De La Salle stumbles again, this time at St. Mary’s-Stockton

STOCKTON — After taking a 14-0 lead against St.Mary’s-Stockton on the first play of the second quarter Friday night, De La Salle was outscored by 31 points until a meaningless fourth-quarter touchdown in a 45-35 loss to the Rams .

The drops defeat De La Salle to 3-3 on the season and raises the question of whether the Spartans are still an elite football team.

After going 30 years without losing to a team from this half of the state, De La Salle has lost three NorCal games this season and five in the past 13 months.

Quarterback Carson Su’esu’e scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and a 6-yard run that gave the Spartans the 14-0 lead after the first play of the second quarter.

St. Mary’s came back quickly, driving 80 yards to make it 14-7, then knotting the score less than two minutes later after a De La Salle fumble, the first of three lost by the Spartans.

Coach Justin Alumbaugh didn’t hide his disappointment over the way De La Salle played.

STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 7: De La Salle’s Journey McKoy (11) runs with the ball while being tackled by St. Mary’s Ahmyri Hall (20) during the first quarter of their game at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., on friday, october 7, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

“We go up 14-0, we let them go right down the field,” he said. “Then we get the ball back and have a chance to extend the lead and we fumble. That sums up the game. Why that’s happening… We’re trying every motivational tactic under the sun. We’re not coming through when we need to. It’s our job as coaches to figure that out.”

After St. Mary’s pulled even, De La Salle reclaimed the lead at 21-14 when Su’esu’e scored his third TD, this on a 22-yard run. But St. Mary’s pulled even by halftime with another 80-yard touchdown drive.

The Rams finally went ahead 24-21 on its opening series of the second half on a drive that consumed almost half the third quarter, but De La Salle answered on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Su’esu’e to tight end Cooper Flanagan that put the Spartans ahead 28-24.

From there, St Mary’s took charge. The Rams scored the next 21 points to open a 45-28 cushion with 2:58 to go.

At that point, St. Mary’s fans started to chant, “It’s a blowout. It’s a blowout.”

It really was for much of the second half. The Rams did just about anything they wanted on offense. Quarterback Samson Hunkin completed pass after pass to senior receiver Naseri Danielson, the team’s most recruitable player.

STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 7: De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh reacts after St. Mary’s scores a touchdown during the second quarter of their game at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

By game’s end, the Rams, who improved to 7-0, had 440 yards of total offense. De La Salle had 404.

“Penalties and fumbles killed us offensively,” Alumbaugh said. “And we gave up 45 points.”

Continued Alumbaugh, “For some reason, there are points in the game where we either lose our heads or we stop playing with a lot of fire.”

Su’esu’e said complacency was the problem.

“We let our guard down,” said Su’esu’e, referring to the attitude after the Spartans jumped to their 14-0 lead. “We gave up an 80-yard drive, then we fumbled on the net drive. Everything went downhill after that.

“There’s not enough weight lifting we can do to change that,” the quarterback said. “We’ve got to find something inside. We need to do some deep thinking. Come together as a team.”

The victory was St. Mary’s first in eight games against De La Salle and put the undefeated Sac-Joaquin Section school in contention with Serra for the NorCal bid to the Open Division state championship game.

Fans poured out of the stands and onto the field after the game to embrace the St. Mary’s players.

“It’s a crazy feeling. I can’t describe it,” Danielson said. “De La Salle is a great program. It feels good to know we’re good enough to beat them.”

STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 7: De La Salle’s Derek Thompson (X) and his teammates show their disappointment as they final minutes wind down against St. Mary’s in the fourth quarter of their game at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., on friday, october 7, 2022. St Mary’s defeated De La Salle 45-35. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 7: De La Salle’s Journey McKoy (11) is dejected on the sideline after being defeated by St. Mary’s after their game at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. St Mary’s defeated De La Salle 45-35. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 7: St. Mary’s quarterback Samson Hunkin (9) rolls into the end zone for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of their game at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. St Mary’s defeated De La Salle 45-35. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 7: The St. Mary’s student body runs onto the field after defeating De La Salle during their game at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. St Mary’s defeated De La Salle 45-35. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)