De La Salle rallies past Serra 21-14

De La Salle High’s nationally ranked football team used two big plays — a deep pass and an interception — to key a 14-point fourth-quarter rally that ended with a tie-breaking 1-yard sneak by Chris Williams with 3:18 left to beat Serra 21-14 on a hot Saturday afternoon.

The victory extended the Spartans’ Northern California unbeaten streak to 238 games, though it appeared for a while that a team coached by Patrick Walsh — a former running back who helped begin the run in 1992 — was close to ending it.

De La Salle (2-0) overcame severe second-quarter injuries to two playmakers — running back Dasmond Tautalatasi (left arm) and receiver/safety Adam Mayer (right leg) — and finally broke through with two sneaks for touchdowns in a 75-second span.

Serra (0-1) almost pulled off the stunning upset despite six starters sidelined by injury, including two-way lineman Matt Dickerson, a Notre Dame commit.

“Those guys outplayed us,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “We made the plays when we needed to, and I was happy with the guts we eventually showed. But we stunk up the place for a long time.”

Serra took a 14-7 lead with 9:36 left when first-year starting quarterback Matthew Fa’aita (12-of-24, 203 yards) scrambled and found Austin Jackson for an 85-yard score. The Spartans fumbled their next possession, but the Padres missed a 37-yard field goal.

De La Salle took advantage as Williams completed a 43-yard pass to Marquis Morris to set up his game-tying sneak with 4:33 remaining. Moments later, Mayer’s replacement, John Quinn, intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards to the 10 to set up Williams’ game-winner.