Mullen (Denver, Colo.) at De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
Mullen celebrates after its hard-fought opening week win against Valor Christian.
Photo by Paul DiSalvo
Mullen had extra time to prepare for De La Salle with a bye week following its 14-13 win over Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) on opening weekend. Snapping Valor Christian's 25-game winning steak -- and beating the team that won two straight 4A state titles and was favored to win it all in 5A this year -- was an impressive debut for Tom Thennel as the Mustangs' head coach.
De La Salle looked mid-season sharp in its 41-7 rout of state-ranked Bellarmine (San Jose) in the season-opener. Senior
Tiapepe Vitale was the offensive star with 183 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Spartans need a win over Mullen to reach the .500 mark in games versus its last 10 out-of-state opponents. Since 2002, De La Salle is 4-5 against non-California teams and has lost four of its last five.
Mitch Stephens: De La Salle 28, Mullen 14
Steve Montoya: De La Salle 35, Mullen 21
Stephen Spiewak: De La Salle 42, Mullen 17
Kevin Askeland: De La Salle 45, Mullen 14
Leland Gordon: De La Salle 28, Mullen 21
Jamie DeMoney: De La Salle 30, Mullen 7
