CIF Bowl previews: De La Salle vs. Servite

OPEN DIVISION: De La Salle (Concord) 13-0 vs. Servite (Anaheim) 14-0 at Home Depot Center (Carson), 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

FACTS AND STATS
Rankings — De La Salle: Nationally, No. 6 MaxPreps Freeman, No. 10 Xcellent 25; State, No. 3. Servite: Nationally, No. 4 MaxPreps Freeman, No. 8 Xcellent 25; State, No. 1.

Notable Alums — De La Salle: Amani Toomer (NFL), Maurice Jones-Drew (NFL), Brent Barry (NBA), D.J. Williams (NFL). Servite: Ryan Garko (MLB), Steve Beuerlein (NFL), Blaine Nye (NFL).

Leading Rushers — De La Salle: Lucas Dunne (191 carries-1,662 yards-31 touchdowns), Joe Te'o (78-733-10). Servite: Malik Felton (158-1,336-17).

Leading Passers — De La Salle: Bart Houston (99 of 148, 1,863 yards, 20 TDs, 4 interceptions). Servite: Cody Pittman (89-134-1,272-6-1)

Leading Receivers — De La Salle: Lucas Shapiro (30 catches-622 yards-6 TDs). Servite: Robert Abeyta (32-403-5).

Points per game (allowed) — De La Salle 46.7 (10.1), Servite 31.2 (12.6).


OVERVIEW
De La Salle star two-way lineman Dylan Wynn will make his third straight trip to Carson this weekend and though familiarity helps, facing a strong, sound, battle-tested foe like Servite will not.

"I won't be getting much sleep this week," he said.

Last season, when Servite prepared for its first bowl appearance, linebacker Matthew Inman said he could barely walk. "I was sick to my stomach I was so nervous," he said.

Now facing De La Salle of 151-game-win streak and six-mythical-national-championship fame, Inman said this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"De La Salle is a great program and everybody has heard of them," Inman told MaxPreps' Leland Gordon after his team's 41-27 Southern Section Pac-5 championship win over nationally ranked and previously unbeaten Mission Viejo. "I'd like to get a shot at those guys just to say I did it."

This is indeed a matchup both sides and much of the state has been anticipating for weeks, if not months. This is the first meeting ever between the two proud programs with rich and storied traditions.

Both are private, all-boys Catholic schools coached by highly successful and strong-willed men.

De La Salle's Bob Ladouceur, 54, has won more games than any coach in California and boasts a hard-to-fathom 370-24-3 mark. With a 49-21 win over California (San Ramon) last week, the Spartans won their 19th straight North Coast Section title and 26th overall. They are the defending Open Division champs following a 28-14 win over Crenshaw.

"They're definitely a program that we've studied and tried to learn from and have a lot of respect for," Servite coach Troy Thomas told MaxPreps correspondent Martin Henderson. "If you're a high school football coach and you haven't looked at what they're doing, you're crazy. Playing De La Salle is a great opportunity for our program."

Thomas won a title as a player at Crespi (Encino) and a strong run as head coach at the same school before taking over Servite in 2005. He pushed the Friars near the elite of the Southern Section before finally breaking through last season and taking both the Pac-5 and CIF State Bowl Division II title.

Servite has won 25 straight games.

"(Thomas) obviously is doing a great job down there and his teams are extremely well coached, balanced and make few mistakes," De La Salle longtime defensive coordinator Terry Eidson said. "I think it's a great matchup for a bowl game and it's going to draw a nice crowd."

De La Salle's numbers will wow you more than Servite this season, but no one in the country has played a tougher schedule than the Friars. They have victories over San Diego Section champ Oceanside (31-7) and state and Southern Section powers La Habra (23-0), Edison (16-9), Mater Dei (21-14), Santa Margarita (17-10), Crespi (40-16), Alemany (28-21) and Mission Viejo.

Few, aside from that heavy fray, were slouches either.

"They know how to win and find a way to get it done," Ladouceur said. "That's a very strong-willed team."

And though Servite has beaten all comers, it's hard to adjust to De La Salle's quick-hitting veer attack.

"Our kids (our) excited," Thomas said. "I'm excited. We've been watching them forever."

DE LA SALLE OFFENSE/SERVITE DEFENSE
Renowned for its rushing attack and small, quick, athletic quarterbacks, the Spartans rely on signal-caller from a different mold. Gangly 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior Houston is really a drop-back quarterback who has molded himself into an effective runner and option quarterback.

Houston took the starter's role early last year and led the Spartans after a rough 1-2 start all the way to the state bowl championship. He was asked not to make mistakes with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers last season, but this year he's expected to make plays and he's been almost flawless with a nice 20-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

The big concern for the Spartans heading into the year is who would replace Terron Ward and Tyler Anderson, both now at Oregon State. Physically unimposing 5-8, 173-pound Dunne stepped into the lead role and hasn't looked back, rushing for 1,631 yards and 31 touchdowns. He's also a big threat catching the ball.

Junior Te'o (5-10, 193) has improved steadily throughout the season and rushed for 10 touchdowns. Houston's favorite target is Shapiro (6-3, 202), a long, physical receiver with great hands. As usual, De La Salle's line is small but effective led by first-team All-leaguers Scott Walsh (6-0, 223), Luke Simeona (6-0, 212) and Wynn.

Defense is definitely the strength of the Friars, who have given up less than two touchdowns a game against some of the highest-powered offenses in the state.

Their defensive front is a stone wall and will tower over the Spartans. They are led by one of the Southern Section's top two-way talents, 6-6, 255-pound Troy Niklas, who is recruited by everyone in the country. Jody Thomas (5-8, 255) and Wyatt Baker (6-3, 265) are other top run-stoppers.

If Dunne or Te'o reach the second tier, Inman (5-10, 220) is the team's leading tackler along with superb junior Butch Pauu (5-11, 215).

The secondary has also been a strength, led by Karlton Dennis and Jordan Jones. The Friars intercepted USC-bound Mater Dei quarterback Max Wittek four times and limited him to 159 passing yards in 30 attempts during a 21-14 victory.

Servite doesn't do anything fancy defensively: "We just do our job," Niklas said.

SERVITE OFFENSE/DE LA SALLE DEFENSE
Servite lost one of Orange County's top quarterbacks Cody Fajardo to graduation and he was replaced by  Pittman, a 5-10, 180-pound junior who has been efficient while completing 66 percent of his passes for almost 1,300 yards. He's thrown just six touchdown passes but more importantly - and impressively - has thrown just one interception.

How Pittman may help Servite most is with his legs. He not only is adept at avoiding pressure, but also has rushed for 543 yards.

Pittman and the Friars received a huge and must needed offensive injection when Malik Felton returned to running back after being moved to wide receiver to start the season.

The 5-7, 170-pound senior didn't get his first start until Oct. 22 and has rushed for at least 138 yards in every game (eight) but once. He has 1,336 yards and 17 touchdowns, including 184 yards and three scores against Mission Viejo. He also caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Pittman.

"He's got something inside of him and he's just trying to get out," Thomas said of Felton. "He has that special thing that running backs have."

Pittman spreads the ball all over the field, but Robert Abeyta is the only receiver with more than 400 yards receiving.

Defensively, the Spartans are led by two of the most tenacious and hard-hitting players in their program's history, three year starters Wynn (6-2, 246), an Oregon State recruit, and 6-2, 234-pound linebacker and Boise State-bound Blake Renaud.

"One is a big, lovable, energetic, joking-all-the-time personality," Eidson said of Wynn. "The other (Renaud) is just a quiet assassin."

Michael Barton (6-0, 200) and sophomore Michael Hutchings (6-0, 182) are two other undersized, but very active linebackers. The line also isn't real big, but extremely quick.

The secondary is led by aptly named cornerback Antoine Pickett and safety Scott Herting, who have combined for seven interceptions. Devin Williams and Josh Jenkins have a combined 13 pass deflections.

EXTRA POINTS
De La Salle junior receiver Anthony Williams, plagued by injury most of the year, is the younger brother of former Oregon and Baltimore Ravens receiver Demetrius Williams. … De La Salle has not lost to a Northern California opponent since 1991, a span of 212 games. … The Spartans are 2-2 in state bowl games, winning in 2007 over Centennial-Corona and last season. They lost to Centennial in 2008 and to Canyon Country in 2006. They are the only program to appear in every bowl game. … Though De La Salle's kicker Preston Lyon (82 extra points in 88 tries and three field goals) is solid, Servite's Connor Loftus is clearly in a class of his own with a staggering 15 field goals to go along with 43 points. … Loftus is considered a Division I kicker. … Felton wears a blue rubber bracelet given to him by Santa Margarita coach Harry Welch, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Welch gave him the reminder bracelet at midfield after the two teams played and Felton offered prayers and good wishes. The two had never met before the encounter.