Don Bosco Prep Ironmen defeat De La Salle!

In a fantastic ending, Don Bosco Prep edged De La Salle, 23-21, when kicker Patrick Murray made a 19-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining. I really would have loved to see that game myself! I am so proud of all those Ironmen!

The following article comes from the SFGate.com:

In the days preceding the matchup between two of the most successful high school football programs in the country, the De La Salle coaching staff spoke about its team being a bit "overmatched" by the visitors from New Jersey.

For one half, De La Salle outmatched Don Bosco Prep of Ramsey, N.J., but the Ironmen didn't want their cross-country jaunt to go for naught.

Don Bosco kicker Patrick Murray made a 19-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining for a 23-21 victory over host De La Salle - The Chronicle's No. 1 team and the sixth-ranked team in the country, according to ESPN - in front of a crowd of 6,500 fans at Owen Owens Field in Concord.

The Ironmen's victory snapped De La Salle's 15-game winning streak.

"It's the greatest feeling in the world," said Murray, who missed an extra-point try on the Ironmen's final touchdown.

The Spartans (2-1), who led 21-7 at the half, didn't score in the second half, and Bosco rattled off 16 straight points.

The De La Salle offense totaled 202 yards in the first half but managed only 49 in the second as Don Bosco, ranked 28th in the country, applied more pressure. The Spartans, who had four turnovers, struggled to find any rhythm.

"It was a tale of two halves," De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur said. "I thought we did it to ourselves. We didn't make any first downs. We made critical mistakes. We blew some pass-protection assignments. ... We didn't do anything right in the second half. ... We were awful. We choked that game."

Don Bosco quarterback Brett Knief found TJ Azese for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 8:31 left in the third quarter to make it 21-14.

Then Bosco (2-1) climbed on the back of running back Dillon Romain (150 yards, 25 carries). The Ironmen made it 21-20 with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter when Knief found Ryan Cobb for a 3-yard pass. Murray missed the extra-point attempt to keep it 21-20.

He would get his redemption, though.

De La Salle quarterback Blake Wayne (11-for-23, 183 yards) once again showed his toughness and field leadership, and Terron Williams-Ward (two touchdowns) and Noah Perio (touchdown, interception) enjoyed standout performances in the first half.

The Ironmen totaled 188 yards in the final 24 minutes after having only 85 in the first half, controlling the field-position game.

"We felt we could run the football," Bosco coach Greg Toal said. "We weren't going to change what we came in here to do. We thought we could knock them off the football, and we're were going to stay with it. I said, 'Don't panic.' "

Williams-Ward scored his first of two first-half touchdowns on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

Romain made it 7-7 with a 1-yard touchdown with 8:23 left in the second quarter after Wayne threw an interception at midfield.

Williams-Ward scored on an 8-yard run around left end on a pitch from Wayne with 4:07 left in the second quarter to make it 14-7.

Perio ran a Bosco punt back 51 yards with 43 seconds left in the half and caught an 11-yard pass five plays later with 17 seconds left to make it 21-7.