No. 8 De La Salle seeks more than CIF title against No. 1 St. John Bosco

Video: DJ Uiagalelei highlights

There was a time not long ago that the Northern California juggernaut De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football team had its way with Southern California foes in the CIF State Open Division Bowl Championships.

The Spartans won four straight Open titles from 2009-2012, taking the last three by scores of 48-8, 35-0 and 48-28, against SoCal heavyweights Servite (Anaheim), Westlake (Westlake Village) and Centennial (Corona).

But that was before the two-headed monster of St. John Bosco (Bellflower) and Mater Dei (Santa Ana) separated itself from the Southern California pack — and certainly from De La Salle — into perennial national champion contenders.

The two programs have also muscled up on the Spartans, paying back the only team to reach the state finals every season since the advent of the bowl championships in 2006. In 2016, Bosco thumped the Spartans 56-33, followed by back-to-back championship wins by Mater Dei, 52-21 and 35-21. That's a combined count of 143-65, a margin De La Salle is used to inflicting on opponents since Bob Ladouceur took over the program in 1979 before handing over to Justin Alumbaugh after the 2012 season. 

This season, Mater Dei was ranked No. 1 all season until Nov. 30, when No 2 Bosco pulled off the shocker, fighting back from a 28-5 deficit to score 34 straight points en route to a 39-34 Southern Section Division 1 championship win.

Now Bosco is No. 1 and at 8 p.m. Saturday it tussles with De La Salle once more in the 2019 Open Division championship at Cerritos College. The Spartans will never say it, but besides winning the title, it sure would be nice for a little redemption.

With a young Josh Rosen at quarterback, Bosco firmly planted itself on the national map when it broke De La Salle's 40-game win streak and run of state titles with a 20-14 victory in the 2013 Open Division title game at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Though most of the country was surprised about Bosco's comeback win over Mater Dei, Alumbaugh wasn't one of them.

"Never a surprise to see Bosco win a game," said Alumbaugh, whose team won its 28th consecutive North Coast Section title Nov. 29 with a 49-7 win over Pittsburg. "We figured it would be a tight physical game (with Mater Dei) and it was. It was an incredible effort from Bosco."

Clemson-bound quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound specimen, threw for 444 yards and five touchdowns against a team that had trailed just twice all season and beaten the Braves 38-24 on Oct. 25. "Uiagalelei is unreal," Alumbaugh said. "He'd be the biggest player on our team. Kind of funny."

It wasn't that funny to Alumbaugh when he broke down the rest of the Braves' roster, which features 25 players with FBS offers.

"They are fast, physical, well-coached," he said. "We have our work cut out for us but are excited about the challenge."

Bosco coach Jason Negro isn't by any stretch overlooking the Spartans (12-1), who have won 12 straight since a season-opening 24-14 loss to No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas and outscored opponents 624-127 in that span. 

"Playing De La Salle for a chance to win a state championship is something that we talk about from the beginning of the offseason," Negro said. "The De La Salle program is one of the most iconic and storied programs in the history of high school football."

Negro said what gives the Braves more reason for concern than the last three is the development of a passing game and junior quarterback Dorian Hale, who is throwing for more than 130 yards per game. He's one of a half-dozen elite athletes the Spartans possess, including two-way standouts Shamar Garrett, Lu Magia Hearns, Ezekiel Berry and James Coby.

Problem for the Spartans, is Bosco has perhaps two dozen of the same caliber of athlete, including a remarkable contingent of receivers for Uiagalelei, including seniors Oregon-bound Kris Hutson and Logan Loya (UCLA), along with high-rated juniors Beaux Collins and Jode McDuffie.  

"(De La Salle) looks the same up front on both sides of the ball, but this team looks more athletic at the skill spots," Negro said. "(Hale) is a very good thrower which makes them way more dynamic."