Everyone has a bad day. The De La Salle Spartans had exactly one during the 1990s. The date of Dec. 7, 1991 will live in infamy in Spartan lore as it is the day De La Salle lost to Pittsburgh 35-27 in the North Coast Section Class 3A championship game. It proved to be the only loss of the 1990s for the Spartans.
De La Salle, behind the decade's winningest coach Bob Ladouceur, dominated during the 1990s. It was a decade that also featured seminal talents like Randy Moss of West Virginia, Peyton Manning of Louisiana and Tony Gonzalez of California.
MaxPreps breaks down the rest of the decade below
Bob Ladouceur is the architect of the De La Salle dynasty, which lost one game during the entire 1990s decade.
File photo by Dennis Lee
Offense
WR — Randy Moss, DuPont (W.Va.), 1994
WR — Plaxico Burress,
Green Run (Virginia Beach, Va.), 1995
WR — Amani Toomer,
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 1991
TE — Tony Gonzalez,
Huntington Beach (Calif.), 1993
OL — Korey Stringer,
Harding (Warren, Ohio), 1991
OL — Willie Anderson,
Vigor (Prichard, Ala.), 1992
OL — Orlando Pace,
Sandusky (Ohio), 1993
OL — Kwame Harris,
Newark (Del.), 1999
OL — Leonard Davis,
Wortham (Texas), 1996
QB — Donovan McNabb,
Chicago Mt. Carmel (Chicago), 1993
QB — Peyton Manning,
Newman (New Orleans), 1993
RB — Fred Taylor,
Glades Central (Belle Glade, Fla.), 1993
RB — Shaun Alexander,
Boone County (Florence, Ky.), 1994
RB — Edgerrin James,
Immokalee (Fla.), 1995
K — Sebastian Janikowski,
Seabreeze (Daytona Beach, Fla.), 1996
DL — Julius Pepper,
Southern Nash (Bailey, N.C.), 1997
DL — Darrell Russell,
St. Augustine (San Diego), 1993
DL — Terrell Suggs,
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 1999
DL — LaRoi Glover,
Point Loma (San Diego), 1991
LB — Derrick Brooks,
Booker T. Washington (Pensacola, Fla.), 1990
LB — Andy Katzenmoyer,
Westerville South (Westerville, Ohio), 1995
LB — LaVar Arrington,
North Hills (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1996
DB — Charles Woodson,
Ross (Fremont, Ohio), 1994
DB — Ty Law,
Aliquippa (Pa.), 1991
DB — Sammy Knight,
Rubidoux (Jurupa Valley, Calif.), 1992
DB — Bryant Westbrook,
Oceanside (Calif.), 1992
P — Chris Kluwe,
Los Alamitos (Calif.), 1999
Winningest Program
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 125-1
Winningest Coach
Bob Ladouceur, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 125-1
Leading Rushers
9,839 — Mac Campbell,
Alexandria (Ala.), 1993-97
9,442 — Troy Fleming,
Battle Ground Academy (Franklin, Tenn.), 1995-98
9,193 — Brad Hocker,
Archie (Mo.), 1988-91
8,855 — Wes Danaher,
Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 1992-95
8,472 — Deangelo Evans,
Collegiate (Wichita, Kan.), 1992-95
8,443 — Larry Dupree,
Luther (Okla.), 1996-98
8,441 — Rodney Thomas,
Groveton (Texas), 1987-90
8,432 — James Mungro, East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 1993-96
8,224 — Derek Homer,
Fort Knox (Ky.), 1993-96
8,059 — Brandon Reese,
Texas School for the Deaf (Austin, Texas), 1996-99
Leading Passers
14,457 — J.R. House,
Nitro (W. Va.), 1995-98
13,902 — Brock Berlin,
Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, La.), 1997-99
12,575 — Brian Lindgren,
DeSales (Walla Walla, Wash.), 1995-98
12,167 — Tim Couch,
Leslie County (Hyden, Ky.), 1992-95
11,700 — Josh Booty, Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, La.), 1990-93
11,324 — Phillip Deas, Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, La.), 1993-96
11,110 — Earl Haniford,
Martinsville (Ind.), 1992-95
10,836 — Ernest Tinnen,
Cummings (Burlington, N.C.), 1990-93
10,656 — Josh Floyd,
Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.), 1996-98
10,489 — Kenton Evans,
Westwood (Memphis, Tenn.), 1993-95
Leading Scorers
928 — Mac Campbell, Alexandria (Ala.), 1993-97
884 — Brad Hocker, Archie (Mo.), 1988-91
862 — Jarrod Martin,
Celina (Texas), 1993-96
792 — Troy Fleming, Battle Ground Academy (Franklin, Tenn.), 1995-98
786 — DeAngelo Evans, Collegiate (Wichita, Kan.), 1992-95
772 — Bo Hundt,
Bremen (Ind.), 1990-92
761 — Ryan Brewer,
Troy (Ohio), 1995-98
750 — Jason Kilmer,
Washington (Okla.), 1995-97
726 — Richard Hall,
Wyoming (Cincinnati, Ohio), 1995-98
720 — Jeff Spikes,
Burkeville (Texas), 1991-94
Greatest Game
Tyler (Texas) 48, Plano East (Plano, Texas) 44, 1994
The Tyler-Plano East Texas Class 5A playoff matchup in 1994 has taken on a life of its own in the 25 years since the near historic comeback. The game returns over 2 million hits on Google and it has its own Wikipedia page. Known as much for the action on the field, the contest is also known for the Plano East announcers who broadcast the game, their colorful phrases ("Good gosh O'mighty, Joe Friday) and heartfelt disappointment ("God bless those kids. I'm sick, I wanna throw up") at the final result. Plano East trailed 41-17 with 3:03 remaining, but Plano East scored four straight times, thanks in part to three onside kick recoveries, and took a 44-41 lead with 24 seconds remaining. However, Tyler had the final say when Roderick Dunn returned the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown with 11 seconds remaining.
Top 10 Teams
1.
Hampton (Va.), 14-0, 1996
2.
St. Ignatius (Cleveland), 14-0, 1993
3. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 12-0, 1998
4.
Berwick (Pa.), 15-0, 1992
5. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 13-0, 1994
6. St. Ignatius (Cleveland), 14-0, 1995
7.
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 14-0, 1994
8.
Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, La.), 15-0, 1999
9.
Valdosta (Ga.), 14-0, 1992
10. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 14-0, 1996
