De La Salle to meet Liberty for section title
The story lines between upstart Liberty-Brentwood and perennial national mainstay De La Salle-Concord seem endless.
The teams clash at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dublin High School for the North Coast Section Open Division championship.
Both teams are 11-0 and nationally ranked, De La Salle at No. 8 by MaxPreps and Liberty No. 50.
The Spartans have outscored opponents 443-107, and Liberty has a 498-115 margin.
De La Salle is the name brand, winners of 26 consecutive NCS championships and at least eight mythical national crowns. The Spartans own the nation’s longest win streak at 151 games and have won 299 games in a row against Northern California (north of Fresno) opponents.
With a Division 1 crown last season, Liberty won its first section football title of any kind. The school has been around since 1902.
Liberty coach Ryan Partridge grew up in Pleasanton and was a standout at Amador Valley. He’s well versed on De La Salle’s history of dominance, yet has never played or coached against the Spartans.
Partridge will not let his Lions give in to it.
“We’re dealing with high school kids,” said Partridge, who is in his second season as Liberty’s head coach. “If they believe, they have a chance. Having that true belief is half the battle. And these guys believe. They have won against them before, they feel they can compete, so going into this they’re going to let it all hang out. They’re going to attack. We have no other choice. We’re going to get punched in the mouth because it’s De La Salle. But we’re going to punch back again and again and again.”
A group of at least 10 Liberty seniors — led by All-Bay Valley Athletic League running back Tyerell Sturges-Cofer, linebacker Nicky Einess and receiver Jerrin Easter-Williams — were on a freshman team that defeated De La Salle 35-12 in 2015.
When Liberty has the ball and De La Salle is on defense, that’s when this game should gather the most intrigue and college scouts.
De La Salle’s defense is led by two preseason All-Americans in linebacker Henry To’oto’o (6foot-2, 232 pounds) and defensive end Isaiah Foskey (6-4, 240), but the list of standouts is deep. Linebacker Jhasi Wilson (6-1, 215), defensive backs Shamar Garrett (also the team’s leading rusher) and Amir Wallace, and linemen Michael Puckett, Gunnar Rask and Beaux Tagaloa help make up one of defensive coordinator Terry Eidson’s top units in school history.
Partridge, who runs the offense, said he got seven game films of De La Salle and didn’t watch one until the Lions beat Clayton Valley-Concord last week.
“I figured they were just so talented they would just line up and play straight up and say, ‘come beat us,’ ” Partridge said. “But it’s not true. They don’t blitz a ton, but (Eidson) gives different looks and they are so creative against each of his opponents.”
The Spartans might need to bend, but just not break against the most versatile offense in the Bay Area.
Liberty’s 6-6, 180-pound quarterback Jay Butterfield (2,783 passing yards, 39 touchdowns) is ranked the secondbest pro-style QB in the country by 247Sports. Sturges-Cofer has rushed for 1,223 yards and 15 scores, and Easter-Williams has 24 catches for 448 yards and four scores.
The Lions’ best all-around player and Bay Valley Athletic League Most Valuable Player is Sione Vaki (59 catches, 1,234 yards, 20 touchdowns). Adrik Lamar (32 catches, 532 yards, six TDs) is yet another threat.
“Their balance, their execution, their personnel is all exceptional,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “You absolutely can’t key on one thing. They make you stay honest. You can’t pin your ears back and come at them.”