De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh was up at 4:30 on Sunday morning watching his group’s most up-to-date matchup towards Southern California superpower Mater Dei-Santa Ana.
It was the Open Division state championship sport in 2018, and De La Salle had managed to remain aggressive into the fourth quarter regardless of its greatest participant, linebacker/energy runner Henry To’oto’o, hobbling on a foot he fractured at observe the day before today.
“Watching Henry limp around was inspiring and sad,” Alumbaugh stated concerning the star who now performs for the Houston Texans.
That De La Salle group, whereas indisputably an underdog, had sufficient punch to compete with SoCal’s greatest. So did the 2019 group that misplaced within the Open state title sport to St. John Bosco-Bellflower.
Alumbaugh is assured this yr’s Spartans can do the identical.
De La Salle will get its probability when it performs Mater Dei within the Open championship sport on Dec. 14 at Saddleback Faculty in Mission Viejo. The matchup turned official Sunday.
“I have said this and I hope you print this,” Alumbaugh informed the Bay Space Information Group on Sunday. “I don’t say this all the time. This team could beat anybody in the country. We have a good enough team to legitimately compete with anybody in the country. But we’re going to have to play well.”
The chances are definitely not in De La Salle’s favor. A neutral-field projection by Calpreps’ pc says Mater Dei will rout the Spartans 46-3. However, it needs to be famous, the identical pc picked Mater Dei to crush Bosco 41-13 on Friday within the Southern Part title sport. The ultimate was 31-24.
Alumbaugh stated his confidence stems from three causes: His gamers desirous to play within the highest division, the bodily nature of his line and group velocity.
“From the beginning of the year, they weren’t talking about Serra. They weren’t talking about St. Francis,” Alumbaugh stated. “They had been speaking concerning the Open. They needed this shot.
“The second thing is we have linemen up front that can compete and then, ultimately, it’s rare to say that we match up speed-wise with a Southern California team these days, but we actually do, which is obviously a good problem to have.”
Alumbaugh made the journey to Southern California on Friday to look at Mater Dei’s victory over Bosco. He was joined by a few of his assistants and some gamers who drove down on their very own.
The choice for Alumbaugh to be away from his younger household over the vacation weekend wasn’t simple. However in his eyes and his spouse’s, too, this yr’s group deserved the additional consideration to element as De La Salle goals to seize its first state championship since 2015.
“I was glad I got to see it in person,” Alumbaugh stated. “Pretty phenomenal football. There is no doubt. It’s the size. What stood out, and this is a big thing our kids are going to have to adjust to, is the physicality of the game is going to be off the charts.”
So now comes the balancing act for Alumbaugh and his employees.
To have any shot towards Mater Dei, De La Salle should be bodily. However to do this, the Spartans should be bodily in observe for the subsequent two weeks, a call that places gamers in danger for damage.
The Spartans can’t afford a mishap like that occurred to To’oto’o.
“It’s hard,” Alumbaugh stated. “You don’t get better at football without playing football. And you don’t stay healthy by playing football. It’s a catch-22.”
Greatest-case state of affairs: Alumbaugh will get an opportunity to make good on a play name that also haunts him now and possibly endlessly.
Trailing by two touchdowns within the 2019 state sport towards Bosco, De La Salle had pushed to the doorstep of the purpose line with about 4 minutes left. Rating there and it’s a seven-point sport with time to finish the comeback.
Alumbaugh referred to as “Double Right, 18 Veer” – i.e. a triple choice.
“The triple option leaves itself to a potential fumble,” Alumbaugh stated Sunday. “I should not have called a triple option there. It was entirely on me.”
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De La Salle fumbled. Bosco defensive finish Matthew Jordan scooped up the ball. Ninety-six yards later, the large man was within the reverse finish zone.
Sport over.
“We’re on the 1-yard line and I call the worst play of my life,” Alumbaugh stated.
The pc forecast says the sport towards Mater Dei received’t be shut sufficient for a foul play name to have an effect.
However DLS, which is able to carry an 12-0 file to the sphere, believes it may possibly show in any other case.
“Sometimes in these games it feels like you’re showing up to a gun fight with a spoon, so to speak,” Alumbaugh stated. “This is not one of those years. We have a good enough team to beat anybody in the country, including Mater Dei.”
