Local prep football teams may face national champion
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
In the Bay Area, it is known simply as "The Streak."
I
t does not belong to Cal Ripken, or even local hero Joe DiMaggio. And it's almost as recognizable as "The Catch."
Last year's Mater Dei-De La Salle football game program was 180 pages.
When sports fans in the seven-county, 7.6-million population region refer to "The Streak," they are talking about the De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) High School football team's national record of a mind-boggling 113 victories in a row.
The Spartans, who were crowned national champions by USA Today last fall for the second time in three years, have not lost since falling to area rival Pittsburg in a 1991 section championship game.
If De La Salle can win 15 more games in a row, and if Keith Amemiya gets his wish, then a Hawai'i team may get a chance to end The Streak 14 months from now.
Amemiya, executive director of the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association, is working toward bringing De La Salle and Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif., here for a doubleheader on Sept. 21, 2002 that also would feature the reigning champions of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
"It would be a great opportunity for several reasons," Amemiya said. "First, it would provide a great shot in the arm (to local prep football). And it would give our teams and athletes great exposure."
In the past three years, the OIA and ILH champs have been Kahuku and St. Louis, respectively. St. Louis had a streak of its own — 14 straight Prep Bowl or state championships — snapped by Kahuku last fall. But De La Salle's record during that same time span is even more impressive.
The Spartans' 1991 loss to Pittsburg snapped a 34-game winning streak, meaning De La Salle has won 147 of its past 148 games.
Not coincidentally, the team that has come the closest to ending The Streak is Mater Dei. In last year's meeting between the two teams, De La Salle survived 31-28 after Mater Dei placekicker Bryan New hooked a 33-yard field goal attempt to tie it with 30 seconds remaining.
That game, the third in a four-year home-and-home series, drew 17,000 to Anaheim's Edison Field. De La Salle won the previous two meetings, 28-21 (1998) and 42-0 (1999).
De La Salle, an all-boys Catholic school located about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco, competed in the Bay Valley Athletic League through the 1997 season, but mutual agreement led to the Spartans breaking away from that league in football.
Since 1998, De La Salle has competed as an independent, playing five non-league games each year against BVAL opponents and another five against teams from across California. This year's schedule promises to be the Spartans' toughest ever, as they face Central Valley power Buchanan-Clovis in the opener, Mater Dei in Week 3 and Long Beach Poly in Week 5.
Long Beach Poly finished last season ranked No. 2 by USA Today. Mater Dei assistant Hiram De Fries, a Punahou graduate, said the proposed doubleheader would be a dream event.
"They'd be great games," De Fries said. "St. Louis and Kahuku can compete with anybody. The top teams in Hawai'i can compete anywhere."
Advertiser columnist Ferd Lewis contributed to this story. Wes Nakama may be reached at 535-2456, or via e-mail at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com
