Updated: De La Salle to host El Cerrito Friday in makeup game after Foothill cancels

Illness, injuries at forefront of cancellation for Foothill of Pleasanton; Bay Area, undefeated El Cerrito comes to rescue

With roughly 25 healthy bodies, the football team of Foothill-Pleasanton won't be taking on perennial California state power De La Salle on Friday.

Instead unbeaten El Cerrito (7-0) will be taking on the perennial national power.  

As first reported by the San Jose Mercury News, Foothill head coach Greg Haubner said his team is down almost 20 players from its original roster of 44 players due to injuries and illness. They canceled the East Bay Athletic League game in Concord.

De La Salle (5-2), ranked 18th in the state by SBLive, was projected to win the game 62-0 by calpreps.com. 

The Spartans, winners of five straight including a 33-27 overtime game last week, was looking for an opponent but finding Week 8 games the same week is a longshot. 

Late Wednesday afternoon, El Cerrito stepped up and will travel to Concord for the 7 p.m game  

El Cerrito is ranked 12th in SBLive’s Northern California Coast rankings  

Asked his reaction to the Gauchos stepping into the open spot, De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said: “Simply, gratitude.”

Edison-Huntington Beach, which had a two-game trip in Hawaii canceled in August due to the Maui wildfires, had recently filled a Week 8 game, according to Alumbaugh. 

"We reached out (to Edison)," Alumbaugh told SBLive Sports Wednesday morning. “We've checked almost everyone and still trying."

Asked his general reaction to the Foothill cancellation, Alumbaugh said: "Disappointment. There are only 10 games that are 'guaranteed''in football, and to not get one that's on the schedule is really unfortunate. We're lucky it wasn't homecoming or Senior Night." 

Foothill, a strong program with a rich tradition — the Falcons have won four North Coast Section titles, are battling through a 1-6 season. Their next scheduled game is Oct. 27 at home versus San Ramon Valley (6-1), which has been ranked in the state Top 25 for the last three weeks. 

De La Salle's next scheduled opponent is Oct. 27 at Monte Vista-Danville. 

Now the Spartans will go into the Monte Vista game with eight games under its belt.