De La Salle High School is a private, Catholic, all-boys school in Concord, California. It was founded in 1965 as a Lasallian institution. De La Salle currently enrolls just over 1,000 students, and roughly 98% of the graduating class attend college.
The school is mostly recognized for its extraordinary football tradition. The team owned a record 151 game winning streak from 1992 to 2004, more than doubling the previous record of 72. During that span the team won 12 California state championships and was named national champion in five different years (once by ESPN, four times by USA Today). The streak ended on September 4, 2004 against Bellevue High School of Bellevue, Washington. After the loss, De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur praised Bellevue, which rushed for 463 yards without attempting a pass, saying:
- They just shoved it down our throats. That really impressed me. Right now Bellevue is a better football team than we are. And if we played them tomorrow, they'd probably beat us again.
The school has also received its share of criticism due to the fact that, as a private school, it is able to recruit the top players throughout the East Bay, gaining an unfair advantage over other high school programs. However, De La Salle does not actively recruit. Solely the school's name and reputation recruit players from all over the region.
It should also be noted that four of Bellevue's 2004 starters were transfer students, and Bellevue has turned De La Salle down for a game in 2005 (as all their good players will have graduated).
Famous alumni
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