Pitt Comes Close Again in loss to DLS

Despite not punting once, the quest for Pittsburg High to finally get past state No. 5 De La Salle of Concord in the CIF North Coast Section Open Division championship came up a couple of plays short in a 24-17 loss on Friday. The Spartans made the big plays they needed in the fourth quarter in winning their 33rd straight section title. Go inside for reactions and what a lot of DLS fans were paying attention to on their phones after the game.

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They call it the sprint draw and it’s been in the De La Salle of Concord playbook since 1986. It was most famously used on a third down and 20 play in the second half of the team’s historical win in 1998 at Angels Stadium in Anaheim when Mater Dei of Santa Ana had all of the momentum and looked poised to overcome a 21-7 halftime deficit. Instead, head coach Bob Ladoucuer called the sprint draw and running back Atari Callen changed the momentum of the game with a chunk play that helped De La Salle beat the Monarchs 28-21.

In Friday’s CIF North Coast Section Open Division championship played at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, De La Salle was holding on to a 24-17 lead over Pittsburg with two minutes left and facing a 3rd and 15 situation. Head coach Justin Alumbaugh then called for the sprint draw and this time it was junior running back Duece Jones-Drew who took the handoff, made one move and was able to dash for an 17-yard gain that converted the first down. The offense then ran out the clock and another NCS title banner was headed to the De La Salle campus.

With the win, the Spartans (12-0) not only won their 33rd straight CIF section title (a state record by more than triple any others in state history and that includes the one-league Oakland and San Francisco sections) but they no doubt clinched the Northern California berth for the CIF Open Division state finals (more on that later). The Pirates (10-2) are not finished, either. They will now face Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa next Friday in the NCS D1 championship. The Cardinals handed Acalanes of Lafayette its first loss of the season on Friday in the other semifinal, 52-17.

Pittsburg’s offense with sophomore QB Ja’vale Jones running the show had a brilliant game plan of throwing short passes to its numerous top-level receivers, including University of Arizona commit R.J. Mosley and major college sophomore prospect Kenny Ward. The problem was that the Pirates just couldn’t score once they got inside the 20-yard line. They did get two touchdowns and one field goal, but on three other possessions that went that far they missed two field goals, and had one fourth-and-goal play stopped at the 1-yard line. Pitt also came up just short in a 10-7 loss in last year’s NCS Open final that was played in cold, rainy conditions.

“I have to give credit to a team that plays great,” said Alumbaugh. “Their QB had an awesome game and their receivers are great, which we knew, Mosley in particular. We obviously made some mistakes defensively as our D doesn’t give up 300 yards in the first half if we aren’t making mistakes.”

In Pitt’s other loss this season, which we saw at unbeaten Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco (42-35) in which Jones had a chance to tie the score on a pass into the end zone on the final play that was broken up, the Pirates gave up a touchdown on the third play of the game and didn’t get going on offense until the second half. In this game, they started strong on both sides of the ball.

While this was De La Salle’s closest win of the season, the Spartans’ defense did give up some big plays to the opposing receivers in a 47-20 win at Grant of Sacramento.

After the Spartans threw two incomplete passes on their first series (they only threw one more pass for the rest of the game) and went three-and-out, Jones ran for 19 yards and completed passes for 17 and 19 yards on a drive that was impacted by a 14-yard sack from DLS sophomore linebacker Landon Miller. It ended on a missed field goal by Luis Rodriguez.

De La Salle quickly answered on its second series. Speedster Jaden Jefferson broke loose for 50-yard run and then two plays later it was senior Brady Smith who took a handoff to his left and ran for 26-yard touchdown.

It took the Pirates into the second quarter but they tied the score on a 10-yard TD run by Siotome Finau. They had an earlier drive in which Jones completed 6-of-7 passes for 67 yards, but a fourth down and goal pass to Truly Bell was stopped short at the 1-yard line. De La Salle was able to drive the ball back out to the 41-yard line, but then punted, which set up Pitt for its tying score.

It took the Spartans just three plays to score after it was 7-7. Smith had what would have been a 66-yard TD run called back for a holding penalty but he still got 19 yards from where the infraction occurred. Senior QB Brayden Knight then made a correct read on a running play, found a seam and ran for a 57-yard touchdown.

The scoring just before halftime also made it look like the game would become a track meet. Pitt tied it up again at 14-14 on a 16-yard TD pass from Jones to fellow sophomore Kenny Ward, who made big plays as a freshman for the Pirates last year when they went to the CIF D1-AA state final and lost in a close game to Lincoln of San Diego. But De La Salle followed up its three-play scoring drive with one of just two plays as Jefferson (who starts at corner but does get plays off when he’s on offense) bolted for a 50-yard touchdown run.

A fumble by the Pirates prevented them from scoring just before halftime and then De La Salle didn’t have enough time left to score again.

In the second half, Pitt took the ball first and proceeded to march down the field behind Jones, who had eight straight completions but missed on a third down pass from the 7-yard line. Head coach Charlie Rodriguez then decided to go for the points and Luis Rodriguez made a 24-yard field goal that trimmed the deficit to 21-17.

De La Salle fumbled on the second play of its ensuing series and the Pirates were looking to take the lead. They got down to the 10-yard line, but a sack from Bubba Vargas of the Spartans moved them back and then Luis Rodriguez had a 34-yard field goal attempt that hit the left goal post and was no good.

Jefferson had another big play for DLS on the first play of the fourth quarter. Facing a 3rd-and-7, he ran a route out of the backfield and caught a pass from Knight for a 40-yard gain that almost went for a score. Knight then looked like he might score on a run two plays later but fumbled (fortunately for the Spartans they didn’t lose it). On a fourth-and-goal from the 3, Alumbaugh didn’t go for it and instead it was a 20-yard field goal by Justin Ulibarri for a 24-17 score.

Pitt’s attempt for a game-winning or game-tying score featured a fourth down conversion, but with 2:44 left it was Vargas and DLS standout Myah Telona who stopped Jones on a fourth down run about a half-yard short. The Spartans only needed to get a first down after that to ice the win and got it on the third-and-15 sprint draw run by Jones-Drew. Ladoucuer himself was on the sidelines and had a big grin on his face because he knew all about the call and play that was made.

Jones, who finished 24 for 36 for 250 yards, said preparation was the key to his team almost getting a historic win over De La Salle.

“Our games are played from Monday through Thursday and I thought we came out here prepared to play like we did,” he said. “We just didn’t connect (on those drives) as we should have. We’ll bounce back.”

The Pirates will be favored when they play Cardinal Newman next week (11-1 but with an 11-game win streak after a season-opening loss to Manteca), but it won’t be easy. If they win, they also will not likely be going to the NorCal D1-AA game like last year but instead it will be D1-A since Riordan completed its quest to win its first CCS Open Division title on Friday with a big win (33-13) over Serra of San Mateo and the Crusaders will be D1-AA. State No. 10 Folsom also will be favored to win its fifth straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 title next week, which would mean Folsom vs Riordan for the NorCal D1-AA title.

If Folsom were to get upset in its SJS title game by Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), then Pitt could move up to D1-AA, and Cardinal Newman could as well since it also has a win vs the same Grant of Sacramento team that Oak Ridge beat, 9-7, on Friday. CIF Central Section D1AA champion Central East of Fresno also has a loss to Grant so it will almost for sure be in the D1-A NorCal game. Central East won its title on Friday, 70-30, over Clovis with its only loss coming to Grant.

After the De La Salle team collected its banner and took some photos, some on their sideline crew (including athletic director Leo Lopoz) and some of the parents became glued to their phones because the CIF Southern Section D1 semifinal game between two-time defending CIF State Open Division champion Mater Dei of Santa Ana and Centennial of Corona (a team the Spartans have beaten four times in the state final) had not yet ended. We watched the final sequence of plays on Leo’s phone as the Monarchs were driving down the field, only needing a field goal to get the win. A sack pushed back the Monarchs, however, so they had to go for a 48-yard attempt. It was blocked and there was an immediate reaction from the De La Salle people.

“Good, we don’t have to play Bosco (St. John Bosco of Bellflower) or Mater Dei,” one player was heard saying.

Another coach walking by, though, quickly added. “It doesn’t matter, they’re all great teams down there.”

Jefferson, the CIF state 100-meter sprint champion from last June and the state record holder in the 100-meter dash at 10.02 seconds, was asked if he thought this year’s team had a better chance of doing better in the final game (it was a 37-15 loss to Mater Dei last year but in the previous three seasons it was Serra that was in the CIF’s top game and none of those were close). He also ended the game with 106 of the team’s 256 rushing yards plus there was the 40-yard catch.

“I think last year we lacked a few things,” he said. “When all is said and done, we’re just going to come out and be strong.”

Jefferson also was praiseful of the way that Pitt’s receivers played, but added: “For us to hold them to just two scores is big for us. We were facing adversity, but we held them on their last drive and we got just enough scores on them ourselves.”

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