Decade of Dominance

De La Salle has won 100 games in a row
by: Jonathan Okanes
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At the conclusion of the 1999 season, at which point De La Salle H.S. (Concord, Calif.) had extended its national-record winning streak to 100 games, DLS lineman Tosh Lupoi was asked to describe his All-American teammate D.J. Williams. Lupoi is an expert on Williams, a 6-2 230-pound linebacker who will play this fall at the University of Miami (Fla.). Then again, all of the Spartans are pretty much experts on all of the other Spartans.

"I've been with him almost every day of my life since the beginning of my freshman year," Lupoi started.

Now, Lupoi is not just talking about "every day" of his life during the football season. We're literally talking every day here.

Such is the drill at De La Salle. The Spartans were the most dominant prep football program in the country in the 1990s. With its 38-14 victory over San Leandro in this season's North Coast Section Division 4A championship game, De La Salle has now won 100 games in a row. That's eight straight undefeated seasons. The Spartans' last loss came in the NCS title game in 1991, when they fell to Pittsburg, 35-27.

Needless to say, football is a way of life at De La Salle. When the Spartans put away an opponent to win the section championship every year, it doesn't mark the end of the season but more the beginning of a short vacation.

While a lot of schools don't do much work in the off-season in preparation for the following season, De La Salle's "season" begins just a few weeks after the completion of the previous one. The Spartans have a thorough weight-training and conditioning program that keeps the team active almost year-round.

The program is successful not only because of the actual work and preparation involved, but perhaps more importantly, it helps fester a strong team atmosphere. Many DLS players have said over the years that one of the primary reasons the team has had so much success is because the amount of commitment and loyalty the players feel toward their teammates. Simply put, nobody wants to be the guy who lets the others down.

The Spartans have team dinners the night before each game. Sometimes, players break down into tears when they talk about the love and loyalty they feel for their teammates.

"When you see a big lineman crying because he loves his teammates so much, it means something," former De La Salle lineman Jesse Rodriguez once said.

The De La Salle players are very close. That tends to happen when you spend 11 months of the year together.

Williams, considered by many to be the best college prospect in the nation last season, was in tears after the Spartans' title win over San Leandro.

"I realized that it was the last time I would be playing with my friends," Williams said.

Still, it's hard to attribute De La Salle's enormous success only to its commitment and teamwork. Certainly, there are other schools that employ year-round programs and have a tremendous commitment to preparation. But no other program has reached the level of the Spartans.

One of the other reasons for the Spartans' accomplishments is the work of Coach Bob Ladouceur, who has won a handful of national coach of the year awards over the years. Ladouceur is part-tactician, part no-nonsense supervisor.

De La Salle was just another football program before Ladouceur arrived in 1979. Since, he has compiled a mind-boggling record of 236-14-1.

"When he first got there, he was able to take average players and make them into great players," says St. Francis H.S. (Mountain View, Calif.) Coach Mike Mitchell, whose team has accounted for four losses in De La Salle's streak. "Now, he still does that, but he's getting great athletes coming to the school."

Indeed. The Spartans have never had more talent than in the past couple of years. In the past, De La Salle would come across teams with better personnel, but would still be able to beat them handily. Now, De La Salle, a private school, has top talent from different reaches of the Bay Area wanting to get involved in the Spartans' success.

The results have been, predictably, impressive. De La Salle has improved its schedule in recent years to include some of the best teams in California. But the streak lives on, and part of that is because of the great individual talent on display at the school.

Following the 1998 season, the Spartans had four players move on to the Division I level. Last year, De La Salle had three, and could have as many as five other underclassmen eventually follow.

That's not to say the Spartans haven't had talent in the past. There are four former Spartans currently playing in the NFL (Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer, Chargers offensive lineman Aaron Taylor, Saints kicker Doug Brien and Jets offensive lineman David Loverne). There are also many ex-De La Salle stars playing at major collegiate programs right now.

De La Salle's success is a combination of great talent, excellent coaching and an amazing amount of work and preparation. And the Spartans aren't just barely beating teams. During the 100-game win streak, De La Salle's average margin of victory has been over 40 points.

Many say that is deceiving. Many think that is more a reflection of the Spartans' quality of competition than a reflection of the Spartans themselves. The conventional wisdom is the quality of football in Northern California is not strong, and De La Salle wasn't playing anyone worthwhile in the Bay Valley Athletic League.

But in 1998, the Spartans came to an agreement with the BVAL to allow them to become a quasi-independent. De La Salle would play just five games against BVAL teams and then have five non-league games. The Spartans would not be eligible for the BVAL championship but would be able to gain at-large admission to the NCS playoffs.

De La Salle took advantage of its new-found scheduling freedom to step up its quality of competition. The Spartans scheduled Southern California power Mater Dei (Santa Ana), Central California power Bakersfield and fellow Bay Area power Skyline (Oakland).

The Spartans were tested by Mater Dei in 1998, pulling out a 28-21 Victory in a game played in the Monarch's backyard at Anaheim's Edison Field. But other than that, the wins continue to be lopsided.

De La Salle pounded Mater Dei, 42-0, in the 1999 rematch in Stockton, leaving observers to wonder what else the Spartans can prove. A game against an out-of-state national power may be next.

Until then, it's 100 and counting for the Spartans.

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