De La Salle to visit Texas power for opener
It’s not signed and sealed yet, but it appears De La SalleConcord’s football team is headed back to Texas.
The Spartans, who lost the only game they’ve played against a Texas team — 2621 to open the 2015 season against TrinityEuless near Dallas — will open 2020 near Houston to face twotime defending Texas 6A1 football champion North ShoreHouston.
The Houston Chronicle and Vype.com reported Monday that the two national powers will face off in August at Galena Park ISD Stadium (capacity 10,500) in Harris County.
De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said he couldn’t comment on the game until all contracts have been signed.
The game pits one of the nation’s most storied programs in De La Salle — the focus of the 2014 movie “When the Game Stands Tall” — against the top team in a state where high school football is revered.
Speaking about the Spartans, North Shore coach Jon Kay told Vype.com: “They’ve got a national program for a good reason, and the success that they’ve had there speaks for itself. … We were looking for a quality opponent to play, and we certainly got that in De La Salle.”
North Shore has gone a combined 311 the past two seasons and was ranked No. 2 and 4, respectively, in the country by MaxPreps.com. Threeyear starting quarterback Dematrius Davis Jr. was MaxPreps’ 2018 national sophomore of the year and is a Virginia Tech commit.
De La Salle, which has lost four straight California Open Division title games, finished 122 last season and was ranked No. 13 nationally.
The Spartans expect to return most of their skill players including twoyear starting quarterback and firstteam AllMetro pick Dorian Hale.
Girls basketball showdowns: Jordan Allred had 30 points, Erin Tarasow 27 and Mia Mastrov contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds as host and thenNo. 4 MiramonteOrinda beat No. 6 Bishop O’DowdOakland on Saturday in the inaugural Contra Costa Challenge. Kennedy Johnson scored 17 in limited minutes for O’Dowd. … Also on Saturday, Daylee Dunn and Silvia Fonongaloa had 12 points each as previous No. 3 SalesianRichmond won 4939 at No. 2 PinewoodLos Altos Hills, which got a gamehigh 20 points from Annika Decker. Fonongaloa added 14 rebounds and Amira Brown contributed eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks. … On Friday, Pinewood avenged an earlier defeat to previous No. 7 Menlo SchoolAtherton with a 4336 win behind 16 points from Decker, 10 by Una Jovanovic and 13 rebounds from Maia Garcia. Avery Lee and Sharon Nejad combined for 21 points for visiting Menlo, the defending state D2 champion which broke Pinewood’s 66game league win streak with a 4645 home win Jan. 11.
Russell honored: Sacred Heart Cathedral girls basketball coach LyRyan Russell is among six Central Coast Section winter honor coaches selected for outstanding offandon the court/field contributions during careers lasting at least five varsity seasons. In eight seasons, Russell, a former standout player at SHC and USF, led the Irish to a state title in 201516 and three NorCal championships. Among those honored were El CaminoSouth San Francisco’s Ken Anderson (boys soccer) and Woodside’s Jose Navarette (girls soccer).
Briefly: Former San Leandro and Chabot CollegeHayward football coach Dan Calcagno is the new football coach at
CaliforniaSan Ramon. … With the regular football National Signing Day opening Wednesday, the Peninsula CoPlayer of the Year, Serra quarterback Daylin McLemore, announced his commitment to Arizona State last week. … AllMetro secondteam offensive lineman Tyler Morano (GranadaLivermore) committed to Oregon State . ... AllMetro linebacker Semaj Sims (McClymondsOakland) tweeted Monday that he's committed to New Mexico.