De La Salle falls to Mater Dei in state championship game
What looked like another mistake-filled, lopsided loss in the CIF Open Division state championship for De La SalleConcord turned into something different Saturday night. But it was still a defeat. The Spartans (12-1), who trailed by three touchdowns late in the third quarter, cut the margin to one score but dropped a 35-21 decision to Mater DeiSanta Ana at Cerritos College in Norwalk (Los Angeles County).
Down 28-7 after mistakes led to three Mater Dei touchdowns, the Spartans made a game of it behind sophomore quarterback Dorian Hale (310 yards passing, two touchdowns).
But led by USC-bound quarterback Bryce Young (18-for-25 for 296 yards and two touchdowns) and running back Shakobe Harper (22 carries for 122 yards and three TDs), the Monarchs (13-2) recorded their second straight Open championship win over De La Salle.
Last season, it was 52-21, when the Spartans lost five fumbles and gave up a pick-six. On Saturday, De La Salle lost three fumbles, and botched a bad punt snap.
Still, it took Harper’s third touchdown, with 3:58 left, to put away De La Salle.
“Those turnovers just killed us, and it’s too bad,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbagh said. “Don’t get me wrong. Those guys are great.”
Two De La Salle mistakes helped Mater Dei lead 14-0.
The bad punt snap led to a 28-yard loss and a short field for the Monarchs. Following a hold, Young fired a 27-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Gardner, making it 7-0 with 5:02 left in the first quarter.
De La Salle marched downfield, keyed by a 44-yard pass from Hale to Lu Hearns. But on the play after the pass, Hale fumbled and Mater Dei recovered. Seven plays and 74 yards later, the Monarchs were in the end zone again.
The Spartans gained momentum when Hale evaded a big rush in his end zone and flung the ball to James Coby, who rambled 84 yards to the Mater Dei 7. Then Hale threw another strike, a 9-yard TD pass to Grant Daley.
“Dorian showed a lot of guts,” Alumbaugh said. “The sky is the limit for him.”
The Monarchs took the second-half kickoff and marched 67 yards, capped by a 15-yard TD run by Harper.
De La Salle ripped off a couple of first downs, but another Hale fumble was recovered by Mater Dei. Young then threaded the needle with a 38-yard pass to Cameron Dollar, and two plays later, Harper walked in for a 1-yard score.
Hale responded by firing a 67-yard touchdown pass to Hearns on the second play of the fourth quarter, and after a blocked punt, the Spartans went 32 yards, capped by a 1-yard TD run by Coby, to cut the lead to 28-21 with 6:10 left.
De La Salle kicked away and the Monarchs traveled 85 yards in seven plays, capped by Harper’s final touchdown, to decide it.
“We pulled out all the stops,” Alumbaugh said. “There was no quit in us, but thinking about some of those plays, the fumbles. They weren’t on the veer. There were some strange plays.