Football: De La Salle dominates Open Division bowl

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Concord De La Salle proved once again why it’s one of the premiere football programs in the country, racing to a 35-0 halftime lead and proceeding to blow out Anaheim Servite, 48-8, during a downpour to win Saturday night’s Open Division state bowl game at Home Depot Center.

The Spartans (14-0) scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions and afterwards head coach Bob Ladouceur had to admit that this ranks among his best teams ever--and he’s had some great ones.

‘I don’t like to compare teams because the kids will get mad at me but this one is right up there with the best of them,’ he said. ‘My assistant coaches told me they thought we could run on those guys, to keep calling runs and that’s what I did.’

The shockingly one-sided loss snapped Servite’s 25-game winning streak and marked the fourth defeat in the five bowl games for Southern California teams this year.

‘We tried our best but they dominated us up front and I have to take the blame for that,’ Friars coach Troy Thomas said. ‘We got beat by a better program tonight. They just did what they do best. Bob [Ladouceur] has been winning ever since he got there.’

De La Salle finished with 527 yards to Servite’s 197. Lucas Dunne rushed for 240 yards and four touchdowns and ended the season with a school-record 40 touchdowns. Servite quarterback Cody Pittman was five of 16 for 90 yards and one interception.

The Spartans improved to 3-2 in state bowls and 2-0 in the Open Division game.

-- Steve Galluzzo