mt. Diablo (2-0) 40, Mission-San Francisco (0-1) 14

Tamalpais-Mill Valley (2-0) 44, Northgate (0-2) 42

Lower Lake (1-1) 38, Ygnacio Valley (0-2) 0

9/2 – Serra-San Mateo (2-0) 28, De La Salle (0-2) 0

College Park (1-0) – bye                

2023 Season Schedules

Clayton Valley Charter (Open Div./Div. 1) – 8/25 W 17-0 at Salinas, 9/1 L 27-37 Higley-Gilbert, AZ, 9/9 at Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, 9/15 at Turlock, 9/29 Jesuit-Carmichael, 10/6 San Ramon Valley, 10/13 Foothill-Pleasanton, 10/20 Monte Vista-Danville, 10/27 at California-San Ramon, 11/3 at De La Salle.

College Park (Div. 3) – 8/25 W 14-0 at Fremont-Oakland, 9/8 at Oakmont-Roseville, 9/15 at Antioch, 9/22 Acalanes-Lafayette, 9/29 Miramonte, 10/6 at Campolindo, 10/13 Las Lomas, 10/20 Northgate, 10/27 at Benicia, 11/3 Alhambra.

Concord (Div. 4) – 8/25 L 0-41 at Newark Memorial-Newark, 9/1 L 0-49 at Alameda, 9/8 San Lorenzo, 9/9/14 Archie Williams-San Anselmo, 9/22 Mt. Eden-Hayward, 9/29 Alhambra, 10/6 Las Lomas, 10/13 at Ygnacio Valley, 10/21 at Berean Christian, 10/27 Mt. Diablo.

De La Salle (Open Div./Div. 1) – 8/25 L 14-35 Orange Lutheran-Orange, 9/2 L 0-28 at Serra-San Mateo, 9/8 at Saint Francis-Mountain View, 9/15 St. Mary’s-Stockton, 9/22 at Folsom, 9/29 McClymonds-Oakland, 10/13 San Ramon Valley, 10/20 Foothill-Pleasanton, 10/27 at Monte Vista–Danville, 11/3 Clayton Valley Charter.

Mt. Diablo (Div. 4) – 8/25 W 39-28 Deer Valley, 9/1 W 40-14 Mission-San Francisco, 9/8 at Oakland Tech, 9/15 San Lorenzo, 9/22 at Castlemont-Oakland, 10/6 Ygnacio Valley, 10/13 at Alhambra, 10/21 Berean Christian, 10/28 at College Park, 11/4 Concord.

Northgate (Div. 3) – 8/25 L 10-35 at Reno, 9/1 L 42-44 Tamalpais-Mill Valley, 9/8 Twelve Bridges-Lincoln, 9/22 at Miramonte, 9/29 at Las Lomas, 10/6 at Acalanes, 10/13 Campolindo, 10/20 at College Park, 10/27 Alhambra, 11/3 Benicia.

Ygnacio Valley (Div. 6) – 8/26 L 6-34 Alameda, 9/1 L 0-38 at Lower Lake, 9/9 Kennedy-Richmond, 9/15 Washington-San Francisco, 9/23 at Galileo-San Francisco, 9/29 at Pinole Valley, 10/6 at Mt. Diablo, 10/13 Concord, 10/20 at Alhambra, 10/27 Berean Christian.