De La Salle's streak at 127 and counting
| • | Field position key for Spartans |
| • | St. Louis, De La Salle statistics |
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
Spectacularly methodical, the De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) High School football team won its 127th straight game last night by slicing through Hawai'i powerhouse St. Louis, 31-21, at Aloha Stadium.
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The undersized Spartans, whose precise execution earned them three of the past four national championships and another No. 1 ranking by USA Today this season, marched up and down the field against the No. 17 Crusaders in workmanlike fashion throughout the game.
St. Louis' Jonah Lakatani, front, tries to break up a pass to De La Salle's Cameron Colvin, who still made the catch.
De La Salle stunned the crowd of 27,811 by jumping to a 21-0 lead late in the second quarter and answered two of St. Louis' second-half challenges.
The Crusaders closed to 24-14 in the third quarter after a 13-play, 80-yard drive ending in B.J. Batts' 1-yard run with 1:39 remaining. But the Spartans answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Gino Ottoboni after Damon Jenkins' 37-yard kickoff return gave them possession on the Crusaders' 33.
Ottoboni's touchdown helped make it 31-14 with 8:41 to play, and St. Louis could not score again until Bobby George's 65-yard touchdown pass to Shane Butcher with 1:15 remaining. Kaeo Adams' extra point made it 31-21, but De La Salle recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
"I always thought (St. Louis) is a good program, and they still are," Spartans coach Bob Ladouceur said. "They gave us everything we could handle; they are outstanding. That is why we are here, we're here to play a good team and they are very good."
So is De La Salle, whose national record streak dates to the 1992 season.
The Spartans' ball-control offense allowed them to have an 11-minute advantage in time of possession. De La Salle added just enough wrinkles to its basic veer option offense to keep St. Louis off-balance. The Spartans also enjoyed great field position, thanks to a 113-0 advantage in return yardage.
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"That was key in the game," Ladouceur said. "That shortened the field for us. It was critical."
Jason Rivers grabs a touchdown pass for St. Louis.
De La Salle looked typically dominant in the first quarter, outgaining St. Louis 181-4 in yardage and amassing seven first downs to none for the Crusaders. The Spartans drove 59 yards on six plays after the opening kickoff, but missed a 24-yard field-goal attempt.
After St. Louis went three-and-out on its first series, De La Salle went 61 yards on five plays and scored on Britt Cecil's 1-yard quarterback sneak with 5:07 remaining in the first quarter. The touchdown was set up by a spectacular catch by Cameron Colvin, who dived for a 46-yard pass from Cecil after it was tipped by cornerback Jonah Lakatani.
The Crusaders went three-and-out again on their ensuing possession, and the Spartans responded with an eight-play, 68-yard drive culminating in Jackie Bates' 5-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter.
St. Louis finally moved the ball to midfield on its next possession, but again was forced to punt. De La Salle then drove 82 yards in eight plays, and Maurice Drew's 16-yard touchdown run with 3:43 left in the half helped make it 21-0.
The Crusaders then went 80 yards on six plays and scored on George's 12-yard pass to Jason Rivers with 1:39 remaining. That was set up by George's 47-yard pass to Butcher. Adams' extra point made it 21-7.
But in the first half, the Spartans outgained St. Louis 283-115, including 135-19 on the ground. Drew, recovering from a sprained left ankle suffered last week, rushed for 88 yards on eight carries in the first two quarters. De La Salle also was successful through the air, with Cecil completing 6 of 8 passes for 116 yards before intermission.
Drew finished with 125 yards on 19 carries. St. Louis was held to 41 yards on 19 rushes.
All the numbers added up to consecutive victory No. 127, although the Crusaders did earn some respect by becoming only the fifth team to come within 14 points during the streak.
"They are well-coached, they have a good scheme and they are physical," Ladouceur said.
Added Drew: "They play smash-mouth football, and they never quit. That's the kind of football we like."
As for De La Salle's trademark performance, it was the type any football fan would appreciate.
"We're not counting wins," Ladouceur said. "We're just counting on improving every week and that is how we always approached it. We try to find the ceiling for these kids, what they're capable of doing. We just work day to day, and the wins are the outcome."
