De La Salle boasts an ‘air’ of confidence
De La Salle-Concord quarterback Dorian Hale faked an inside handoff, juked a defender and sent a perfect left-handed pass down the left sideline.
The ball seemed to hang endlessly until Lu-Magia Hearns went high between two defenders and snared it while staying inbounds. Hearns then pushed aside the defensive backs and jetted into the end zone for a touchdown.
In one scintillating 25-yard pass play during Friday’s three-way scrimmage, the sophomore tandem of Hale to Hearns encapsulated the new-look Spartans, who want to turn around lopsided losses in the CIF State Open Division final the past two years.
That dynamic passing combination is also what the Spartans need if they hope to extend their preposterous unbeaten streak (290 games) against Northern California foes Friday, when they host defending state 1-AA champion Folsom, which is ranked 19th nationally by MaxPreps.
De La Salle officials are bracing for one of the biggest crowds in school history, perhaps as many as 8,000.
A national matchup in mid-August is unprecedented in these parts. So, too, might be the look of the typically run-heavy, veer-attacking Spartans if Hale, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder, and a deep core of young skill-position players continue to develop.
“We threw a lot of new stuff at them this spring,” De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “They picked it up well.”
Don’t expect a balanced run-to-pass ratio anytime soon. De La Salle, with a brigade of running threats, including Shamar Garrett, James Cobe, Henry To’oto’o and Hale, still will gouge defenses on the ground.
But against nationally ranked teams like St. John Bosco-Bellflower and Mater Dei-Santa Ana — schools that combined to double the score against the Spartans (108-54) the past two years — and Folsom, De La Salle will need to mix up its play-calling.
“We’re not like everyone else and we don’t want to be like everyone else,” Alumbaugh said. “We want to be the best version of us. We’ve had a lot of success with the way we’ve done things over the years. We just need to add some nuances and tweaks.”
They’ll need to hit the ground running against a fast and experienced Folsom team that finished 16-0 last season while scoring 770 points. The Bulldogs return 17 starters, including 5-star receiver Joe Ngata, a Clemson commit; his brother Daniyel Ngata, who plays offense and defense, and quarterback Kaiden Bennett (5,549 total yards, 73 TDs last season).
Coached by former College Park-Pleasant Hill lineman Kris Richardson, Folsom has gone 131-13 with three state titles in the past decade. De La Salle handed Folsom two of those losses (in 2012 and 2013) by a combined score of 94-32. This Folsom team is different, Alumbaugh said.
“They’re really good,” he said. “They have a lot of team speed, great receivers, a great quarterback, and the line and defense is super solid. … They’re every bit as good as they’re cracked up to be.”
Said Richardson: “De La Salle is the blueprint of how to practice, how to prepare, how to win. It’s a great game, a great measuring stick.”
Briefly: To’oto’o, who’s also an All-America linebacker, was in a walking boot Friday because of a bruised right foot, but Alumbaugh said, “He’s absolutely fine. If it was a game, he would have played Friday night.” … Friday is the first of nine De La Salle games that will be carried via the SportsLive streaming service powered by CBS Interactive Advance Media and CBS Sports Digital. Pat O’Rourke will handle playby-play and Damin Esper commentary.