De La Salle football faces daunting test against Mater Dei
CONCORD, CA (Dec. 11, 2024) — There’s a cliché in sports that a player or coach doesn’t want to say something before a game that might inspire their opponent. It’s called “bulletin board material” because that team will put the quote on their bulletin board to remind its players of that real or imagined slight.
De La Salle’s football team has enjoyed unprecedented success over the decades and just recently edged long-time rival Pittsburg 10-7 to win its 32nd straight North Coast Section football championship to qualify for this Saturday’s CIF State Open Division bowl game against National No. 1 team Mater Dei.
Coach Justin Alumbaugh doesn’t need to tell his players anything to get them excited for this ultimate game in California high school football that is the team’s goal at the start of every season. However, when CalPrep.com this week posted the Spartans as 41-point underdogs that is something which might rev up the Concord school’s players just a little extra.
That comes on the heels of an article esteemed Los Angeles Times prep sportswriter Eric Sondheimer penned Dec. 2 asking “Is the state’s Open Division football title game viable for the future?”
He queried that with Mater Dei and their rivals Saint John Bosco winning the past seven Open Division bowl games—the last three over Serra-San Mateo by a combined 124-7 score—should the North vs. South finale become a thing of the past.
Prior to this SouCal domination which began in 2016, De La Salle won four straight CIF Open titles from 2009-12 and six of seven overall through 2015. Over the years DLS has lost three State finals to Bosco and two to MD.
History
During its historic 151-game winning streak from 1992-2003 prior to the State football playoffs starting in 2006, the Spartans played Mater Dei three years in a row, winning all three. The Spartans have been in a State Bowl Game every year but 2021, a record unmatched by any school in any division of the state playoffs. On the downside, DLS has lost its last six State bowl games.
Bosco and Mater Dei have not only dominated the State championship game—beating De La Salle for the first four of those seven consecutive titles—but the better of those two schools is usually crowned as America’s top team as well. Mater Dei sits atop the national polls entering Saturday night’s finale at Saddleback College while their Concord foes are 22nd and Bosco seventh.
With transfers of high school players so prevalent, especially in SouCal during the past decade, Bosco and Mater Dei each typically have several dozen future Division I players on their packed rosters whereas NorCal powers like DLS, Pitt, Folsom and Serra might have a handful of such standouts.
De La Salle and Mater Dei are each undefeated at 12-0 with Mater Dei holding a pair of wins over Bosco. Alumbaugh was on hand two weeks ago when Mater Dei defeated Bosco 31-24 to take the SouCal title and set up the matchup with the Spartans.
De La Salle needed runningback Dominic Kelley’s heroics in the fourth quarter at rain-soaked Diablo Valley College almost three weeks ago to defeat Pittsburg for the 34th consecutive time—-usually in NCS playoff games—-since that now famous 1991 Section title game when the Pirates handed the Spartans their last defeat by a NCS team.
Since then, De La Salle has 277 wins and one tie to Clayton Valley when facing an NCS foe.
Pittsburg will be going to the CIF Division 1-AA bowl game this Friday after stunning Folsom by overcoming a 21-point deficit in the Regional Bowl game last weekend. Earlier this season Pitt traveled south and showed they could hang with Bosco for a good part of the game before losing 35-14.
Other local teams drop NCS openers
Clayton Valley Charter was seeded seventh in the Open/Division I playoffs drawing Pittsburg in its opening game and losing 35-14 at Pirate Stadium to end the Ugly Eagles season.
In Division III, Northgate was No. 3 and led San Leandro 24-17 going to the fourth quarter in Walnut Creek before a TD and two-point conversion stopped the Broncos six-game winning streak 25-24.
No. 7 College Park gave second seed and eventual Division IV champions American Canyon all it could handle but came up short 7-0.
The other local school in the playoffs, Mt. Diablo, traveled to Richmond and fell 42-18 to No. 2 Salesian College Prep.
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.