CONCORD — It was a one-score game as the first half was nearing an end Friday night, seven points separating Clayton Valley from being even with De La Salle.
If the Ugly Eagles had made a stop in those waning seconds, maybe it would have made a difference in the second half. Maybe it would have made things a little closer.
But Luke Dermon would have none of that.
The De La Salle quarterback threw a short touchdown pass to Bryant Meredith with six seconds on the clock to stretch the lead to 14. When the Spartans opened the second half with two more touchdowns, that was the ballgame.
De La Salle won 42-21 on its home field to close the regular season with five consecutive victories. The Spartans improved to 8-2, a resume that is expected to land them the No. 1 seed in the North Coast Section’s new eight-team Open Division/Division I bracket Sunday.
Clayton Valley finished 7-3.
The Ugly Eagles, who last week celebrated an East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division championship, will probably be seeded third in the Open/D1 bracket.
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Both teams played a little out of character Friday. Known for keeping the ball on the ground, the teams combined for nearly 50 passes.
Dermon finished 17 of 22 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Clayton Valley’s Brenden Bush was 17 of 27 for 193 yards and two TDs.
“Clayton’s good,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “They’re a good team. Overall, I thought we had a solid game. There are certainly things to clean up. The interception and we had a couple of broken coverages. But our run defense was solid.
“I was encouraged. We’re moving in the right direction. There’s a lot of good things going on.”
De La Salle needed less than two minutes to grab the lead in the first quarter. Charles Greer, who finished with three touchdowns, set up the early score with a 44-yard run that moved the Spartans to the Clayton Valley 18. A couple of snaps later, Dermon raced into the end zone on a 17-yard keeper for a 7-0 lead.
Clayton Valley went to its clock-eating ground attack, trying to shorten the game.
It worked through much of the first half.
Dermon’s one mistake, a pass into triple coverage, resulted in Ryan Morimoto’s interception near midfield. The Clayton Valley safety returned the ball to the De La Salle 29, which led to Bush’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Leighton Helfrick that evened the score 7-7 early in the second quarter.
On that play, Bush looked right and then threw to Helfrick in the left corner of the end zone.
De La Salle answered that score with a 13-play, 63-yard drive that included three fourth-down conversions.
When Greer caught a pass from Dermon in the left flat and weaved his way for a 19-yard gain, diving to the pylon for the touchdown, De La Salle led 14-7.
The Spartans got the ball back at their 41 with 1:57 left before halftime.
Dermon led an eight-play drive that culminated with his 8-yard touchdown pass to Meredith that made it 21-7 at the break.
Greer’s 3-yard run midway through the third quarter stretched the lead to 28-7. A Clayton Valley fumble led to another touchdown by Greer, from a yard out, that gave De La Salle a 35-7 advantage with 3:18 left in the third.
“I thought we did really well, just moving on the offense,” Dermon said. “Our O-line did great.”
Jordan Barbadillo’s 1-yard run cut Clayton Valley’s deficit to 35-14, and Bush’s 4-yard pass to Cody Demartini finished the scoring.
“The bottom line is they were more physical,” Clayton Valley coach Tim Murphy said. “When you run a physical scheme like we do on offense and defense and you get out-physicaled, it’s tough. They’re a little faster and definitely played more physical.
“But I feel like the kids didn’t give up at all and didn’t hang their heads.”
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