De La Salle football – Syndication Server

London, England set to host powerhouse football program De La Salle

De La Salle will play an NFL Academy team in London.

One of the top football programs in the nation and a constant in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25 will be playing in London this fall.

Oh, and to be clear, it is American football, not soccer.

De La Salle High School (Concord, Calif.) is set to play an NFL Academy team on Oct. 8 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The ground, which opened five years ago, is home to an English Premier League club of the same name and is one of the largest and poshest stadiums in the country.

(Sorry about the posh reference, we’re just excited about this game).

The NFL Academy is an “elite football development program for student-athletes.” It is a full-time program, in the model of a soccer academy, that seeks to develop international talent to someday play in the NFL.

Last year, De La Salle finished 11-3, a disappointing season for a program that is used to being among the best in the nation. They finished outside the USA Today top 25.

Historically, De La Salle has been among the top programs in the nation. They are tied with Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) for the most Super 25 championships all-time.

Each program has finished atop the nation on five occasions.

Mater Dei made history in 2021, joining De La Salle atop all-time Super 25 champs list

USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 turns 40 with a history-making champ in 2021.

The 40th USA TODAY Super 25 champion added a historical footnote to the overall results that began in 1982. The Mater Dei Monarchs’ 2021 nod was the program’s fifth Super 25 crown, tying them with football powerhouse De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) for the most all-time.

It’s a remarkable achievement, especially when considering the massive amount of programs and competitive nature of the high school football landscape.

To honor the historical feat—and all the football teams that have made their mark as a past USA TODAY Super 25 champ—we’re looking back at the winners throughout the four decades of gridiron glory.

We begin in Cincinnati, Ohio…

(Editor’s note: Not all images will match the exact season.)

High School Football: De La Salle, St. Frances Academy slated for powerhouse matchup

De La Salle and St. Frances Academy will meet on ESPN in October.

California high school football powerhouse De La Salle released its 2021 schedule on Monday and one out-of-state opponent is standing out as the headliner of the slate.

St. Frances Academy of Baltimore, Maryland will travel to California to take on De La Salle in a nationally televised affair on Oct. 1. St. Frances Academy has established itself as one of the premier high school football programs in the nation recently, going 44-3 since 2016 with multiple Top 10 finishes in the USA Today Super 25 along the way.

“It’s a great challenge with St. Frances,” De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “They are of the caliber of the teams that play for our state title, so we are looking forward to testing ourselves.”

St. Frances boasts seven of the top 16 class of 2022 recruits in the state of Maryland, according to 247Sports, in four-star linebacker Jaishawn Barham, four-star defensive lineman Derrick Moore, four-star defensive lineman Nasir Pearce, four-star cornerback Cam Johnson, three-star cornerback and Boston College commit Jamal Hood, three-star offensive tackle Jacob Sacra and three-star wide receiver and Minnesota commit Ike White. The Panthers also feature an abundance of elite 2023 and 2024 talent.

De La Salle’s other notable 2021 opponent is San Diego catholic school power Cathedral Catholic. De La Salle will have to deal with its usual gauntlet of an East Bay Athletic League schedule, but matchups with St. Frances and Cathedral Catholic will serve as a litmus test for the Spartans this upcoming season.

“Cathedral Catholic is disciplined, physical, athletic and well-coached,” Alumbaugh said. “We’re looking forward to that new matchup with a great program.”

De La Salle football wins 28th sectional title in a row; to play in state championship game

De La Salle football extended its CIF North Coast Section championship streak to 28 seasons as Dorian Hale, Lu-Magia Hearns and Co. beat Pittsburg.

The main game of intrigue for De La Salle (Concord, California) was the first of the season.

The Spartans faced then-No. 1 St. Thomas Aqiunas (Fort Lauderdale, Florida). They put on a respectable performance, albeit in a loss.

Then, it was back to California, where De La Salle did what they have been doing for a decade longer than its players have been alive: beating NorCal teams. The Spartans won the CIF North Coast Section champion on Friday over Pittsburg (California), their 28th sectional title in a row.

The team’s winning streak against NorCal teams has been alive since 1991.

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Running back Shamar Garrett got on the board early with two touchdowns to push the Spartans to a 14-0 lead. Quarterback Dorian Hale continued his excellent play and scored a pair of touchdowns of his own. Running back James Coby continued to make big plays in timely moments and the defense once again dominated as a forced fumble led to Garrett’s touchdown and Lu-Magia Hearns had a 63-yard pick-six — which had been immediately preceded by a 61-yard touchdown reception by Hearns.

De La Salle beat Pittsburg 49-7. It scored 49 points or more in all three playoff games.

In fact, the last time the Spartans scored less than 49 points was on Sept. 20 against Buchanan (Clovis, California), in a 35-0 shutout.

These California teams can try, but De La Salle has been and still is much better than any opponent it faces in the area. The Spartans are a top-10 team in the country, entering Week 14 at No. 8 in the Super 25.

Hale has been consistent all season. Garrett and Coby have formed a formidable running back duo capable of explosive plays at any moment and any yardage — one a fourth-and-five Friday, for instance, Coby had an eight-yard gain.

The defense is among the best in the country, allowing more than 20 points only to its best two opponents, St. Thomas Aquinas and Folsom (California).

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Once again, we can expect the true test to come in the CIF State Open Division Championship, which will be in two weeks against the winner of the game Saturday between No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) and No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California).

The last time De La Salle won was 2015, which was also the last time neither of those two Los Angeles-area teams were in it.

Now on a three-year losing streak in this upcoming championship game, De La Salle will look to end its only negative streak.

All season, the expectation has been that it will come down to two of these three teams.

The Spartans, outscoring its playoff opponents 167-34, made sure they will be represented in the championship game. After beating up on lesser competition and a lone blemish to a team they weren’t favored to beat in Week 1, they’ll look for one final victory in 2019.