No. 8 De La Salle spoils No. 1 Centennial's possible national title bid in California title game

Video: De La Salle vs. Centennial - First quarter

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The nation's No. 1 team got the defensive effort it wanted and then some.  Unfortunately for Centennial (Corona, Calif.), De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) got the stops it needed.

Centennial, trying to win its first mythical national title, converted just two of seven fourth-down tries — failing twice by mere inches — as No. 8 De La Salle captured a 28-21 CIF Open Division championship, its seventh bowl title in 10 years.

"We make a couple of those and it may be a different result," Centennial coach Matt Logan said. "But we didn't. We moved the ball. We just didn't capitalize."

Antoine Custer rushed for 18 times for 117 yards and two scores, and Anthony Sweeney threw for a score and ran in the game-winning 26-yard touchdown with 9 minutes, 57 seconds remaining.

But it was the play of De La Salle's defense, led by the ferocious line play of Boss Tagaloa (10 tackles), Damon Wiley (eight) and Devin Asiasi, that proved decisive. J.J. Taylor rushed for 169 yards and quarterback Anthony Catalano accounted for 191 yards and three scores for Centennial, which came in averaging 535 yards and 56 points a game.

The Spartans, however, stopped the Huskies when it counted most. It lifted them to their sixth bowl title in seven years.

This was the fifth state bowl meeting between the national juggernauts and fourth De La Salle win. All have been highly competitive. This one might have been most intense. It definitely sparked the most intense celebration for the Spartans, partially because they considered themselves underdogs. 

"That game was definitely a slugfest," De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. "Two teams kept dishing it out. They kept coming back and we kept coming back. They didn't give in but our boys didn't want to let this one go. It was a real gutsy effort. It was really gratifying as a coach to watch how hard they played and how physical they played."

The game was in stark contrast to last year's game, a 63-42 De La Salle victory in a barn-burner that featured more than 1,100 yards.

This one had a measly 680, including just 303 by De La Salle, which finished 13-1. Centennial (15-1) managed just 377 yards.

Centennial's loss leaves the door open for either No. 2 Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.) or No. 3 Katy (Texas) to claim the mythical crown. De La Salle, meanwhile, won its 13th straight game after opening the season with a disappointing loss to Trinity (Euless, Texas).

After the trophy ceremony, Alumbaugh embraced former De La Salle head coach Bob Ladouceur, now an assistant. It was an emotional win for the Spartans largely because of the challenge Centennial presented.

"They are one of the best teams in the country year in and year out and they always play like it," Alumbaugh said. "Coach Logan does an incredible job. It took everything we had to put them down. I'm just glad our guys had enough in the tank."

Tied at 21 at the end of the third quarter, De La Salle's strong safety Nick Lopez intercepted a Catalano pass and returned it to the Centennial 27. One play later, Sweeney faked an inside hand-off, broke left, slipped two tackles and sprinted 26 yards for a touchdown to go up 28-21 with 9:57 left in the game.

"I've never scored a bigger touchdown," Sweeney said. "But that wasn't my touchdown. That was our touchdown and I celebrated because of how hard we worked to get here. I can't describe what an amazing feeling this is."

Said Lopez of his interception: "We've been working hard all week on their double slants and I just read it. I'm so glad I could make that play for my seniors."

Tied at 7-7 at halftime, Centennial took advantage of a Sweeney fumble to take a 14-7 lead on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Catalano to Sammonte Bonner. Sweeney was hit by Garviea Freeny and Desmond Williams recovered at the De La Salle 22.

De La Salle came right back on a 37-yard TD pass from Sweeney to an absolutely wide open Jonathan Harvey, to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:20 left in third. The Spartans drew Centennial offside on 4th-and-5 on their own 43 to extend the drive. Three plays later, Sweeney faked a dive and found Harvey absolutely wide open.

Catalano really got it going on the next drive, accounting for all 59 yards, 49 on the ground before finding gimpy Javon McKinley on a 10-yard touchdown slant, making it 21-14. It was the first catch of the game for one of the nation's top receivers. It took just one play for De La Salle to tie it up as Antoine Custer burst through a big hole on the left side and sprinted untouched 63 yards, to make it 21-21 with 4:07 left in the third quarter.

J.J. Taylor had 106 yards rushing in the first half, including a 46-yard jaunt on Centennial's first possession, but the Spartans kept the Arizona-bound back out of the end zone.

In last year's shootout, Taylor had 14 carries for 133 yards but didn't score a touchdown.

His 46-yard run put the ball at the De La Salle 19, but the Spartans held on downs. They then went on a massive 17 play, 82-yard drive capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Custer.

Centennial is all too familiar with Custer, who had 31 carries for 273 yards and four scores in last year's title game.

On his third-and-goal TD run, he took a pitch from Sweeney, avoided a tackler behind the line of scrimmage and scampered in the end zone.

The scoring drive took 7:20 and kept Centennial's explosive offensive off the field.

The Huskies showed that off, but like De La Salle, needed to take a boatload of plays to get into the end zone. At least by these two teams' standards.

Centennial went 65 yards in 11 plays before fleet Catalano zig-zagged through the De La Salle secondary for a 33-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 7-7 with 11:08 left in the half.

Centennial held De La Salle to back-to-back 3-and-outs and Centennial drove 62 yards, but on fourth-and-one, Devin Asiasi and Logan Nonies stopped Taylor cold.

De La Salle 28, Centennial 21
Centennial  0  7  14  0  — 21
De La Salle 7  0  14  7  — 28

First quarter
DLS - Custer 4 run (Jackson Walsh kick), 2:59

Second quarter
C - Catalano 33 run (Jake Perez kick), 11:08

Third quarter
C - Bonner 8 pass from Catalano (Perez kick), 9:28
DLS - Harvey 48 pass from Sweeney (Walsh kick), 6:20
C - McKinley 10 pass from Catalano (Perez kick), 4:24
DLS - Custer 63 run (Walsh kick), 4:07

Fourth quarter
DLS - Sweeney 26 run (Walsh kick), 9:57

RUSHING
C - Taylor 29-169, Catalano 11-103, Miles Reed 5-17. Totals 45-289. DLS - Custer 18-117, Sweeney 14-71, Hernandez 11-40. Total 44-227.

PASSING
C - Catalano 12-23-0-88. DLS - Sweeney 3-7-0-76.

RECEIVER
C - Taylor 5-43, McKinley 3-28, Jackson 3-9, Bonner 1-8. DLS - Harvey 1-48, Asiasi 1-21, Custer 1-7.

TACKLES
C - Zach Brumbaugh 12, Camron Pitcher 11, D. Williams 8. DLS - Keanu Andrade 11, Boss Tagaloa 10, Logan Nonies 8, Damon Wiley 8.

TEAM STATS
First downs: C 16, DLS 12
Total yards: C 377, DLS 303
Turnovers: C 1, DLS 1
Penalties: C 4-38, D 3-20
Time of possession: C 25:38, DLS 22:22
Third down conversion: C 8 of 17, DLS 5-12
Fourth down conversion: C 2-7, DLS 2-2