Champions! De La Salle edges San Ramon Valley in tense NCS Open final
De La Salle wins 31st consecutive NCS title as QB Toa Faavae scores two fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a slim deficit
DUBLIN – One of San Ramon Valley’s all-time great teams was given a second chance to beat De La Salle, and the Wolves gave the Concord powerhouse everything it could handle and more.
But, in the end, De La Salle won the North Coast Section Open Division championship, 17-7, thanks to quarterback Toa Faavae’s fourth-quarter touchdown on two keepers around the left side to erase a four-point deficit.
Faavae, who is spiritual, took a moment on the sideline to pray while his teammates celebrated in the middle of the Dublin High field.
For the 31st time in a row, De La Salle won the section championship.
“We knew something needed to happen,” explained Faavae. “Something to get the momentum going.”
In two weeks, De La Salle (10-2) will compete in a NorCal regional tournament. On November 26, its opponent will be revealed.
SRV will return to Dublin High on Friday to face Pittsburg for the section’s Division I title and a second regional berth after finishing second in the Open.
“We’ve got to get this one out of the way as soon as possible,” said SRV coach Aaron Becker. “Realize there is still an opportunity ahead of us to do something great.”
The Wolves (10-2) came close to capitalizing on their opportunity on Friday.
They took a 7-3 lead late in the first half and kept it when a punt cut De La Salle’s lead to 7 with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
However, as Faavae pointed out, the tide did eventually turn.
The Spartans put together a 13-play drive for the game-winning touchdown on a night when SRV middle linebacker Marco Jones dominated, punishing seemingly every DLS ballcarrier.
With 9:42 remaining, Derrick Blanche converted two third-down conversions before Faavae scored on a 15-yard run to cap the 93-yard drive and give DLS a 10-7 lead.
“Block 23 is what I was thinking,” DLS coach Justin Alumbaugh said of Jones. “We tried to keep it simple and ultimately rely on our physicality and get downhill, only using Toa’s legs a couple of times.” That is effective.”
The next SRV possession lasted five snaps and ended when quarterback Luke Baker failed to move the chains with a pass from his own 46 while being tugged by a defender.
DLS took the ball with 8:23 remaining and did what championship teams do. Blanche’s runs converted two fourth-down conversions, the last with just over two minutes remaining, as the Spartans completed a game-winning drive.
Blanche gained 12 yards following his four-yard run on fourth-and-3 to give DLS another first down. Faavae’s 14-yard run to the end zone with 1:24 remaining made it 17-7.
“We work on that every week in practice,” Blanche said. “We work so hard for moments and games like this.” When we get to that point, we’re taught to do this. “We just executed once more.”
A month ago, DLS defeated SRV in overtime, 33-27.
It was clear from the start that the story of the rematch would be defense.
“That might have been one of the best defensive games we’ve played in a long time,” Becker said to reporters. “It was absolutely phenomenal.”
With 4:46 remaining before halftime, Finn Sepic’s 21-yard field goal put De La Salle up 3-0. The Spartans drove inside the 10, but were forced to stop at the 4.
San Ramon Valley responded with a methodical 82-yard drive that included runs by Matthew Garibaldi and culminated in a 32-yard pass from Baker to Evan Economos down the right sideline, putting the Wolves up 7-3 with 24 seconds remaining before halftime.
Until Faavae’s heroic fourth quarter, the score remained unchanged. On 10 carries, he gained 132 yards. Blanche gained 90 yards on 21 attempts.
SRV was held to 54 yards rushing and 99 yards passing by DLS.
Due to injuries, both teams were missing players, most notably SRV receiver Owen Scott and DLS lineman Matthew Johnson.
They did, however, play another classic, extending DLS’s unbeaten streak against NCS opponents to at least next season.
The Spartans have gone 270-0-1 in their section since their last loss in 1991.
“We laid it all out there,” said Jones, who had an interception. “I believe it was obvious. Things do, however, happen. That’s the end of it. “All we have to do now is put it behind us and move on to the next week.”
