They Make Us Believe the Hype

It was impossible to live up to its billing as the Game of the Century, but Concord De La Salle and Long Beach Poly certainly proved to the nation that there is nothing laid back about prep football in California when it is played at the highest level.

De La Salle extended its almost surreal winning streak to 117 games Saturday night with an impressive 29-15 victory over Poly.

The standing-room only crowd of more than 17,000 at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach and the audience that watched on cable and satellite TV got a close look at two talented and determined teams that demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship under a national spotlight.

Afterward, De La Salle Coach Bob Ladouceur credited his players for maintaining their focus.

“They have been working on this game since January, ever since it got on our schedule and they knew that if you are going to play a team like Poly, you’re going to have to train for them all year and give it that little extra,” Ladouceur said. “They responded. They made a commitment to do it and held themselves to it.”

Contrast in styles: De La Salle quietly emerged from the stadium tunnel for the national anthem in two lines and with players holding hands.

Poly came out more boisterously and was led by a wall of humanity that included 6-foot-7, 315-pound Manuel Wright, 6-7, 300-pound Winston Justice and 6-5, 243-pound Junior Lemauu.

After the game, De La Salle running back Maurice Drew said closeness sets De La Salle apart from other teams.

“In the summertime, we go on camping trips and get close to each other,” Drew said. “And we spend off-days together. We’re like close friends, real close friends. We’re like brothers.”

Little big man: Drew, 5-7 and 180 pounds, started both ways for only the second time. He responded by scoring all of De La Salle’s touchdowns and making several key tackles as a defensive back.

“He hits like a truck,” Ladouceur said. “It’s training, it’s heart and he is a special player. Tonight was a real coming-out party for him.”

What’s next: Ladouceur has no peer in preparing his teams, but he acknowledged that it might be difficult to motivate his team for future games.

“I don’t know-that’s going to be hard,” Ladouceur sighed. “It really is.”

See you next year: Contrary to reports that it was a one-game contract between the schools, Poly will travel to Northern California next year to play the Spartans in the fifth week of the season.

“We weren’t going to come down if they didn’t come back up,” said Terry Eidson, De La Salle’s athletic director and defensive coordinator. “We only do home-and-home. We do not do one-way deals.”

Eidson said Poly and De La Salle were splitting the receipts from Friday night’s game.

One for the books: The Poly-De La Salle matchup was so compelling, it resulted in a book contract for Don Wallace, a 1970 Poly graduate. Wallace said Simon & Schuster is planning to release the book, tentatively titled “One Great Game” next fall.

“People on the East Coast kept saying, ‘Why does it have to be a Northern California and a Southern California team?”’ Wallace said. “The fact is, our football is a lot better. There will never be a New York team in a game like this.”

Old college try: A packed Veterans Stadium and an electric atmosphere resembled a college game and there was an abundance of college football players in attendance.

Kevin Simon, a former De La Salle player who is a redshirt freshman at Tennessee, wore a Volunteers’ lettermen’s jacket on the De La Salle sideline. Tennessee lost to Georgia, 26-24, on Saturday.

Chris Lewis of Stanford, a former Poly quarterback, was on the Jackrabbits’ sideline along with USC’s Kareem Kelly and Darrell Rideaux, who came to the game immediately after arriving at LAX following USC’s 27-24 loss to Washington at Seattle.

Fast and focused: For all the hoopla surrounding the game and their winning streak, De La Salle players said it wasn’t on their mind when they took the field against Poly.

“We don’t worry about the streak,” Drew said. “We just come out and play hard every game because every game is a big game for us.”

Held in check: Poly running back Hershel Dennis rushed for 161 yards in 20 carries, but De La Salle kept him from achieving the kind of game-breaking run that has characterized his career.

“They have great discipline and they made it tough to break a long one,” Dennis said. “They pretty much stuck to their game plan. They’re a good, hard, disciplined team.”

Lessons learned: Raul Lara, Poly’s first-year coach, emerged from the Poly locker room after the game to congratulate De La Salle players and coaches, who had remained on the field. Lara said he told the Jackrabbits there was still much work to be done as they pursue their third consecutive Southern Section Division I championship.

“I told them to keep their heads up and be proud and enjoy this moment because they will never experience anything like this,” Lara said. “I told them it hurts. It hurts me and I told them I’ll probably go home and cry about it. But we learned something here.”

Modest streak: La Verne Bonita needs only 116 consecutive victories to match De La Salle’s winning streak, so the Bearcats are cherishing Friday night’s dramatic 14-0 victory over San Dimas.

Korey Johnson intercepted a pass with 1:50 left and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown to break a scoreless game. Twenty-six seconds later, Sean Macaulay intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for another touchdown to secure Bonita’s first victory of the season.

Many happy returns: Desmond Reed of Temple City had three returns for touchdowns in the Rams’ 50-0 victory over Azusa. Reed scored on a 60-yard punt return, a 65-yard kickoff return and a 47-yard interception return. He also had a 21-yard pass reception for a touchdown.