Clash of powerhouses a defensive lockdown
Spartans force five turnovers in victory
Plenty of questions surrounded De La Salle-Concord’s offense as the football team headed into its most hyped season opener since its national-record 151-game win streak ended in 2004.
There were no questions about the Spartans’ defense. On Friday night, Folsom found out why.
Host De La Salle forced the Bulldogs into five turnovers in a 14-0 win at Owen Owens Field. It was a matchup of the consensus top two teams in Northern California heading into the season. No. 1 stayed No. 1. “Unbelievable job by our defense. Unbelievable,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “For our defense, to shut that team out? You got to tip your cap, man. I’m really, really, really proud of our boys. They played hard.”
Folsom was returning eight offensive starters from a team that went 16-0 and won the CIF Division 1-AA State Bowl championship in 2017. Among those players are quarterback Kaiden Bennett, running back Daniyel Ngata and his older brother, Joe Ngata, a receiver who committed to Clemson in July.
De La Salle became the first
team to shut out the Bulldogs since Woodcreek-Roseville beat Folsom 23-0 in 2004. In doing so, the Spartans extended their unbeaten streak against Northern California opponents to 291 games.
“We prepped the entire summer for these guys,” Alumbaugh said. “The reason why is because they’re outstanding. They’re a great team, and their coaches do a great job. That was a great game. That was a state-championship-caliber football game.”
De La Salle struggled in its own right to move the ball against the Folsom defense, but finally broke through on a 17-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Dorian Hale to senior tight end Isaiah Foskey with eight minutes left in the third quarter. The Spartans tacked on their second touchdown on a 1-yard keeper by Hale with 5:03 left in the game.
The last touchdown was the only time De La Salle was able to capitalize on five forced turnovers, the last of which was a fumble recovery by five-star senior linebacker Henry To’oto’o near midfield. To’oto’o had two fumble recoveries, junior safety Shamar Garrett had two interceptions, and senior cornerback Amir Wallace had four pass breakups and held Joe Ngata to five catches for 40 yards.
Though it’s only the first week of the season, the victory puts De La Salle in the driver’s seat for the Northern California berth to the CIF Open Division State Championship Bowl Game on Dec. 9 at Cerritos College. De La Salle has the stronger schedule moving forward, including a nationally
“For shut that our defense, team out? to You got to tip your cap, man.” Justin Alumbaugh, De La Salle coach
televised home game against national-power Bishop Gorman-Las Vegas on Sept. 14.
De La Salle and Folsom squared off on two other occasions prior to Friday night. They met on neutral fields in 2012 and 2013, both times in a CIF Open Division regional playoff game, which no longer exists. De La Salle won both meetings.