De La Salle Hall of Fame class includes coach, 3 athletes from Concord, Clayton
CONCORD, CA (Sept. 27, 2024) – There will be a distinctive local feel Oct. 26 on the school campus when the De La Salle Athletic Hall of Fame inducts the class of 2024 which includes basketball coach Frank Allocco of Concord and local athletes Matt Biel, Clayton Tanner and Damon Jenkins. The Concord parochial all-boys school has enjoyed unprecedented athletic success among all Northern California high schools and has another star-studded hall of fame class to honor also including athletes Scooter Barry and Rudy Ramirez, coach Scott Hirsch and the 2009 wrestling and 2010 football teams.
2024 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees
Richard “Scooter” Barry (Basketball, Class of 1984) was a two-year varsity basketball player and a senior captain. He earned first-team All-Catholic Athletic League selection helping the Spartans post a 20-7 record his senior year. Barry played at Kansas (1984-89), averaging 15 minutes per game for a team that went to the NCAA Final Four in 1987 and was the Sixth Man on the 1988 NCAA championship team. He was Midwest Regional MVP after scoring 25 points in a win over a Kansas State squad that featured NBA Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond to advance to the Final Four. Son of NBA superstar Rick Barry, he joins brothers Jon and Brent in the DLS Hall. Scotter Barry played professionally for 17 years in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Australia and the United States.
Matt Biel (Swimming, 2004) was De La Salle’s first-ever individual North Coast Section swimming champion. In 2004 he won the 200 and 500 freestyle at the NCS Championships. It took 18 years for De La Salle to produce another two-time NCS individual champ. Biel’s high school swimming resume also included being team captain and top individual point scorer at the 2003 and 2004 NCS meets. During his senior year at De La Salle, he represented America in internationally as a member of the US National Junior Team. Later that year, he was recognized as USA Swimming’s Male Pacific Swimmer of the Year. The Clayton native still holds two school records. Two months after graduation, he became the first DLS swimmer in the United States Olympic Trials, competing in the 2004 and 2008 Trials. Biel was a four-year letter winner at the University of Arizona and was a member of Arizona’s first-ever Division 1 2008 national championship swim team.
Damon Jenkins (Football, 2003) was a three-year starter at defensive back helping the Spartans to three consecutive undefeated seasons. In his senior year, Jenkins was rated as one of the best cornerbacks in the country and ranked as 48th best prospect in the West and 19th cornerback in the nation by Rivals.com. A three-star recruit who committed to Fresno State, he was a two-time first-team all-BVAL selection, earned top 100 recognition by the Contra Costa Times and was named All-State Student by Sports Magazine. At Fresno State, he played for the Bulldogs from 2004-07 and in his junior season led the team in interceptions, returning one 56 yards for a touchdown against No. 14 Boise State. Jenkins is in his third season as a teacher and head varsity football coach at Kerman High.
Rudy Ramirez (Wrestling, 2004) was a Bay Valley Athletic League individual champion all four years. He had four top-5 finishes at the NCS Championships, including individual titles in 2003 (112 pounds) and 2004 (119). He qualified for the CIF State Championships three times. As a senior, he finished the year with a fifth-place finish at CIF meet. He competed at the collegiate level at Fresno State. He returned to De La Salle as an assistant coach from 2007-11.
Clayton Tanner (Baseball, 2006) was a two-year all-league starting pitcher in 2005 and 2006, posting a 15-5 overall record with a 1.35 earned run average and 167 strikeouts in 124.1 innings. As a senior, the Concord pitcher had a 1.39 ERA and a 10-2 record with 106 strikeouts. His junior year, Tanner was 5-3 with a 1.31 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Following his senior season, he was first-team all-BVAL, first-team all-State by Cal-High Sports, third-team All-America by Baseball America and ranked as the 99th best prospect nationally by Perfect Game. He turned down a college scholarship after the San Francisco Giants selected him in the third round of the 2006 MLB Draft. He eventually pitched for the Giants in spring training. Born in Australia, Tanner played for Australia in the 2011 World Cup and 2013 World Baseball Classic. He’s the pitching coach for De La Salle.
Frank Allocco (Basketball Coach 1997-2015) spent 18 years as De La Salle’s varsity basketball coach. During that time, he led the Spartans to 17 league titles, nine NCS championships, three NorCal crowns and two State championships. The long-time Concord resident guided De La Salle to a 487-71 record including a 229-7 league record. Combined with his 167 coaching victories at Northgate High (1991-97), he was the 27th coach in state history to win 600 games (654-99), reaching that milestone faster than any coach in history. He ended his 24-year high school coaching career with an 87 percent winning percentage, second all-time in California and is the only coach to win state championship at two schools. Over 60 of his players moved on to play college basketball. Allocco serves as the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations at the University of San Francisco.
Scott Hirsch (Water Polo Coach (1993-2013)/Assistant Swim Coach 2022-24) The 1982 grad became water polo coach in 1993 and in his first six years the Spartans won four league championships. He guided DLS to three straight Section championships in 2000-02 and another in 2004. He was selected 2006 NCS Honors Coach for boys water polo. In his 21 seasons as De La Salle head coach, he guided the Spartans to 13 league titles and four NCS championships. He also served as an assistant for De La Salle swimming (2022-24). He was Carondelet swim coach in 1986 and again from 1990-99. He guided the Cougars to an NCS Championship in 1998 and was named 1999 NCS Honors Coach for girls swimming he coached future Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin. He has been teaching De La Salle math students for the past 35 years.
2009 Wrestling team had a 10-0 meet record, which included NCS Duals, East Bay Athletic League and NCS Team Championships. The team won the school’s first NCS wrestling championship, sparking the Spartans to win 14 of the last 15 NCS team titles. NCS champions were Vinny Moita (103), Tyler Sheridan (152) and Luke Sheridan (160). Nick Jansen (171) finished second, Justin Walker (189) and Jordan Felix (215) fifth, Alex Abono (125) sixth and Curtis Seigfried (135) eighth at NCS. Moita, Jansen and the Sheridan brothers advanced to state meet, collecting enough points for De La Salle to finish 17th overall with Moita finishing third and Tyler Sheridan seventh. At the time, Moita’s third-place finish marked the best individual state finish for any De La Salle wrestler.
2010 Football team stands as one of the all-time best the school has seen, posting a 14-0 record and finished as the No. 1 team in the country by MaxPreps. The Spartans outscored their opponents 656-139, winning by an average margin of victory of 46.8 to 9.9 per game. The squad defeated Serra, Saint Mary’s-Stockton, Bishop Gorman-Las Vegas and Servite, which was ranked No. 1 in the country that season. The 48-8 victory over Servite in the state championship game completed the Spartans’ perfect season, marking back-to-back state titles for De La Salle. The team included 16 players who went on to play college football, including future NFL players Austin Hooper and Dylan Wynn. Five others went on to play college rugby and another moved on to track and field in college. Visit dlshs.org for more information.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.