St. Francis of Mountain View end De La Salle鈥檚 Northern California win streak at 318
MOUNTAINVIEW, Calif. 鈥� Dominance. It鈥檚 a word one often sees used in conjunction with the best teams in any league, or sport, for that matter. One can look back on every team that has dominated their respective league, and sport, and can point to several factors that contributed to their form: the right coach, with a squad perfected to their tactics, confidence, luck, etc. However, the one factor that can result in sustained dominance is a team鈥檚 aura, and that is the case for the De La Salle – Concord Spartans football team. However, after 318-games undefeated against Northern California High Schools, this dominant Spartans team lost 31-28 against St. Francis of Mountain View.
To summarize, the 318-game win streak against Northern California schools, had spanned almost three decades, starting after the Spartans鈥� loss to Pittsburg in the 1991 North Coast Section 3A championship game. On a national level, the Spartans went 151-games undefeated, which ended in 2004 to Bellevue, Washington, but that same year would see the Spartans take hold of the No.1 rank amongst high schools in the Bay Area, and own it, until now. De La Salle has relinquished its ranking to St. Francis.
This was a game everyone expected to add to the Spartans鈥� undefeated record, instead St. Francis proved they were more than capable of putting a dent into the Spartans鈥� aura of invincibility.
Led by quarterback Matthew Dougherty, who threw three touchdown passes, and senior tailback Viliami Teu, who rushed for 184 yards and scored a touchdown, the Lancers would hold firm late in the fourth to deny a Spartans comeback. Dougherty鈥檚 third touchdown of the game gave St. Francis a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter. But the Spartans aren鈥檛 known for losing, and a Zeke Berry 94-yard kickoff return touchdown, followed by a 65-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown sneak by quarterback Luke Dermon brought the score line to 24-21.
The Spartans didn鈥檛 get their first lead until a four-yard touchdown run from A.J. Bianchina with 1:38 remaining on the clock, this coming after their third fumble of the night. Dougherty picked the game up by the scruff of the neck and would go on an 80-yard touchdown drive, the highlight being a 34-yard pass to Andrew Adkison to reach the 1-yard line in De La Salle鈥檚 half. Having thought they had scored, and in the excitement of the moment, the Lancers had celebrated too early, and were given a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, Dougherty would find Andrighetto in the end zone to score the game-winning touchdown, ending the Spartans鈥� dominant streak while giving the Lancers a statement win unlike any other.
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