Acalanes had beaten everyone in its path all season under first-year coach Joel Isaac.
From Archbishop Mitty and St. Ignatius to Clayton Valley Charter and Campolindo, the Lafayette school had conquered them all.
For one half Friday night, it looked as if the Dons might do it again.
On the road in Santa Rosa against North Bay powerhouse Cardinal Newman, Acalanes found itself in a tie game with 24 minutes to go.
A berth in the North Coast Section Division I championship game was within reach, a chance to topple one of the section’s bluebloods in their own backyard seemed possible.
Then it all went south.
Cardinal Newman scored one touchdown, then another and another as Acalanes’ perfect season tumbled in stunning fashion.
When it ended, Cardinal Newman had won 52-17.
The Cardinals outscored the Dons 28-0 in the third quarter and 35-0 in the second half, dominating them with a Wing-T running attack that piled up 450 yards.
Cardinal Newman (11-1) will play Pittsburg for the Division I title next week.
Acalanes finished 11-1.
No, it wasn’t a shock that Cardinal Newman, a 13-time NCS champion, won.
But how the Cardinals advanced was certainly stunning, especially given Acalanes’ resume this season and how the opening half unfolded.
Deonte Littlejohn’s short touchdown run with 2:58 left before halftime gave Acalanes a 17-9 lead.
Who could have guessed at that point that Cardinal Newman would score the next 43 points over the final 27 minutes?
But that’s what happened.
The Cardinals answered Littlejohn’s score as Brody Estrela’s 28-yard touchdown run with 14 seconds left in the half and a two-point conversion made it 17-17.
Kordell Strane’s 8-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter gave Cardinal Newman its first lead, 24-17.
What followed was the game’s key sequence.
On fourth down from its own 25, Acalanes tried to move the chains but did not convert.
On the next snap, Malakai Pathoumnourack ran 25 yards for a TD to put Cardinal Newman up 31-17.
Acalanes never recovered.