CONCORD – After recovering a fumble from Serra with 30 seconds left within the half and 94 yards of turf covered, De La Salle assistant coach Terry Eidson wanted the Spartans to take a knee.
DLS was 4 points ahead. Why take a risk?
Head coach Justin Alumbaugh relied on his gut feeling as an alternative. Senior running back Derrick Blanche carried the ball 46 yards and brought it to the halfway line.
The Spartans then called a brand new play – with the name “Serra” of all things – after which watched as veteran quarterback Toa Faavae drifted left and threw a 46-yard pass to Jayden Nicholas, who scored a touchdown and sent the Spartans into the break with an 11-point lead.
“That completely turned the game on its head,” Alumbaugh said. “It was a bitter fight and it was still a bitter fight afterward, but that changed the dynamic.”
After a stop early within the second half and one other touchdown, De La Salle was on its option to a 39-10 victory over the Padres on Friday night that cemented the Concord school's claim to be the perfect in Northern California.
Before the North Coast and Central Coast Section commissioners and a bunch of other CIF dignitaries watched, the Spartans ended Serra's 29-game winning streak against NorCal opponents and did so in typical De La Salle fashion.
The green and grey Veer offense produced 322 rushing yards, with Blanche running for 182 yards and a touchdown and Dominic Kelley adding two scores within the second half. Duece Jones-Drew had 39 rushing yards and Jefferson ran for 51 yards on three carries.
The Spartans also avenged their 28-0 loss at Serra a yr ago, a defeat that teammates, classmates and even teachers remembered for his or her star defensive back Jaden Jefferson ahead of the largest duel in Northern California.
“Yes, even my teachers motivated us,” Jefferson said. “We knew we had something to prove.”
Serra – who had just won a decisive victory at Folsom in Week 1 – simply didn't have the firepower to maintain up with a team hungry for revenge.
“Their plan was clearly to show Serra who was boss,” Walsh said. “They clearly wanted to take on Serra and see what they could do. We took a few jabs and I'm proud of them. We'll learn from them. But at the end of the day, that was a championship team over there.”
But they definitely gave their best for half a game.
With the assistance of a strong offensive line that included future college blockers Louis Apka and Elias Shamieh, the Padres were in a position to hold the ball on long, time-consuming drives, limiting the primary half to simply six possessions.
Led by tenacious running back Nano Latu (76 yards), the Padres struggled through 4 minutes of their six-play opening drive, which ended with a field goal by Smith.
But after De La Salle responded with a six-play drive – all runs – that ended with Faavae sneaking the ball in from the one-yard line, Serra never took the lead again.
The Padres had a probability to chop the deficit to at least one with a brief field goal after an eight-play drive, but De La Salle's offensive line deflected the ball.
Serra's defense, led by senior Jermaine Barrett, held De La Salle scoreless, however the offense couldn’t break through.
After taking the ball to the three-yard line on a nine-play drive, Serra had a probability to take the lead before getting the ball back early within the second half.
Then the quarterback and running back botched the handoff. De La Salle recovered the ball, scored on Faavae's moonball and went into halftime with a 14-3 lead, killing any momentum the Padres may need had.
The second half belonged to Matthew Johnson and the defense.
Johnson was motivated and reinvigorated after being pushed around in the primary half, he had two sacks and appeared to settle into Serra's backfield.
“Coach came in at halftime and gave us a little boost, and we came out with a different mindset,” Johnson said.
When the 6'5″ behemoth couldn't get to the quarterback, the speedy Jaden Jefferson shaped the sport in his own way.
The reigning North Coast Section 100-meter champion demonstrated his strength when he knocked the ball carrier's helmet off his head during a game-changing save on Serra's opening drive of the second half.
After Kelly scored two touchdowns in a row to make it 26-3, Serra's Iziah Singleton briefly took control of the situation with a 10-yard touchdown.
Then Jefferson broke free and left everyone behind with a 43-yard run, giving De La Salle a 32-10 lead with a minute left within the third quarter.
“Nobody can catch me,” Jefferson said. “My running back coach (Terron) Ward always says, 'Speed first, speed first.'”
The Padres won't have much time to lick their wounds.
Southern California powerhouse St. John Bosco – which defeated Serra 45-0 within the 2022 Open Division state championship game – and its countless supply of school talent are coming to the Peninsula.
“We'll see how brave we are,” said Walsh. “We're going up against the best team. They're an absolute machine.”
Meanwhile, De La Salle has probability of representing NorCal within the state's Open Division title game.
Of course, there's still an extended option to go until December, including a showdown next week against St. Francis in Concord. Three years ago, the Lancers ended De La Salle's 318-game winning streak against NorCal opponents, so Alumbaugh's team knows they're to not be taken calmly.
“St. Francis is a wonderful and strong team with special guys,” Jefferson said. “We can't let up.”
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