Mt. Diablo, De La Salle hope to end football seasons undefeated
CONCORD, CA — This weekend’s final round of high school football games finds two Concord schools hoping to complete undefeated—albeit shortened—seasons. And both opponents looking to spoil those unblemished records are crosstown rivals.
To no one’s surprise, one team is De La Salle (5-0), which has had 21 unbeaten seasons since 1982 in its legendary run over the past four decades. The Spartans visit Gonsalves Stadium Saturday evening to face defending CIF 2-AA State champion Clayton Valley Charter (4-1).
The other Concord school looking to wrap up the “2020 football season” in April of 2021 without a loss is none other than the oldest school in the area, Mt. Diablo (3-0). Even in this abbreviated season having the Red Devils go through a varsity football schedule without a loss is noteworthy since it has not happened since 1953.
Standing in the way of Mt. Diablo achieving a perfect season is Concord High (2-2) in a Diablo Athletic League rematch this Friday evening at Hart Fairclough Red Devil Stadium on the Mt. Diablo campus. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
A quick review of the record book by The Pioneer and checking with local coach and prep historian Herc Pardi and Red Devil Hall of Famer Marty Piscovich did not uncover an undefeated Red Devils team since the 1952 (7-0-1) and 1953 (8-0) seasons. Those teams featured future NFL star Dan Colchico (’52) and coaches Fairclough, Rod Franz and John Ralston (yes, that two-time Rose Bowl champion Stanford coach John Ralston).
Mt. Diablo assistant coach Robert Luna says, “This 2021 Red Devil team is very similar to those teams of the past. Their spirit, grit and that they will pound you! I am very proud to be part of the MDHS Red Devils football team. Friday night these players/coaches have decided that a new chapter will begin in Red Devils football history.”
Red Devil revival
Donald James is in his third season leading the Mt. Diablo football team. His first squad lost every game before the Red Devils captured a pair of victories in the 2019 season.
In this once-in-a-lifetime season of March-April football, the Red Devils have won their three DAL games based on a stingy defense that has allowed only two touchdowns.
Senior David Clark, who will be signing his National Letter of Intent to play college football, has played a key role along with junior safety Dantonio Jerome, who has six interceptions including a Pick 6 touchdown in a 40-12 win over Concord earlier this season.
Coach Paul Reynaud’s Minutemen beat Berean Christian 32-15 last Friday to setup a rematch with their long-time rivals and chance to play spoiler.
Mt. Diablo’s defense has two shutouts in three games, receiving strong play also from freshman linebacker Jeremiah Powell and senior defensive ends Eric Estrada and Jeremiah Cross, who had three sacks in the Concord game.
On offense, James lauded tight end Clark, junior linemen Angel Hernandez and Dylon Murray and runningback Jayden Kennedy, who has three touchdowns this season.
The head coach, who answers to DJ, says, “I hear the team is the talk of the town.”
Ugly Eagles host DLS
De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh took over for the legendary Bob Ladouceur for the 2013 season and recently coached his 100th game in charge of the football powerhouse April 1. His Spartans will be looking for a sixth successive victory this season when they visit Clayton Valley Charter.
Alumbaugh now has a record of 92-9, a Ladouceurian .910 winning percentage.
DLS has outscored its opponents 237-77 with seniors Dorian Hale, Nico Torrez, Mekhi Norfleet and Cal-bound Lu Hearns providing the bulk of the offense. In most of its games Alumbaugh has emptied his bench in order to get playing time for all the players who have stuck through the challenges of the pandemic-delayed season.
Clayton Valley Charter was moved to the East Bay Athletic League for football before the 2019 season. The Ugly Eagles of coach Tim Murphy received a rude welcome, losing all but one EBAL game. The team had the last laugh, however, when it went through the North Coast Section playoffs followed by wins in the Northern California and State Bowl games for the school’s first-ever State football title.
The CIF championship game was a 10-7 win over Aquinas of San Bernardino with the CVCHS defense carrying the day.
This season has been more of the same with Ugly Eagles defensive efforts holding their opponents to 15, 16, 14 and 14 points in their four wins including 3-0 in the EBAL including avenging 2019 defeats to San Ramon Valley, Monte Vista and California. The lone defeat was to unbeaten Monterey Trail in Elk Grove.
Last year, DLS beat Clayton Valley Charter 56-14, also in the final regular-season game for each team. Both Concord schools went on to win North Coast Section championships as the No. 1 seeds in their respective divisions. The Spartans captured their 28th straight NCS football title while the Ugly Eagles took their fourth Division II crown since 2012.
From 2016-18 NCS had an Open Division in the football playoffs. Both Concord powerhouses were among the four teams in the top bracket each year.
The CVCHS coach pointed to the leadership of his two “outstanding linebackers” Dylan Seeley and Lukas Linkhart. “We’ve been good about not giving up big plays and those guys play smart.”
Clayton Valley Charter has scored 91 points and allowed 83, mirroring the closeness of all its games. The team’s highest offensive output has been 21 points. De La Salle’s lowest score this season was 35 points against St. Mary’s – Stockton, so CVCHS will need all its defensive talents performing at their highest level to pull off an upset.
Ygnacio Valley pulls early plug on season
Coach Bryan Shaw regretfully called off the Ygnacio Valley High football season after just two games.
“One of my biggest concerns with the spring season was the ability for our players to be safe. Without touching a weight in a year and with players getting jobs to help their families remain in housing, our ‘off-season’ really impacted our numbers. Last year we had 70 players between our varsity and JV program. We averaged 17 to 21 most of this offseason,” Shaw explained.
“We lost two players during our scrimmage with Mt. Diablo and then we lost four more in a quarter and a half against Berean Christian. We didn’t finish that game due to the injuries. We showed up to practice after the Berean game with five linemen and 15 total players.
“That last game broke my heart. Kid got knocked unconscious. Two major knees and a dislocated shoulder,” Shaw said of their loss to Berean.
All of this following the 2019 season when Ygnacio Valley was 7-4 and went to the North Coast Section playoffs.
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.