Friday wrap-up: De La Salle's Dunne does in California

SAN RAMON, Calif. - A funny thing happened on the way to another De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football rout on Friday night.

The host team made a game of it.

Up 23-3 at halftime and holding a 279-78 edge in yards, the Spartans were almost caught and passed by upstart and previously undefeated California (San Ramon, Calif.).

Thanks partially to close but correct official's call and another hearty, productive night from diminutive Lucas Dunne, De La Salle pulled out a 31-17 victory Friday night before 6,000 fans jammed around California's football field.

Dunne rushed 21 times for 196 yards and three touchdowns as the Spartans, No. 10 in the MaxPreps Freeman national rankings, continued their 209-game unbeaten streak against Northern California opponent and captured the East Bay Athletic League title as well.

California (9-1), ranked 10th in the state and 69th nationally, came away with its first loss but an even greater sense of confidence.

After all, it's usually De La Salle that makes pinpoint halftime adjustments and blows away opponents after intermission.

Instead, it was the Grizzlies who closed to 23-17 with 3 minutes, 20 seconds remaining on the second touchdown of the half by John Sarmenta, this one on a leaping 7-yard reception from Drew Reil in the back of the end zone on fourth down.

When California's Jake Preuss recovered the ensuing pooch kick, the Grizzlies (9-1) seemed primed to pull off the monumental upset.

"It was like, 'Here we go,' " California coach Eric Billeci said.

But the referees correctly called California for interference - for touching the ball in the air before De La Salle had a chance to touch it.

The ball went back to the Spartans at its own 43 and they promptly zoomed down field in six plays, finished off with a statement-making, punishing 5-yard TD run by Dunne, who laid out a California defensive back in the end zone.

Dunne, who earlier scored on runs of 3 and 5 yards, added the ensuing 2-point conversion and the Spartans (10-0), who finished with a 407-244 yardage edge, had survived a serious challenge.

"They're just as good as any other team that will be considered for the playoffs or state," De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur said of California. "That's a very good, well-coached football team. They're one of the best EBAL teams I've ever seen."

What was most impressive is that the Grizzlies not only didn't get buried the second half, they outplayed De La Salle for much of the last two quarters, when they outgained the Spartans 166-138.

It might have helped that Billeci, the team's second-year head coach, is a former De La Salle player. He was a starting tight end in the middle 1990s, when the Spartans started their national-record 151-game win streak.

"I just tried to calm our guys at halftime before it got too crazy," Billeci said. "We just reminded the guys what we were doing and to just go out and execute. That's what we did."

The Grizzlies took the second-half kickoff and calmly traveled 70 yards in 12 plays capped by a strange touchdown when Reil, who had a gritty game with 183 yards from scrimmage, ran a quarterback draw from the 5 but was leveled one-yard short of the end zone.

The ball popped free and Sarmenta pounced on it, cutting De La Salle's lead to 23-10.

"We just had to keep our head up the second half and keep playing hard," said Sarmenta, who finished with a game-high seven catches for 57 yards. "The coaches believed in us and we believed in each other."

Getting a score was one thing, but California's defense needed to make a big play. Senior cornerback Matt Deans responded with an interception to halt a De La Salle drive.

It was the first miscue for the Spartans, who scored on all four of their first-half possesions, which included a pretty 46-yard touchdown from Bart Houston to Lucas Shapiro. Houston finished 7 of 12 for 139 yards.

"As well as we played the first half, we kind of stalled out in the second," Ladouceur said. "We totally let them back in the game. I'm just happy we did what we needed to do at the end."

After a pair of possessions, Reil led the Grizzlies on a 51-yard, march, keyed by five completions, including a 17-yarder to running back Kyle Alvarez.

On the touchdown to Sarmenta, Reil (15 of 28, 133 yards) scrambled away from pressure and fired a high strike that Sarmenta went way up for and somehow got on foot in at the back of the end zone.

"Drew put it right where it was supposed to be," Sarmenta said. "That was real exciting. It's like we had them on the ropes."

But after California touched the ball early - "It was the correct call and we knew it," Billeci said. "They just called it a little late and we were hoping they didn't notice." - De La Salle unleashed its will down the stretch.

"California always plays us tough so we were expecting a tough game," Dunne said. "They definitely challenged us. We needed a good competitive game like this."

Was he and the Spartans making a statement with that last drive and his final physical touchdown and 2-point conversion? He now has 25 touchdowns. Not bad for a kid who wasn't slated as the starter until late in the summer.

"One of my coaches always tells me you never want to go down - even in the end zone," he said. "I'm just glad we all responded when we needed to most."

Said Ladouceur of Dunne: "He's been amazing all year. He's a tough kid and proven to be a great runner."

It's very probable the two teams could face off again in the North Coast Section finals in four weeks at the Oakland Coliseum. The two will almost assuredly be seeded one and two in Sunday's NCS seeding meeting.

"I'd love to face them again," Sarmenta said. "We proved to ourselves we can play with them."

Said Billeci: "I've told the kids that we need to bridge the gap. I think we made a statement tonight that we're doing that."

Rockhurst's (Mo.) last stand holds up against Blue Springs

According to the Kansas City Star, linebackers Ryan Karlin and Alex Bales made a big stop on fourth-down to preserve a 7-0 Class 6 quarterfinal victory for Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.) over arch-rival Blue Springs (Blue Springs, Mo.).

The victory not only propelled Rockhurst into the semifinals but avenged a season-ending 23-21 loss to Blue Springs last season.

On a cold, wet evening, Kansas-bound running back Darrian Miller carried 34 times for 143 yards on an injured leg for Blue Springs (9-3), but it wasn't enough.

Rockhurst made an 11-play, 80-yard drive in the second quarter stand up. A 6-yard TD run by Noah Pearl, who finished with 28 carries for 139 yards, was the only score of the game, and propels the winners into a semifinal game against Fort Zumwalt on Friday.