10 takaways from De La Salle's North Coast Section Open Division high school title win over Pittsburg

Despite the wet conditions, six turnovers and low score, the 10-7 victory was one the best NCS title games at the highest level in recent memory

De La Salle's Dominic Kelley breaks free on a go-ahead and ultimately game-winning 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter while QB Brayden Knight signals touchdown en route to a tough 10-7 victory over Pittsburg in the CIF North Coast Section Open Division title game at Diablo Valley College on Nov. 22. | Photo: Dennis Lee / Photo: Dennis Lee

PLEASANT HILL, CALIFORNIA — Tight game. Physical play. Adversity abounds. 

This was just the kind of game suited for De La Salle High School senior running back Dominic Kelley. 

The chiseled 6-foot, 190-pound senior took over when the Spartans needed him most, finishing with 18 carries and 171 yards and his team’s only touchdown in a wet, intense and highly anticipated 10-7 North Coast Section Open Division victory Friday over a talented and spirited Pittsburg squad at Diablo Valley College. 

Kelley took it home on a 35-yard scamper with 7 minutes, 46 seconds left giving the Spartans their first lead since Washington State-bound running back Jamar Searcy scored on a 15-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. 

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Between the rain, breeze and hard hits, both teams squandered numerous opportunities until Kelley broke left, cut back to the middle of the field and was barely touched to cap a 5-play, 78-yard drive that featured chunk runs from he, Jaden Jefferson and Derrick Blanche Jr.  

After a 3-and-out, Kelley carried the ball seven of the game’s final nine plays to run out the clock, though replays showed he scored on an 11-yard run that would have given De La Salle a 16-7 lead with two minutes left. Instead, officials said his knee went down at the 1 and with Pittsburg taking its last timeout, the Spartans decided to kneel on it three straight times to not chance a fumble. 

Under rain-drenched conditions, Dominic Kelley rushed for 171 yards and the only touchdown for De La Salle in a 10-7 win over Pittsburg for the North Coast Section Open Division title Friday at Diablo Valley College. / Photo: Dennis Lee

Smart move, but it gave De La Salle its smallest margin of its 32nd consecutive NCS titles and first 10-7 win since the Spartans beat John Swett to start the 1978 season. None of the history or margin concerned Kelley. 

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“I’m just glad we won,” Kelley said. “My style is to definitely get down hill. I really want these guys to come hit me, you know. That really gives me a challenge. I like to break tackles, run through contact. This is the type of game, a nice gritty game, hard fought, tough running game. That’s my favorite type of game.”  

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On a field of at least a dozen future Division I players, Kelley was the eventual standout. Without blinding speed, Kelley isn’t a top prospect, but is deciding between San Jose State and Portland State, where he’d join backfield teammate Derrick Blanche, who rushed 11 times for 76 yards. 

Here’s nine more takeaways from the game

Few points, more drama

So there were few points from two teams that regular score 40 to 50 per game. So there were six turnovers and only 17 points. The rainy conditions definitely contributed to the score being lower than expected, but the high drama and fierce competitive nature of it was high.

"Both teams competited their butts off," De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. "Thoug not perfectly played, it was a great high school football game."

De La Salle enjoys its 32nd straight North Coast Section title after a tough 10-7 win over Pittsburg Friday at Diablo Valley College / Photo: Dennis Lee

UCLA-bound JuJu Walls lives up to billing

Ranked the No. 45 senior in California by 247Sports, Pittsburg’s 6-3, 235-pound defensive end was a menace all night, leading his team with 13 tackles, a blocked pass and fumble recovery. Considering he just plays one side of the field, that’s a huge number of tackles. He was equally active in the team’s other loss, 35-14 to St. John Bosco, a game that also featured more than a dozen future college players. That points to the UCLA commit to have a big college career, if not further. “He disrupts everything,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said before the game. 

Pittsburg senior and UCLA commit JuJu Walls holds up the ball after a fumble recovery in his team's tough 10-7 loss to De La Salle in the 2024 North Coast Section Open Division title game at rainy Diablo Valley College. / Photo: Dennis Lee

Searcy, all top-ranked Pirates show out

Pittsburg senior running back and strong safety Jamar Searcy isn’t ranked as high as Walls or fellow UCLA-bound standout Jaydn Hudson who is ranked No. 30 in the state. In fact, Searcy is behind two more seniors on the 247 list, the five Pirates evaluated by 247Sports. Pittsburg’s top recruit who is also headed to UCLA and who also had a superb game with eight tackles. In fact, Searcy is ranked fifth on his team by 247Sports behind Hudson (30), Walls (45), Boise State-bound athlete Dominik Calhoun (70) and San Diego State-bound linebacker Etene Pritchard (92). Searcy, a Washington State commit, may be ranked No. 122 but no one on either team influenced the game more than the speedy and relentless standout. He finished with 16 carries for 116 yards and his team’s only touchdown. He added four catches and had nine tackles. Searcy said the narrow loss wasn’t something to build on. All the top-rated Pirates stood out. Besides Walls and Searcy, Pritchard had nine tackles, Hudson eight and Calhoun added six tackles and an interception.  “It’s always one game at a time, but we’ve been preparing for this moment all season,” Searcy said. “We came up a little short, but our chemistry will grow and we have a chance to come back next week.” 

Pittsburg senior running back and Washington State commit Jamar Searcy holds up his finger while scoring a 15-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. It was his team's only score in a 10-7 loss to De La Salle in the North Coast Section Open Division title game at Diablo Valley College. 11/22/2024 / Photo: Dennis Lee

Baumgartner still making up for lost time

It was a frustrating junior season for De La Salle outside linebacker Nico Baumgartner. He missed four games due to injury and just got going in the last two, picking up 13 tackles. He bettered that by one on Friday with a game-high 14 tackles to increase his team-leading season total to 85. The rangy and fast 6-3, 205-pounder received his first Division I offer earlier this month from Fresno State. Expect more to come by the early signing period which starts Dec. 4. “He’s having an incredible senior year,” Alumbaugh said. More incredible considering he’s been playing with a broken thumb and a giant cast. 

Timely defense

Three times in the second half Pittsburg had chances to extend its 7-3 lead, driving inside the red zone only to be pushed out of it. Twice the Spartans held on downs thanks to sacks from Morgan and Oregon-bound Matt Johnson and a big tackle for loss by Baumgartner. 

After taking eight minutes off the clock with a brilliant drive to start the third quarter, Pittsburg senior quarterback Marley Alcantara dropped back and seemed to have a receiver running free in the end zone. As he cocked his arm back to pass, the ball slipped out and De La Salle’s Anthony Morgan fell on it. Alcantara twice extended the drive with scrambles. 

“They (De La Salle) got lucky,” Alcantara said of the rainy conditions. “That’s all I’ll say about that. …. Our defense held it down for a very long time. Our offense just didn’t execute in the weather. That’s something we got to work on and something we’ll prepare for.” 

De La Salle's defense (green) allowed only seven points and 258 total yards to a team that averaged 406 yards and 45 points per game coming in. At Diablo Valley College, Here Oregon-bound Matt Johnson (56) chases after Pittsburg QB Marley Alcantara. North Coast Section Open Division title game. 11/22/2024 | Photo: Dennis Lee / Photo: Dennis Lee

Rain effected both teams equally

Because Pittsburg came in with nearly twice as many passing attempts as the Spartans, most saw the rain affecting the Pirates more than De La Salle. But the Spartans completely left its passing game after a tipped Toa Favaae pass by Walls was picked off by Calhoun in the second quarter. On that play, Calhoun fumbled the ball back to De La Salle — at least that was the call — so the sequence sort of mirrored the point of equal effect. Each team finished with three turnovers. All of De La Salle’s 324 yards were on the ground, while Alcantara was 10 of 15 for 79 yards and the Pirates ran for 179 yards. Total yards: De La Salle 324, Pittsburg 258.    

Pirates still upbeat

With the new playoff format, the Pirates are still alive and can advance to the CIF State Bowl Championships with a win over San Ramon Valley in the NCS D1 title game. The site will be the same at Diablo Valley College on Friday. The Pirates hope for different conditions, and results. 

“Obviously today was bittersweet because we wanted to win,” Alcantara said. “We had a chance to beat De La Salle and you always want to beat De La Salle. But we have another chance next week and we’ll be ready to bounce back.” 

Said Ramirez: "We haven't lost to a NCS team other than De La Salle since 2018. We're going to keep that energy going."

Pittsburg senior quarterback Marley Alcantara during his team's 10-7 loss to De La Salle in the North Coast Section Open Division championship at Diablo Valley College. 11/22/2024 / Photo: Dennis Lee

Regional Open Division game needed

Because the NCS Open Division tournament is just two weeks and the one exception of section-to-regional play is at the Open level, De La Salle will have three weeks to wait/prepare for its next game.

The Spartans will no doubt be selected as Northern California representative into the CIF State Open Division game to be played Dec. 14 at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Alumbaugh and staff had had multiple two-week breaks during the season, but this is the first three-week gap.

"It's awful," he said. "We'll figure it out and make the most of it."

The CIF Open Bowl Championship — pitting the two best teams from each region — is only game to be handpicked by the CIF’s football committee so no regional is played. We think that should be reconsidered and a regional Open Game played to qualify for the state game.

Simply pick the top two teams from the North and top two teams in the South to play a regional Open game.

It was set up like that in 2012 and 2013, but De La Salle crushed very good Folsom teams each season, 45-17 and 49-15. Despite having great teams, both featured record-setting and now NFL QB Jake Browning, Folsom, clearly the second best team in NorCal, had to sit home while lesser teams those years from the Sac-Joaquin Section, Granite Bay and Del Oro, got to play in Division I state title games.

And adjustment was made after then to skip the regional Open game in 2014, De La Salle moved right into the Open game to beat Corona Centenntial 63-42 and Folsom won the Division 1 regional over Grant, 52-21, before crushing Oceanside 68-7 in its first state finals appearance.

De La Salle enjoying its 32nd straight NCS championship hardware after a 10-7 win over Pittsburg on 11/22/2024 at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill California / Photo: Dennis Lee