Both Bellarmine and De La Salle replaced Division I quarterbacks from last season's teams. But the Spartans looked to be already in midseason form as both their offense and defense were dominant in both team's season opener that was played at San Jose City College. De La Salle ran its winning streak to 12 games with a 41-7 victory.
Scoring summary: In the first half, De La Salle ran out to a 28-0 lead before closing the half with a 35-7 margin. The lone score in the second half would come in the first 20 seconds as the Spartans held a 41-7 lead for the rest of the half as the two teams traded punts for the rest of the game.
Spartan running back, Tiapepe Vitale, had three touchdown runs that were highlighted by opening half possession runs of 79 and 27 yards respectively. Quarterback Chris Williams had two short touchdown runs and one 58 yard pass play to Austin Hooper. The Bells lone score was a 55 yard bomb from K.J. Carta-Samuels to Jared Vallner.
Unit Breakdown: De La Salle's running game looks to be deep as senior Vitale is the featured back and has junior Das Tautalatasi backing him up. Lefty quarterback Williams has good size to run the ground game but also displayed a crisp pass when the run setup the pass. The Spartan line dominated in the trenches and helped pave several running lanes throughout the game.
The Bells had a difficult time establishing any rhythm. When given time, Carta-Samuels displayed a strong arm that delivered catchable passes. The running game's effectiveness may have been stifled by the Spartan defense and should see better days against lesser defenses.
Defense: The Spartan front seven was consistently in the Bells' backfield and harassing Carta-Samuels. The defense's speed also limited any big running play as the lone big play surrendered was the Bells' passing touchdown. This Spartan defense looks prime to give up fewer than 100 points for the entire year.
Last year's front seven for the boys from San Jose was core to the defense and replacing that senior laden group was going to be difficult. This year's team had trouble containing the running game and gave up several big plays.
Special Teams: The kicking game of the Spartans missed a few extra points but the two point conversions helped offset two of those miscues. A second half kickoff return by Allan Marion to the Bells 27 was impressive. The punting game also won the field position battle with a few punts within the opponents' 20 yard line.
The Bells had several kickoff return opportunities but did not make any real spectacular returns. The punting game had one mishandled snap and a few wobbly kicks.
Next Steps and Analysis: De La Salle plays Colorado power Mullen who went through some turmoil during the summer as they had a coaching change. The following week will be a visit from St. Mary's of Stockton.
If there were any major question marks going into the season, the offense would be it as a new quarterback brings much uncertainty. But with Williams' opening game performance with a balanced running game and a vaunted defense, De La Salle looks hard pressed not to be a comfortable favorite in every regular season game.
Bellarmine will look to bounce back with non-league games against San Leandro and Piedmont Hills.
Whereas De La Salle had some questions answered, the Bells still have several remaining. Was the performance of both the offense and defense due to De La Salle's skill level? Carta-Samuels looks to be promising as the Vanderbilt commit has an accurate and strong arm when given the proper time. The middle of the season has consecutive league games against Archbishop Mitty, Serra, and St. Francis that could make or break their league standings.
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