Storied program surprises even self with surprising dominating performance while taking second straight CIF Open Division Bowl title.
CARSON, Calif. - Dylan Wynn walked off the field, went to the bench, took in all the surroundings and sat in disbelief.
Dylan Wynn always speaks his mind.
Photo by Louis Lopez
No, unlike everyone else, he wasn't overwhelmed by
De La Salle (Concord)'s shocking 48-8 victory over the nation's No. 4 team Servite for the CIF State Open Division title.
He was overtaken by being overtaken with emotion.
The 6-foot-2, 246-pound two-way Oregon State-bound lineman and three-year standout began to weep.
As if Home Depot Center needed any more moisture. This was the fifth and final game of the two-day bowl event and after 48 hours of steady rain, the floor of the full-time soccer facility was the world's largest slip-and-slide.
"My teammates were jumping around celebrating and here I am crying," Wynn said. "I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't even sure why I was doing it. But it hit me - it was over. My time as a Spartan player was over."
But what a way to go out.
For Wynn and all the rest of De La Salle's seniors.
For those who have followed the program during its storied history - six mythical national championships, the famed 151-game win streak and this, the team's third state bowl championship and second straight - Saturday's victory may have been the Spartans' most shocking and complete performance.
That's covering a lot impressive performances in Bob Ladouceur's Hall of Fame career. The state's leader in victories - 371 against 24 losses and three ties - Ladouceur couldn't pinpoint a better one-day effort.
"That was pretty darned complete," he said. "Of course we weren't anticipating that score but I was very confident in our guys coming in. I have some great coaches who do a great job and I seem to get the credit for it. We've been doing this for a while. But this group won this title a long time ago with all the work they put in.
"Today's game, yes, pretty incredible."
The numbers are staggering. Total yards: De La Salle 527, Servite 197. First downs: 23-8, including 14-0 in the first half. Servite didn't earn a first down until midway through the third quarter and by that time the Spartans were long gone, up 42-0.
Lucas Dunne rushed 28 times for 242 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 35 rushing scores for the year and a school mark 40 TDs overall. Junior tailback
Joe Te'o added 165 yards on nine carries including a 68-yard TD on the first play of the second half, letting folks know De La Salle wasn't going to celebrate early or its absolutely perfect first half.
Lucas Dunne didn't let the conditions slow him down rushing for 240 yards and four touchdowns.
Photo by Louis Lopez
"I told them (at halftime) they were a half away from a state championship," Ladouceur said. "Other than that, there wasn't much to say."
Such numbers and dominance isn't at all foreign to the program, but what set this utterly apart was it came against one of the nation's top teams that had played one of the nation's toughest schedule and won 14 straight games this season and 25 overall.
This one was supposed to be a bullish, drag-out, kick, scratch and brawl to the finish battle royale between mirrored programs.
Instead, it was an ugly, one-sided beat down that became almost unbearable to watch.
"Honestly, I couldn't really believe what I was seeing," De La Salle longtime defensive coordinator Terry Eidson said. "I kept looking on the field, looking at the scoreboard and really was amazed."
Servite's Troy Thomas, truly one of the state's rising and respected coaches, offered no explanation but a nod - borderline bow - to De La Salle. His team (14-1) had defeated at least a half-dozen state-ranked teams and three nationally-ranked squads, including two undefeated Top 25 undefeated squads the last two weeks, Alemany and Mission Viejo.
"They're a special group," he told Ben Enos of the Contra Costa Times. "They obviously know how to win and we're hoping we can get there someday."
But on this day, the way the Spartans played, it's hard to imagine any team could have hung with them.
"We were awfully dialed in," De La Salle linebacker and Boise State-bound standout
Blake Renaud said.
Said Dunne, an undersized 5-8, 173-pound senior without a scholarship offer: "For many of us, this was our last football game period. We weren't going to let up."
Said Wynn: "It was pretty simple game plan: Go, go, go. Stop them and score. Stop them and score. Stop them and score."
And De La Salle made it look just that simple, scoring on their first six possessions while not allowing Servite a first down.
Bart Houston sneaks in for one of two TDs.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Dunne scored on runs of 4, 37 and 4 yards. Junior quarterback
Bart Houston added TD sneaks of 1 and 2 yards. And Te'o broke off the long one to start the third quarter. The offensive line of tackles
Luke Simeona and
Scott Walsh, guards
Luc Hamilton and Wynn, center
Josh Cabral and tight ends Renaud and
Connor Peters was dominant, blowing off a larger front and allowing Dunne and company to race down field unscathed.
Servite only had one turnover - an interception by sophomore
Michael Hutchings - and junior linebacker
Michael Barton led the De La Salle defense with 11 tackles.
With those two, Houston, Te'o, and three other underclass starters will return next year when the Spartans figure to produce another national juggernaut.
But this one was to savior and to preserve and serve as benchmark for future performances.
"It was almost perfect," Barton said.
Almost?
"They scored in the last quarter," Barton said.
NOTES: Evidently, Northern Californians either enjoy the wet weather or Southern Californians deplore it. After a humbling start - the Bishop's 40-14 win over Brookside Christian in the small school division - NorCal took the next four games, matching its total for the four previous seasons combined. ... SoCal still holds a 13-8 lead. ... De La Salle can add a seventh mythical national title as it leapfrogged
five schools to capture MaxPreps' Freeman computer-generated No. 1 spot. ... De La Salle's victory was the last prep football game played in 2010. ... Dunne, who wasn't guaranteed the starting spot a week before the season, finished with 1,902 yards, about 100 short of the school record.
Dunne dives inside the pylon for one of his four touchdowns.
Photo by Louis Lopez
De La Salle 19 16 7 6 - 48
Servite 0 0 0 8 - 8
First quarterDLS - Dunne 4 run (Lyon kick), 9:32
DLS - Dunne 37 run (kick failed,) 6:45
DLS - Houston 1 run (run failed), 3:39
Second quarterDLS - Houston 2 run (Dunne run), 9:15
DLS - Dunne 4 run (Dunne run), 2:41
Third quarterDLS - Te'o 68 run (Lyon kick), 11:49
Fourth quarterDLS - Dunne 1 run (kick failed), 9:54
S - Pittman 4 run (Abeyta pass from Pittman), 5:53
Team StatisticsFirst downs: DLS 23, S 8
Rushes-yards: DLS 57-475, S 32-107
Passing: DLS 3-5-0-62, S 5-16-1-90
Total yards: DLS 527, S 197
Penalties: DLS 7-42, S 8-60
Fumbles-lost: DLS 3-1, S 2-0
Time of possession: DLS 28:50, S 19:10
Individual statisticsRushingDLS: Dunne 28-242, Te'o 9-165, Demattei 7-32, Houston 8-26, Vitale 1-7, Parros 2-6, Santelises 1-1, team 1-(-2). Servite: Derosa 9-50, Pittman 12-40, Felton 9-14, Etaki 2-3.
PassingDLS: Houston 3-5--0-52. S: Pittman 5-16-1-90.
ReceivingDLS: Renaud 1-23, Te'o 1-16, Shapiro 1-13. S: Abeyta 1-50, Tejeda 2-28, Johnson 2-12.
TacklesDLS: Barton 11, Winn 4, Renaud 4. S: Niklas 14, Inman 8, Jones 7.
Records: DLS 14-0, Servite 14-1.
