Coach's son says movie depicts De La Salle football well

Friday, moviegoers around the country will join Ladouceur, the son of the school's Hall of Fame coach Bob Ladouceur, to relive that season and that team through the lens of Hollywood with the release of "When the Game Stands Tall."

The movie, based on Neil Hayes' book and starring Jim Caviezel as Bob Ladouceur and Michael Chiklis as defensive coordinator Terry Eidson, has had multiple Bay Area viewings.

[...] like all true tales turned Hollywood - see initial reactions to "Money Ball" and "Friday Night Lights" - liberties were taken to jam a book that detailed 25 years of De La Salle football into a 115-minute movie.

Especially when his first football scene shows him fumbling after getting crushed by a Bellevue (Wash.) defender, who returned the football for a touchdown.

Later in the movie, he redeems himself with a touchdown catch against a team De La Salle didn't play that season.

Ultimately, what was most important is the film depicted the program and our values and what we're about in a very accurate and positive light.

The 2004 team rebounded from a nightmarish, at least for De La Salle, 2-3-2 start to win seven straight games, including a 41-0 thumping of undefeated Amador Valley-Pleasanton in the North Coast Section championship game at Cal.

Before the season began, Bob Ladouceur had a heart attack and Terrance Kelly - one of the program's most beloved players -was murdered.

Andrew Camera, a wide receiver on that 2004 team who now coaches the De La Salle freshman team with Danny Ladouceur, said the conflict was real and that the movie conveyed that feeling.