No. 19 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) vs. No. 6 Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.)This is sixth year the CIF has played state championship games on the final weekend of the season. Each time, De La Salle has represented Northern California in one of the contests, including Saturday's Open Division title game. De La Salle is 12-1 this year,
losing only at then-nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) on Sept. 23. It's been since the 2008 Open Division championship that the Spartans last lost a game to a California opponent. They captured their 20th consecutive North Coast Section title with a 49-13 rout of San Ramon Valley (Danville) last weekend. Junior running back
Tiapepe Vitale had 181 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 19 carries.
This is Westlake's first appearance in a state championship game. The Warriors remained undefeated and earned their way to the Home Depot Center by
knocking off Marmonte League and crosstown rival Oaks Christian in the CIF-SS Northern Division championship game, 49-42. Standout juniors
Justin Moore and
Dashon Hunt (a UCLA commit) each had more than 100 rushing yards in the game. It was the first time since a season-opening 30-27 overtime win over Division II finalist Del Oro (Loomis) that Westlake won by fewer than 21 points.
Mitch Stephens: De La Salle 28, Westlake 21
Steve Montoya: De La Salle 42, Westlake 40
Stephen Spiewak: Westlake 24, De La Salle 21
Kevin Askeland: Westlake 48, De La Salle 14
Jamie DeMoney: De La Salle 31, Westlake 24
Jamie DeMoney is National Content Manager for XOS Digital PlayerOnDemand. He has covered high school sports and recruiting for more than 15 years.
Westlake will look to become the first California school to beat De La Salle since 2008.
Photos by Ernie Abrea/Louis Lopez.Graphic by Ryan Escobar
