In a season of adversity, De La Salle finds a way to play for a state championship

California high school football: Powerhouse De La Salle will be seeking its eighth state title when it plays Mission Viejo on Friday night.

De La Salle’s road to another state championship game has been challenging, on and off the field.

The Spartans opened the season with back-to-back losses to Orange Lutheran and Serra, managing 14 points in the defeats. They nearly lost to a North Coast Section opponent for the first time in 32 years when San Ramon Valley took the Concord powerhouse to overtime in October.

A week after the SRV game, coach Justin Alumbaugh broke the news to the team that longtime defensive line coach Steve Jacoby had stunningly died the previous evening.

Alumbaugh let the players decide whether to play that night against El Cerrito, which they elected to do.

De La Salle beat El Cerrito and everyone else in its path on the way to a 31st consecutive NCS championship and a 41-0 rout last week of Clovis North in a NorCal regional, securing its spot in the 1-AA state title game on Friday night against Mission Viejo at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

After months of trying to find the keys to its storied past, De La Salle appears to have unlocked the door at just the right time.

“It’s gratifying,” Alumbaugh said on the field after the victory last week. “This team has faced a lot of adversity. You start the season with two really hard losses against two great teams. We were not a good football team, and we fought our way back and started putting together a season that we could be proud of.

“Losing Steve Jacoby, this is a resilient group. This is a group that is playing with a lot of pride and a lot of toughness and it’s gratifying to coach them. Not a lot of teams have faced the adversity that this team has faced. I am proud of them. If you had told me in late August or early September that we’d be standing here, getting ready to go down to LA for a state championship, I am not sure I would have believed you.”

The trip to Saddleback College is an opportunity for De La Salle to complete unfinished business. In the same venue last season, the Spartans nearly captured the program’s eighth state championship but lost to Lincoln-San Diego 33-28.

Many of the players on the field that night for De La Salle — running back Derrick Blanche, quarterback Toa Faavae, lineman Chris Biller, edge rusher/linebacker/tight end Andrew Cunningham — will be making the return trip this week.

“Everyone that was on the team last year, we felt the pain of heading down there to state and losing,” said Cunningham, now a senior. “We know this next game, we’re going to come down there and we’re going to make up for that.”

Asked what it means for his last De La Salle game to be for a state championship, Cunningham added, “It’s amazing. It’s exactly what we wanted, especially after last year. All the way back in January when we started, we knew this is where we wanted to be, this is what we were training for. We know we have the opportunity and we’re not going to waste it.”

The atmosphere could be electric, given that Mission Viejo High is 4.4 miles from Saddleback College.

The Diablos, coached by former St. John Bosco assistant Chad Johnson for the past six seasons, reached the state final behind quarterbacks Luke Fahey and Draiden Trudeau (they rotate), running back Hinesward Lilomaiava (named after the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver) and receiver Vance Spafford.

Johnson said about the QB rotation, “It’s been done to us before. I’ve got two great kids that play very well. They’re both deserving. Neither one of them wanted to leave. You know how that goes. You make one the starter and play him and one the backup and the other guy transfers. We gave it a shot and it’s been going very well.”

Over the weekend, Alumbaugh and Johnson devoted hours studying film. The Mission Viejo coach, who claims to have also spent time watching the 2014 movie about De La Salle football, “When the Game Stands Tall,” couldn’t say enough good things about Spartans defensive standout Biller.

“They’re D-line is amazing,” Johnson said. “I love, love, love No. 51. He might be my favorite player of all-time. That kid plays his absolute tail off. He’s a little undersized so he’s probably not going to USC. But holy cow, I’d take 20 51s, that’s for sure.”