De La Salle cruised to a 35-14 win over Cathedral Catholic on Friday in a battle of unbeaten powerhouses and the state's No. 1 game of the week.
The two stories of the game were De La Salle's dazzling 21-0 start and the injuries Cathedral would suffer upon finding its footing in the second quarter. Despite the Dons' injuries, it was a big stock-rising victory for De La Salle, which now has an outstanding chance of going 10-0 for the umpteenth time.
The Spartans did most of their scoring in the first 14 minutes of the game – before any injuries entered the fold – as the Dons struggled to defend the veer or establish offense of their own. Greg Jones and Brayden Knight opened the game with rushing touchdowns, and De La Salle took over deep in its own territory after a turnover on downs shortly before the end of the first quarter. It quickly capitalized as Knight flipped the field with a 61-yard touchdown run as the Spartans made it 21-0 with 10:32 left in the second.
Cathedral Catholic would then lose star QB Brady Palmer, a 3-star Cal commit, to an upper body injury. Its offense got going on its next drive by running the ball almost every time, and the Dons got on the board with backup Nathan Ashmore under center on a nine-yard Willie Flores scamper with 4:14 left in the half, cutting the deficit to 21-7.
De La Salle iced a promising Dons drive to end the half and ate up their drive to start the third quarter. The Spartans forced a punt from Cathedral's own one-yard line, took over at the 16, and scored with 8:02 left in the third on a physical Knight run.
The Dons weren't quite done, as Honor Fa'alave-Johnson scored from nine yards out with 3:02 left in the third following a 36-yard run from Flores to help set it up.
Fa'alave-Johnson, a 5-star ATH prospect, was hobbled a few times with cramps down the stretch, and Cathedral DB Noah Lauifi suffered a potentially serious lower body injury halfway through the fourth quarter. De La Salle had gone up 35-14 a few minutes before that on another Johnson-Lucas rushing touchdown, this time in highlight fashion after withstanding a big hit before breaking through from 14 yards out.
Look for De La Salle (6-0) to continue rising in statewide and national rankings after winning by three scores against its top-ranked in-state foe of the regular season. The Spartans now have a bye week before opening EBAL - Mountain play against Amador Valley. Cathedral Catholic (5-1) is tasked with reloading next week against unbeaten Point Loma.
Pregame
During a week in which the onset of league play dominates most storylines, the No. 1 game of the week is a final NorCal-versus-SoCal chess match before state championships bring more in mid-December, and both teams come in unbeaten. At No. 7 in the state, De La Salle has unsurprisingly been in national rankings discussions for a few weeks now, whereas Cathedral Catholic wasn't on the national radar to start the season but wasted no time in pushing the envelope. Regardless of who wins, De La Salle is the favorite to emerge as the NorCal Open Division regional champion and Cathedral Catholic still has to worry about Lincoln in both Western League play and perhaps the CIF-SDS Open Division playoffs. But the winner has a great chance to go 10-0, especially with De La Salle off to a strong start in what's otherwise a down year for most of the North Coast Section. And whichever team wins also has to like their chances of being ranked top-25 in the nation a week from now.
Final score, updates
De La Salle wins 35-14.
FOURTH QUARTER:
6:28: Noah Lauifi is down with what appears to be a concerning lower body injury. Injury stoppage.
10:06 – De La Salle 35, Cathedral Catholic 14: Johnson-Lucas somehow stays up after withstanding some early contact and stumbles into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown.
EARLY Q4: Fa'alave-Johnson limps off the field on his own power after staying down for a minute, exiting the game with an injury. He manages to reenter the game after just a couple plays, but De La Salle tackles him after a handoff on fourth down for a turnover on downs.
THIRD QUARTER:
3:03 – De La Salle 28, Cathedral Catholic 14: The Dons are back in the game following a nine-yard run by Honor Fa'alave-Johnson.
3:51: Cathedral Catholic is threatening after a 36-yard run from Flores.
8:02 – De La Salle 28, Cathedral Catholic 7: De La Salle regains complete control of the game. Knight keeps an option play and survives a hit to score from several yards out.
9:45: Cathedral Catholic nearly gives up a safety in its own end zone after back-to-back botched snaps, and ends up punting from its own one-yard line. De La Salle takes over at the Dons' 16-yard line.
SECOND QUARTER:
De La Salle leads 21-7 at halftime.
4:14 – De La Salle 21, Cathedral Catholic 7: Despite the absence of Palmer, the Dons are on the board after a nine-yard rushing score from Willie Flores.
6:28: Cathedral Catholic QB Brady Palmer, a Cal commit, has been out with an injury for a few minutes now. Nathan Ashmore is under center in his place.
10:32 – De La Salle 21, Cathedral Catholic 0: Jamal Johnson-Lucas gives the Spartans their third touchdown, Knight hits a tumbling Dylan Scott for the two-point conversion, and the rout might be on already.
11:19: De La Salle is threatening again after a 61-yard run from Knight.
FIRST QUARTER:
0:38: De La Salle takes over on downs deep in its own territory.
3:20 – De La Salle 13, Cathedral Catholic 0: De La Salle is off to a strong start after a 40-yard keeper from Knight. PAT is unsuccessful.
6:59 – De La Salle 7, Cathedral Catholic 0: Greg Jones scores his first touchdown of the season, and the game's first score, off a pitch from Brayden Knight.