When the sod went bad at Levi's Stadium and 49ers officials had to pull the plug on his team's season opener, De La Salle-Concord football coach Justin Alumbaugh played it very Zen.
From All-America defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie transferring to Clayton Valley Charter-Concord, to all the distractions a Hollywood film can bring to your program, to a couple of key injuries in a scrimmage, the perennial national power Spartans just want to get on the field.
The Spartans, along with Wilcox-Santa Clara, the other local team slated to open at Levi's on Friday, will get to play at the 49ers' new home stadium Oct. 10 and 11, so no harm done.
[...] they'd rather play at Cal with their starting quarterback, Anthony Sweeney, who hurt his knee in a scrimmage against Pittsburg.
Without two starters against a team as dangerous as Jesuit, coached by former De La Salle player and assistant coach Marlon Blanton, it's possible the Spartans' 250-game unbeaten streak against Northern California opponents is in jeopardy.
A good athlete who has also been a backup receiver and defensive back, Vanderklugt knows how to run the option for sure.
Without Short, Lissarrague, Devin Asiasi and Adam Mayer, the rest of the defense will need to play well against an offense that will look a lot like De La Salle.
Four of the top 20 Bay Area recruits are featured here, including a great matchup between San Leandro quarterback Stephen Johnson (committed to UCLA) and Foothill cornerback Isaiah Langley (USC).
Diminished by graduation, Casa Grande gets to deal with the potent combination of quarterback Will Smith (1,724 passing yards, 23 TDs last year) to Kerr Johnson (47 catches, 1,202 yards, 12 TDs).
