New format, same ol’ blowout.
De La Salle needed just three snaps to cross the goal line Friday night, surged to a 32-point halftime lead and cruised to a 42-10 victory over eighth-seeded San Marin in the first round of the North Coast Section Open/Division I playoffs.
The Concord powerhouse advances to the Open final next week against Pittsburg or Clayton Valley Charter. De La Salle will be seeking its 32nd consecutive section title and 41st overall.
The NCS introduced a new competitive equity format this season, putting the section’s top eight teams — no matter enrollment — into the Open/Division I bracket.
San Marin, which won lower-division state championships in 2021 and 2022, drew the toughest draw of them all.
The 7-3 team from Novato made the trip from the North Bay to face an opponent that has not lot to an NCS opponent in 33 years and brought an undefeated record to the field.
De La Salle looked every bit like a juggernaut from the get-go.
After recovering an onside kick to open the game, Dominic Kelley ran 44 yards to the 5. Emery Speight scored on the next snap and the Spartans were off and rolling.
Duece Jones-Drew’s 26-yard run on the first play of De La Salle’s next series made it 14-0.
San Marin forced a punt on De La Salle’s next possession and made a fourth-down stop the next time the home team got the ball. But the Mustangs could only hold off the Spartans for so long.
Toa Faavae weaved his way for a 26-yard run on a quarterback keeper to extend De La Salle’s lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter. Kelley followed with a five-yard scoring run to stretch the advantage to 28-0.
Nate Mandelbrot’s 37-yard field goal got the visitors on the scoreboard late in the first half.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, there was enough time on the clock for De La Salle to respond, which the Spartans did. On play-action, Faavae connected over the middle with a wide-open Landon Cook, who didn’t stop until he reached the end zone.
In 10 seconds, De La Salle made it 35-3.
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San Marin opened the second half with a highlight to cherish as Daniel Rolovich threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Cipollina, who made the catch while being closely defended. The touchdown cut the margin to 35-10.
Moments later, De La Salle was back in the end zone. Derrick Blanche did the honors, breaking tackles and making knee-buckling cuts to cross the goal line from 40 yards out to extend the cushion to 42-10.
The victory improved De La Salle’s record against NCS opponents to 276-0-1 since its last loss, to Pittsburg in 1991.