MitchMash: De La Salle spotlight shouldn't neglect all the losses

Now that the De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football movie "When the Game Stands Tall" has a release date and trailer, much about the program will be scrutinized and highlighted.

See release date and "When the Game Stands Tall" trailer

One aspect that I've thought always has gone largely unnoticed has been the amount of loss the Spartans have suffered. Not on the field, but off. I believe that's largely because De La Salle, like any family, has kept its grief private.

The murder of Terrence Kelly will be covered quite thoroughly in the movie, as it should. There was truly nothing more tragic or horrific than that crime, and its timing, just before the end of De La Salle's 151-game win streak is, if nothing else, curious. 

For a school so known for its winning, the amount of loss for a 10-year stretch was sort of unfathomable. I wrote about it in this column that ran before De La Salle's first game against New Jersey and national power Don Bosco Prep.

Here is an encore submission of the true losses behind all the De La Salle football victories, a story that was originally published on Sept. 25, 2008. Click here to see the story or read below.
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THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT shines brightly on De La Salle’s football program again this week and with it gleams all the winning.

 

As ESPNU cameras prepare to roll for the Spartans’ first East Coast challenger – Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) – graphics will no doubt reveal the implausible 151-game win streak, the 16 consecutive section crowns and Coach Bob Ladouceur’s absurd 334-20-3 career record.

 

The three decades of victories and near perfection have led to mountains of acclaim and inspired books, documentaries and stories by some of our country’s most respected media outlets. There’s even been talk of a Hollywood blockbuster.

 

Between the highlight reel runs of Maurice Jones-Drew and bone-crushing tackles of D.J. Williams, between images of trophy ceremonies and championship celebrations, often what gets missed are the program’s defeats, the uncanny count of true-life loss.

 

Over the past two decades, De La Salle has been struck by an inordinate amount of human tragedy.

 

At least eight former football players have died during that period well before their time and in a variety of jarring ways.

 

Terrance Kelly was murdered. Russell Lawson and Nathan Kirkham were killed on motorcycles by drunk drivers. A drowning (Chris Vontoure), heart attack (Frank Wolf) and car accident (Mike Bastianelli) were other causes. Two others deaths (Anthony Vontoure and David Leaf) were more mysterious and exact causes are unclear.

 

Only one of the fallen eight had celebrated their 30^th birthday and most were early to mid-20s. Chris Vontoure and Kelly were teens.

 

“People often say we don’t experience a lot of loss at De La Salle, but that all depends on the context,” De La Salle principal Brother Christopher Brady said. “Simply by the scoreboard? No. But yes, most definitely we’ve had our fair share of loss.”

 

Patrick Walsh, a 1993 graduate, former star running back and assistant coach, said beyond the De La Salle ties he had personal contact with six of the diceased. Lawson was his idol, Chris Vontoure and Bastianelli teammates, and Kirkham played for him.

 

“It’s very strange,” he said. “We call each other it seems like every summer and say, ‘this happened again?’

 

“I mean American pop culture puts winners on a pedestal. We romanticize the victors. But there’s nothing truly romantic about dying young.”

 

Ladouceur, who sugar coats nothing, agrees.

 

“It’s not supposed to happen that way,” he said. “All the coaches are supposed to die first. It’s supposed to be, ‘there goes the old coach.’ “

 

Four days before Saturday’s big game, Ladouceur, 53, offered levity and meaning to a dark topic. He sidestepped death himself eight months before Kelly was slain, suffering from a heart attack on New Years Eve 2003.

 

As accomplished as they are as coaches, by all accounts Ladouceur and longtime assistant Terry Eidson are even better and more valuable as teachers. Unfortunately they’ve had to add grief counseling to their resume.

 

Forget the play-calling and halftime adjustments. Their finest and most meaningful moments have been holding the program together during the times of loss.

 

“They rarely miss the moment,” Brady said. “They’ve walked through these tragedies together with their student athletes. In the very best way they bury their souls with these kids, show their strength and vulnerabilities and by doing so really demonstrate support all in need.”

 

Ladouceur said the De La Salle community lends itself to healing. He’s leaned hard on his colleagues and faith.

 

“Everyone thinks they’re going to live forever,” he said. “Death is not something you want to think about. It hardly ever happens but when it pops up it surprises everyone and it’s hard to deal with because it’s not part of every day life.

 

“I think our team handles (tragedy) better than most because that’s what our school is based on. It’s a big community and we all believe something greater than what we are right now. That’s somewhat comforting and encouraging.”

 

Somewhat.

 

Burying the young is particularly harsh and a deep challenge of faith.

 

“I’ve never been a parent but mom and dads say there is nothing more tragic than burying your own children,” Brady said. “I think it’s the same for a coach.”

 

The most challenging moment for the program was probably the night of August 12, 2004 when the recently graduated and 2003 team MVP Kelly was murdered in the crime-ridden Iron Triangle neighborhood of Richmond.

 

As Kelly waited to give a friend a ride home, then 15-year-old Darren Pratcher shot down the unsuspecting football star, who had a plane ticket to Oregon waiting on his dresser. He had a full ride to Oregon and was scheduled to fly out the next morning. The exact motive for the slaying has never come out but jealousy was suspected.

 

“It was ‘Boyz in the Hood’ reincarnated,” Walsh said. “He was just hours away from escaping but violence wouldn’t let him go.”

 

The Spartans had a workout the following morning. Instead it was days of counseling.

 

“The first bus ride together for that team was to Terrance’s funeral,” Ladouceur said. “That was a weird feeling. Usually your first bus ride together is to your first game and you’re all psyched up.”

 

The team’s first game that season was also weird and one of its most famous.

 

The Spartans lost big on the field, 39-20 to Bellevue (Wash.) at Qwest Field in Seattle, breaking their famed 151-game win streak.

 

One of the program’s least gifted groups, De La Salle started 2-3-2 that year but rebounded with six straight wins, including a 41-0 North Coast Section championship victory over an undefeated Amador Valley (Pleasanton) squad that had outscored foes 402-163.

 

“These guys were truly the Phoenix,” Ladouceur said after the game. “They really rose from the ashes. I'm as proud of this team as any I've ever coached.”

 

De La Salle’s least successful team in terms of record was perhaps it’s most resilient, and in many ways triumphant.

 

“TK’s death no doubt had a devastating effect on that team, one that didn’t show itself and more than we gave credit for,” Ladouceur said. “You can’t squash something like that down.”

 

Ladouceur is no squasher. He deals with all matters head on. Honesty and commitment to one another is a base for De La Salle’s brotherhood and football program. It’s why the Spartans win. How they make adjustments. How they respond to loss.

 

Brady recalled when Ladouceur was asked to speak on campus shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

 

“He never questioned why it happened, but how were we going to deal with it,” Brady said. “The why was out of our control. He has applied the same thing to the tragedies in his football program. His immediate response has always been what can we do now? How do we get through? How do we make the very best?”

 

Ladouceur takes some solace in positives such as the Terrance Kelly Youth Foundation, started by Kelly’s father Landrin Kelly and which offers mentoring and coaching to young people at Richmond’s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.

 

He likely too would be encouraged by former players like Damon Jenkins, a Fresno State graduate and standout and former teammate of Kelly and Kirkham who stopped by Wednesday’s practice.

 

“It’s all about our brotherhood,” Jenkins said. “We’ve always been about more than just football and winning. When TK passed it made the brotherhood a lot tighter. When Kirkham passed it made our brotherhood even tighter. When we have a tragedy our bond is that more special.”

 

E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.

 

* For more about the Terrance Kelly Youth Foundation call (510) 593-7408 or e-mail landrinkelly28@yahoo.com or pkyouthfoundation@hotmail.com.

 

* To request more information on the Frank Wolf fund, contact the Wolfs at frankwolfmemorial@wolfs.cc. Contributions can be sent to 3803 Walnut Ave, Concord, CA, 94519.