By Justin Alumbaugh | Photos By Bob Sansome
It is always difficult for me to describe moments where I’ve been truly surprised during my coaching career.
Teenagers are capable of some incredible things, and I’ve been a part of such a rich tradition with De La Salle Football, that I’ve come to expect something unique and extraordinary will happen. What happened on December 18, 2010, in the CIF Open State Championship Bowl game, however, was something that caught me by surprise.
Don’t get me wrong. That team is one of the finest I’ve had the pleasure of being around. And their success that year, and the fact that we won the state championship was not surprising in any way. What WAS surprising (and gratifying) was the WAY that we won that game.
Servite (of Anaheim) came into that night as a nationally top-ranked 14-0 team. It was fresh off of a Trinity League championship and a run through the top playoff division in Southern California that included wins over previously-undefeated Mission Viejo and Alemany-Mission Hills. They were disciplined, well-coached, big, fast and physical.
After watching their game tape leading up to the final night, we knew that the 2010 Spartans were going to need an unmatched and inspiring effort. It would have to include playing nearly mistake free.
When we first walked out onto the field for pregame, we were met with a field that was legitimately under water. As coaches, any uncontrollable variable always puts us on edge. Once our warm-ups started, however, a sense of excitement and anticipation began to arise.
Our line was completely focused and silent during our pregame. What noise they DID make was the result of a physical — even brutal — pregame session that we cut short because their intensity was so high. As we progressed through full team warmups, the aura of excitement and confidence continued to rise.
None of this came from coaches. The great leadership provided by the likes of Dylan Wynn, Blake Renaud, Lucas Dunne, and many, many more created a team that seemed intent on greatness that night. Once the opening kickoff happened, it took two series for us to see what the night would hold.
Servite lost four yards on their first three plays and punted, which we promptly returned to the Servite 29 yard line. Three bruising running plays later, Dunne excitedly found his way into the end zone. This beginning only proved to be a harbinger of things to come.
By halftime, we held a 35-0 lead by scoring on all five of our first-half possessions. Servite had been completely stifled and managed ZERO first downs and only 22 yards on their 18 first-half plays. By game’s end, the 2010 Spartan team found itself a 48-8 victor and walked off the field having dominated a game against an incredible opponent in a way that still inspires me.
The play of top such top level guys like Renaud, Wynn, Dunne, Lucas Shapiro, Bart Houston, Michael Hutchings, among others, was awesome to behold. What was even more awesome was, the common, gritty Spartans that helped us rule that night. There was our 185-pound center, Josh Cabral, leading a “diminutive” offensive line (as they were once called). There was Kyle Miller, our gritty, tough and, if we are honest, athletically challenged nose guard (he was famous for spraining his ankle — TWICE — during off-season backpedal drills) leading a stifling and disciplined defense.
Those are just to name a few. The beauty of that team and the effort it put forth that night is that they could ALL bask in the reward they received: California State Champions. The way that they did it left me in inspired awe.
One college coach present who was recruiting a high-level player from the opposing team grabbed us after the game and mentioned that he had never seen kids play as hard and disciplined as ours had that night.
The #NeverStop Project is an ongoing SportStars Magazine campaign that invites coaches, current and former NorCal athletes to share a sports moment or passion in their own words. View more submissions here. If you’re interested in writing your own #NeverStop piece, email chace@sportstarsmag.com
Thank you for sharing that. It’s amazing what people can accomplish when they put their minds to it.
WTG Justin and De La Salle HS!!!!