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MATER DEI: BAY AREA NATIVES PRAISE DE LA SALLE
No one on Mater Dei’s roster was more familiar with De La Salle than Oregon-bound running back Jordon Davison and four-star receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.
The two star players are from De La Salle’s backyard — Davison in Walnut Creek and Dixon-Wyatt in Concord — and grew up watching the Spartans in their youth.
So when Mater Dei defeated De La Salle 37-15 in the CIF Open Division state championship game on Saturday, the win meant even more to the East Bay products.
“With me being from NorCal, beating De La Salle is exciting,” Davison said. “Playing a team from back home, playing against childhood friends and stuff like that, it’s truly a blessing.”
Mater Dei’s Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (4) reaches to catch a pass in front of De La Salle’s Jaden Jefferson (15) in the second quarter of their CIF open division state football championship game at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
According to Dixon-Wyatt, he was close to wearing De La Salle’s green and silver, but opted to attend the SoCal powerhouse instead.
“I was planning to go there for a second, but, you know, it’s Mater Dei,” he said.
Neither is breaking new ground.
A few years ago, Edison-Stockton running back Raleek Brown transferred to Mater Dei and Pittsburg receiver Israel Polk uprooted to Mater Dei’s SoCal rival, St. John Bosco-Bellflower.
— Nathan Canilao
PITTSBURG: COACH IGNORES DOUBTERS
The stigma that Pittsburg can’t win the big game has followed the storied the East Bay program.
After the Pirates lost Friday’s CIF Division I-AA title game to Lincoln-San Diego 28-26, Pittsburg dropped to 0-3 in state finals. The only other school with more losses is Bellarmine, which has four.
Pittsburg’s Jamar Searcy (28) reacts after a touchdown against Lincoln during the CIF Division 1-AA state championship game at Saddleback College on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Mission Viejo, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
But Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez said losing in the state championship game is not an indictment on the program. Rather, he believes Pittsburg strengthened its case as one of the best programs in the state.
“We had another season that solidified what’s been happening since 2017,” he said. “Every team that we’re losing to since then is an elite team, and that’s what we are.
“Being the public school that we are and being able to do things that we’re doing, no other team in the Bay Area is doing this at this level. There’s nothing to hang our heads about. I’m never going to let anyone feed into this theory that we can’t win the big one. We’re playing at the highest possible level. … We’re a middle-class, low-income town that’s doing great things.”
— Nathan Canilao
DE LA SALLE: READY TO STAY ON TOP
De La Salle assistant coach Maurice Jones-Drew consoles quarterback Toa Faavae (13) after being defeated by Mater Dei during their CIF open division state football championship game at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. Mater Dei defeated De La Salle 37-15. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle’s decorated senior class of Oregon signee Matthew Johnson, quarterback Toa Faavae, lineman Ace Robinson, running backs Derrick Blanche and Dominic Kelley and Co. leave the Concord program with a decorated resume.
Four North Coast Section Open Division titles, two NorCal championships, three trips to a state title game and the team’s 33-year unbeaten streak against NCS teams intact. They also graduate having put the Spartans back on top in after – by De La Salle’s lofty standards – a few down seasons.
“I’ll be honest: they brought us back to national prominence,” Alumbaugh said. “We competed with the No. 1 team in the country.”
Even though De La Salle’s second-half rally came up short in a 37-15 loss to Mater Dei in the Open Division state championship game, the Spartans showed that NorCal’s best can compete with SoCal’s juggernauts.
“We know what we have got to do, all the underclassmen, myself included, next year as a senior,” linebacker Bubba Vargas said. “We know what it takes to beat a team like this, and that we can hang with anybody in the country.”
Now, with lessons learned from an exemplary graduating class, it’s up to rising seniors like Vargas to carry on De La Salle’s winning ways.
“I think we’re back on the map,” Vargas said, with tears still in his eyes a half-hour after the game. “The seniors did a great job as leaders by showing us what a Spartan really is. We all turned into Spartans this year, and I have really high hopes for next year.”
– Joseph Dycus
MOREAU CATHOLIC: CHILDHOOD FRIENDS GO OUT ON TOP
Moreau Catholic’s Jalen Arnold (13) runs with the ball while being tackled by Lindsay’s Salvador Sanchez (83) in the first quarter of their CIF Division 7-AA state football championship game at Fullerton Union High School District Stadium in Fullerton, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Jameson Ransburg, Jalen Arnold and Peyton Collins started playing football together in pewee leagues a decade ago, when the now-seniors were just eight years old.
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While in elementary school, they dreamed of winning championships together. Fast forward to Friday night. Their goals became reality at Fullerton Union High School District Stadium.
Now all-league players on Moreau Catholic’s CIF 7-AA state championship-winning team, the three seniors each made their mark in a 42-8 victory over Lindsay, the last game the trio will play together.
Ransburg had a one-handed interception, Arnold returned a punt for a touchdown and Collins had perhaps the play of the night when he returned an interception for a touchdown and high-fived Arnold before crossing the goal line.
“Shout out to Jalen Arnold and Peyton Collins because those are my guys,” Ransburg said. “To win with them and win our final high school game together, it feels so good.”
– Joseph Dycus
