Spartans still kings in Open Division Bowl

In a game that began and ended in eerily similar fashion to last season’s game, Concord De La Salle easily won its third consecutive CIF state championship Open Division game, routing previously undefeated Westlake Village Westlake 35-0 before a crowd of 9,654 Saturday night at Home Depot Center in Carson.

A year ago, the Spartans racked up 527 yards and scored 35 points in the first half of their 48-8 triumph over Anaheim Servite on the same field, but that time it rained throughout the weekend and the natural grass field was muddy. Artificial turf was installed this year, conditions were ideal Saturday, and from the first whistle De La Salle dominated to keep Southern California winless in the Open game since the division was added in 2008.

Tiapepe Vitale ran up the middle for a 37-yard touchdown on De La Salle’s fourth play from scrimmage to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. On the Spartans’ next drive, quarterback Bart Houston threw to a wide-open Joshua Jenkins, who ran 58 yards to Westlake’s two-yard line. Houston’s keeper on the next play gave De La Salle a 14-0 lead with 6:42 left in the first quarter.

Michael Hutchings caught a crossing pass from Houston on fourth-and-long and raced 27 yards for another touchdown to increase the margin to 21-0 midway through the second quarter, and De La Salle was well on the way to its fourth win in six state bowl trips.

Westlake (14-1) drove deep into Spartans territory, on its next possession, but senior defensive back Anthony Williams made a diving interception on the goal line for a touchback. The Warriors were thwarted once again on the following drive when linebacker David Moffitt intercepted a pass by Justin Moore in the end zone and returned it to De La Salle’s 21-yard line.

Despite the lopsided loss, Warriors Coach Jim Benkert remained positive.

“We moved the ball and had some chances,” he said at halftime.

After the game, Benkert said, “We fought as hard as we could tonight, we just got beat by a better football team. We learned a little bit today, so I’m happy.”

Moore completed 15 of 31 passes for 153 yards and ran for 47 yards in 14 carries . Cody Tuttle had nine receptions for 89 yards and Bradley Wellman had three catches for 46 yards for Westlake.

The Warriors fell behind, 28-0, on Vitale’s two-yard run with 9:02 left in the third quarter. The lead grew to 35 points on Houston’s one-yard sneak less than six minutes later.

De La Salle has not lost to a California team since falling to Corona Centennial, 21-16, in the 2008 Division I bowl. The Spartans’ six state bowl appearances are the most by any team.

Westlake was without senior Alex Ball, who on Saturday received the Herbalife 24 Chris Sailer Award as the nation’s top high school kicker. He had 19 field goals this season but suffered a knee injury in the Warriors’ 49-42 victory over crosstown rival Oaks Christian in the Southern Section Northern Division title game.

“Not having Alex Ball hurt us, but it’s not the reason we lost,” Benkert said. “We don’t see the triple option that they run, and with only a couple of days to prepare for that, we were back on our heels. We did a lot to get here, and I’m proud of that.”

Houston completed seven of 12 passes for 180 yards and Joe Te’o rushed for 98 yards in 16 carries for De La Salle (13-1), which netted 449 yards to Westlake’s 248 and gained 22 first downs to the Warriors’ 15.

Southern California schools won the first four bowls of the weekend and hold a 17-9 advantage over Northern California since the state bowls were introduced in 2006.

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